Rosebud Posted July 16, 2003 Posted July 16, 2003 :evil: [b][size=6]Warning:[/size][/b] Bully lovers, especially K will be pissed! I just got back from a Kennel Club meeting. The guest speaker was from State Farm Insurance, she was discussing home-owners liability insurance and it's relationship to dog-ownership. In a nut-shell she basically said that if your dog bites anyone for any reason you are responsible, she also stated that your home-owners insurance would protect you regardless of where you are; ie-dogshow in another state. Of course the normal disclaimer of you need to check with your individual agent and notify them of the presence of dogs in your household. Blah, blah, blah. Anyways this is what made me mad. [size=6]State Farm does not insure PIT BULLS![/size] Oh and yes you would be proud of me for educating this lady on what the Pit Bull was originally bred for and that they are not the breed that has the largest bite history. I also pointed out that it is irresponsible breeding and not the breed itselg that makes it an aggressive breed. She still didn't really believe me but I made it a point to let her know that the breed was being discriminated against and that the problem was in it's training. She did tell me that she was educated at our meeting but that she doesn't write the policies, just sells them. One more thing, she would not tell us what constitutes a Pit Bull Breed. :angel: Quote
DogPaddle Posted July 16, 2003 Posted July 16, 2003 [quote]In a nut-shell she basically said that if your dog bites anyone for any reason you are responsible, she also stated that your home-owners insurance would protect you regardless of where you are; ie-dogshow in another state. [/quote] So I just want to check - you are responsible but they will cover the damages/cost/whatever whether you are at home, dogshow, another state? If so I guess your sortof lucky, insurance here does not cover anything to do with dog bites. On the other hand - I believe - you are not responsible for damages if someone breaks into your place, not sure about trespassing though. Quote
Rosebud Posted July 16, 2003 Author Posted July 16, 2003 :-? She said that if someone broke into your home, and your dog bite them then you would be liable and they could sue you and your homeowners liability insurance would cover the bill. She said that no matter what the circumstance a jury would award against the dog just because it bit someone. You of course would be able to sue someone who was breaking the law but that would not release you of any liability of what your dog did, even if someone else let it out of your back-yard. Unfortunately as good of a deal as it sounds it just means higher premiums and the possibility of your home-owners insurance being cancelled. :angel: Quote
StarFox Posted July 16, 2003 Posted July 16, 2003 That is such Breed Bias that they don't insure Pit Bulls. :x Good for you Rosebud, I'm glad you educated (or at least tried to :roll: ) that woman. Ok here is something I realy don't understand. Lets just say someone Broke into my house and Zebra bit him. He could sue us?! And he could win?! That just makes me so mad! People who are committing crimes like that should not have the power to sue. :x It just makes me so frusterated! I realy don't understand that at all. Quote
ellieangel Posted July 16, 2003 Posted July 16, 2003 On Rio's insurance if he catches a burglar in our home he gets Quote
Sanvean Posted July 16, 2003 Posted July 16, 2003 We have State Farm, and when I called them to see if we needed to make any changes in our policy after we got Macy, our agent said they didn't care what kind of dog we had, as long as he/she isn't attack-trained. Quote
Rosebud Posted July 16, 2003 Author Posted July 16, 2003 [quote name='Dog Lover'][color=red]Is this a NEW thing because members on another board had actually called State Farm and asked them their policies.[/color] That's what the lady said. [color=red]They stated that they DO insure Pit Bulls BUT they DO NOT insure ANY dog that has bitten.[/color] No she did say that if your dog is trained in protection or attack or has already bitten someone, regardless of breed they will not insure that dog. They better not have changed it all of a sudden...but that DOES NOT surprise me... That is SUCH BS! [color=red]So let me get this straight, so a guy can break into your house, steal your things...RAPE you...but if your dog bites him he can SUE???[/color] Yeah, we were joking that if you caught the guy after your dog bit him, to shoot him where the dog bit him and let him prove your dog bit him. Doesn't make any sense, you can shoot someone on your property if you feel that your life is threatened but your dog can't bite them. Can we all shout BULLSH!T together??? :motz: [color=red]Let's say your boyfriend walks in on the guy...can he beat the guy up or can the person being raped kick the crap out of the guy?? YES!!! Would the guy be able to sue then???[/color] Yes, and will probably win. What's the difference between a dog defending you or a person??? NOTHING! This just PEEVES me off!!!! The judicial system is SOOOO fudged up sometimes! It is suppose to PROTECT the innocent NOT screw them over! :evil: :evil:[/quote] :angel: Quote
Angelboddy Posted July 16, 2003 Posted July 16, 2003 That is just not right! :evil: Next they will be saying that they won't be covering dog at all. :evil: Quote
mjriggl2 Posted July 16, 2003 Posted July 16, 2003 Hey... it just gets more and more interesting! A bad guy and breaks into my house doing whatever evils he can think of. But if my dog (Wolfie, SURE!) bites him, I will be sued and probably lost my dog to animal control or the policemen would shoot the dog (just like they are famous for Pit Bulls)? [b]I DON'T GET IT AT ALL![/b] Someone has to educate me on this! Yes, I agree, I should just shoot where my Wolfie bites on this guy (oh... probably many "places" to point at) and let the evil defends himself! Quote
