Homeowner’s Insurance Companies That Don’t Discriminate Against Bully Breeds

One of the many things I hadn’t realized about the stigma of pit bull ownership was that my home insurance company wouldn’t cover any claims I made against the property due to damage or burglary because I own a pit bull mix. The policy becomes null the moment the pet enters the home even if you had it before the company policy changed, it doesn’t matter. How did I learn about this? Through a new story on BarkPost about a family that was saved from a fire by their pit bull and were now homeless because the insurance company said they didn’t have to pay because of the dog.

After three hours of online search and phone calls, I was able to confirm my suspicion that most insurance companies have breed restriction clauses on their policies. Agent after agent, I got the same devastating news: Zach made us uninsurable. Being in a similar situation a couple of years ago after a driving violation on my husband’s part resulted in the swift cancellation of our policy by Ameriprise, I wasn’t surprised with their conservative stance. So, I Googled “companies that insure pit bulls” and all the hits I got stated the OPPOSITE! None of my hits gave me good leads. Grrr.

The circumstances left me no other choice than to explore all my options. My lien holders require that I have a particular policy coverage with certain limits. One of the companies offered me insurance with a rider or waiver of liability for personal injury but their limits were below the threshold. Sad, but true. Because of this we were in a tight spot.

Luckily, I found a few alternatives that checked out! Here’s the list of our current options:

1. Amica – Requires a pet evaluation to make sure the dog is not aggressive.
2. WSECU – Requires a waiver or rider to indemnify the company in case of bite or incident related to the dog. Liability limits were low but acceptable.
3. Homesite – Requires a waiver or rider to indemnify the company in case of bite or incident related to the dog. Liability limits were low but acceptable.
4. State Farm – Local agent, no restrictions. Yay!
5. USAA
6. Farmers
7. Nationwide
8. Xinsurance
9. Einhorn Insurance in CA

In some states, like Michigan, insurance companies cannot limit or revoke coverage due to dog breed. Even of your state has no breed specific legislation, the insurance companies can and will discriminate. It narrowed our options severely but I wouldn’t give up Z for any reason at all! He is a part of my family, my roommate and my best friend. Ohana: No one gets left behind. Take that corporate insurance monsters!

To make the process go smoother, check local agencies first or use a broker. I was told repeatedly only these agents could offer the waivers and consideration we required. For example, Progressive doesn’t do home insurance but they found us a local broker in their network that could. I have a few other leads to try out but for now, I’ll stick with State Farm. Hopefully more companies will follow suit and eliminate breed restrictions. Pit Bulls everywhere will be grateful, as it is not their fault some owners are savages who raise them to fight; it is not truly in their nature to be aggressive. There are more pitties out there than many other breeds so the incidents are exacerbated by the size of the population. There are other breeds on this infamy list like German Shepherds and Belgian Malinois which make them uninsurable too.

You don’t believe me about pitbulls? Check out the story of Sgt Stubby and search for heroe pitbulls. In my case all it took was to ask Zach for a “kiss” and a cuddle session and I was convinced.  Try it out, you will see what I mean. XD