Your Dog Could Be A Liability For Homeowners Insurance
BOSTON (CBS) – Did you know your dog could be a big insurance liability?
If you want to buy a house or update your homeowners insurance, you need to make sure your dog doesn't kill the deal.
Most insurance carriers have a list of breeds they will not cover.
Among them are pit bulls, Rottweilers, Chows, German Shepherds, Siberian Huskies, Dobermans, Alaskan Malamutes, Great Danes, Boxers, bulldogs and Akitas.
"It's irresponsible owners that give these dogs a bad (reputation)," Laura Hines, the owner of PEThingz! in Littleton, told WBZ NewsRadio 1030.
Hines said it's a bad policy, because some people are forced to lie or give up their dogs.
Marie Babineau owns a four-year-old American Bulldog named Diesel. She said she and her husband couldn't get homeowners insurance because their dog is on the so-called blacklist.
Fortunately, they found a quasi-state plan, called the FAIR Plan (Fair Access to Insurance Requirements), which did cover them.
Massachusetts insurance commissioner Joe Murphy said it's probably the best option for a lot of dog owners.
"We have an entity known as the Mass. Property Insurance Underwriting Association and they'll cover those risks that can't get coverage in the voluntary market," he told WBZ.
"(It's) just the same as a policy in the voluntary market and their rates are actually quite competitive."
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Karen Twomey reports
Podcast
Murphy said they don't tell insurance carriers how to measure liability. They just make sure it's applied correctly and consistently.