mjriggl2 Posted July 16, 2003 Posted July 16, 2003 Told a colleague of mine on this thing... he came up a smart solution or procedure: Whenever someone breaks into your house, be WELCOME first (otherwise your dog can easily sense your hostility and start attack). Hand a your-dog-most-favorite treat to the guy and invite him to feed the dog. Now, chain your dog in a separate room so the dog won't be upset by what's going to happen next. Let the evil guy do whatever he wants to achieve and your family always stay WELCOME???? After he finish, kindly ask the guy to sign a DOG RELEASE form for you.... This SKEWED picture can only happen where the judicial system is so p**sed off! Quote
mjriggl2 Posted July 16, 2003 Posted July 16, 2003 Thanks Mei-Mei... this makes sense to me :wink: Quote
Malamum Posted July 17, 2003 Posted July 17, 2003 Mei-Mei, that definitely makes sense and I understand that is why the laws are the way they are. Though it's such a shame that innocent law abiding citizens always seem to get the rough end of the stick. Quote
ayb2101 Posted July 17, 2003 Posted July 17, 2003 Soooooo.... If someone breaks into your house and you kill them, you are not liable... (its legal unless they are killed outside your house) If someone breaks into your house and your dog attacks them, you ARE liable???? Earth to State Farm... Earth to State Farm... Come in State Farm... Quote
Guest Anonymous Posted July 17, 2003 Posted July 17, 2003 So what is the bottom line? How can I insure my roomate's pit bull? I need to get renter's insurance, and I haven't been able to find a provider that will write a policy where there is a pit bull living. He's never bitten anyone (doubt he'd know how to go about it even if a burgeler showed up). Quote
Rosebud Posted July 17, 2003 Author Posted July 17, 2003 :( Check out this link, it's an article on msn [url]http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Insurance/Insureyourhome/P35342.asp[/url] Here's the part about Dogs: [quote][size=2]Dogs If you own a toothless Chihuahua, your insurer probably doesn’t care. Buy a pit bull, Rottweiler or wolf hybrid, however, and you may find your insurance gets more expensive -- if you can persuade your insurer to cover you at all. Dog bites cost insurers about $1 billion a year, and an increasing number of companies have a blacklist of breeds they won’t accept or charge more to cover. Pit bulls, which lead the Centers for Disease Control list of deadly breeds, are particularly unwelcome. Other troublesome breeds include German shepherds, Rottweilers, wolf hybrids, huskies, malamutes and Dobermans. If your dog has ever bitten anyone, regardless of its breed, you’re probably going to have trouble getting coverage as well -- particularly if it was an unprovoked attack. Each insurer has different policies, though, so you may be able to find affordable coverage if you shop around. You also can ask the insurer to exclude your dog, meaning that you’ll pay for any damage it does. advertisement If you have a dog that bites or lunges at strangers, however, get rid of it. The risks to your pocketbook and your neighbors are too great.[/size][/quote] Yourstruly- Basically, with what the State Farm Rep said at the Kennel Club meeting I went to you are SOL when it comes to owning a Pit. :angel: Quote
Guest Anonymous Posted July 23, 2003 Posted July 23, 2003 Thanks all for your help. I contacted state farm and they say they will insure me. if only they would return my emails. Quote
ayb2101 Posted July 23, 2003 Posted July 23, 2003 Wait, so now I'm confused. Does state farm insure pitbulls or not? The articles said they did, but the first post said they didn't? Quote
Rosebud Posted July 23, 2003 Author Posted July 23, 2003 [quote name='ayb2101']Wait, so now I'm confused. Does state farm insure pitbulls or not? The articles said they did, but the first post said they didn't?[/quote] The insurance representative that meet with the kennel club said that State Farm Insurance DOES NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES insure PIT BULLS. The ins rep would not tell us what state farms definition of a pit bull was. It would be wise to consult with your own agent if you are with State Farm and if they say that they will, I would ask for it in writing. :angel: Quote
Guest Anonymous Posted July 26, 2003 Posted July 26, 2003 As an Underwriting (not with State Farm but another large company) I can provide some guidance with insurance companies and their reasoning for not insuring certain breeds. Remember, the contract you have with your company is a promise to pay if there are claims. Unfortunately dog bites usually exceed the policy limits of liability. If someone is bitten by a dog and there is scarring or permanent injury, your liability portion of insurance will pay the full amount. So, if you are looking to write a brand new policy with a reputable company, if you have an "unbindable breed" you have some work ahead of you. The biggest questions asked are: Are there children in the household? Has the dog had obedience training? Is the yard fenced in? Is the dog spayed/neutered? Are there any day care centers or schools nearby? There is also a list of what is considered to be a "vicious animal"...insurance companies base this on the type of injury the dog would cause: Pittbull German Shepherd Akita Rottweiler Doberman Husky Chow This is *not* to say that insurance would not be provided to you. If you can demonstrate to the underwriter that you are a responsible animal owner, 99% of the time you will be able to obtain an insurance policy. Quote
courtnek Posted July 26, 2003 Posted July 26, 2003 and as far as the law goes - it runs somethng like this" If your dog has NO bite history, and someone breaks into your house, if you can prove that the criminal had intentions to hurt you (carrying a gun or a knife for instance) or attempted to physically assault you (attempted or proven rape) and the dog bites him, the insurance will cover you. If he just came in to rob you, no intention of physical harm, and the dog stops him, they could decide to not cover you. WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE???? Dogs have been defending people since they were wolves for God's sake.... :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: Quote
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