[Liulfr]

Looking for a good home owner's insurance company in Florida. Can anyone recommend a company that accepts a GSD? He is in training to become a service dog, but not a guide dog.

 

[NormanF]

You need to shop around.

Not every insurance company will ensure some breeds of large dogs.

I personally never had the need for insurance.

The GSD is a generally safe breed of dog. Whether you really must get insurance depends on what kind of environment would work with your dog.

 

[Magwart]

Do you have any military connection, even through father or grandfather (Vietnam, WWII)? If so, they are eligible to join USAA, and then they can confer membership to you. USAA insurance is outstanding, available nationwide, and they are dog friendly. They also have excellent customer service.

Otherwise, try Liberty Mutual, if they're in FL.

 

[LoveEcho]

You need to shop around.

Not every insurance company will ensure some breeds of large dogs.

I personally never had the need for insurance.

The GSD is a generally safe breed of dog. Whether you really must get insurance depends on what kind of environment would work with your dog.

The need for homeowner's insurance has nothing to do with what kind of environment she's working her dog in.... Most states require homeowner's insurance.


I second USAA, if you're eligible- they've been great and didn't care what kind of dogs I had.

 

[NancyJ]

Travelers may but they require they cover your auto also
State Farm walked out of Florida after a few years of bad hurricanes

 

[superpanjy]

I shopped around home owner insurance before I got my GSD puppy. I ended up with travelers. Rate is very reasonable.

 

[NormanF]

The need for homeowner's insurance has nothing to do with what kind of environment she's working her dog in.... Most states require homeowner's insurance.


I second USAA, if you're eligible- they've been great and didn't care what kind of dogs I had.

Homeowner's insurance, I get. The question is whether it will cover certain breeds of dogs. They won't be covered by insurance or at a high rate to offset perceived liability, especially if a breed is deemed to be dangerous.

 

[Stonevintage]

Do you have any military connection, even through father or grandfather (Vietnam, WWII)? If so, they are eligible to join USAA, and then they can confer membership to you. USAA insurance is outstanding, available nationwide, and they are dog friendly. They also have excellent customer service.

Otherwise, try Liberty Mutual, if they're in FL.

Magwart - you suggested USAA to me about 6 months ago but I never looked into it because I thought you meant "recent or current" military connection required. Are you saying that because my dad was in WWII that I can qualify based on that? I have his service registration # and it's online for USAA to verify. I never thought they'd go back that far?

 

[Stonevintage]

Homeowner's insurance, I get. The question is whether it will cover certain breeds of dogs. They won't be covered by insurance or at a high rate to offset perceived liability, especially if a breed is deemed to be dangerous.

That's why we're searching. Some homeowner's insurance companies have breed bans in place the GSD is usually on it. There are still insurance companies out there that have no questions, no exclusion list and no higher premium. The question of owning a dog or not is not questioned.

 

[gsdsar]

Yes, you qualify. My father was Army. I never was. I have USAA. Call them.

 

[Wags]

I know where I live, USAA is more expensive than other insurance companies, but it could be less expensive where you live. But yes, if your father or grandfather, or mother or grandmother served in the military, then you qualify. I think they couldn't have had dishonorable discharge, but that applies to very little people, most get honorable or general.

 

[Magwart]

Yes, you qualify. My father was Army. I never was. I have USAA. Call them.

Yep, same here. I qualified through my dad too. A few years ago they expanded eligibility to all vets who honorably served (all the way back to WWII), which opened it up to their children.

We have auto, home, umbrella, and banking through USAA, and I honestly love them. When you call them, you get someone on the phone who wants to help with whatever you're calling about--a totally different customer service experience than most banks and insurance companies!

 

[Stonevintage]

Thank you both. I didn't know there was any place that could handle your banking and insurance both. This could make things much more convenient.

 

[Grissom]

I had to go with Citizens here in Florida because of my gsd.

 

[WIBackpacker]

I also strongly recommend USAA.

We have many of our personal matters (insurance - mortgage - banking) through them. We've had random freak things happen, the usual ups and downs of home and auto ownership, they are a very, VERY good company, and have no issues with multiple GSD's.

 

[dogfaeries]

I have had USAA since I was in my 20's (I'm 60). My father is a retired Army colonel, so my family qualifies. I've had multiple Dobes and GSDs, a house and cars hit by a tornado, and another car totaled. Never had a bit of trouble with USAA.

 

[gsdsar]

When I first bought my house I had my one GSD. They asked if she had ever bitten someone. Due to her being worked in IPO, I hesitantly said yes, but qualified with "cause I told her to". The agent said "let me get my manager" I spoke with her, the manager, and explained the sport. She was like "oh ok, no problem".

They are a fantastic company. I have many things happen over the years, and they have always been easy to deal with and quick to respond.

 

[WIBackpacker]

I have had USAA since I was in my 20's (I'm 60). My father is a retired Army colonel, so my family qualifies. I've had multiple Dobes and GSDs, a house and cars hit by a tornado, and another car totaled. Never had a bit of trouble with USAA.

Wow. Your list beats mine. We had a boat that sank to the bottom of a lake due to faulty repair work, a sump pump that flooded our basement the first month we owned our house, my car totaled by an uninsured lunatic, and then I hit a deer in my new replacement vehicle two weeks later. Top marks for USAA, they made bad situations tolerable and handled all paperwork.

 

[wyoung2153]

I'm just going to echo USAA because I think they are an amazing company and I have many things through them, banking, credit cards, renters insurance, etc.. The renters insurance will even cover injury caused by Titan (God forbid) if it occurs on our property. I have verified with them numerous times because it's almost too good to be true.. but they confirm every time.

If you cannot get USAA for whatever reason, I believe Farmers (could be wrong) is one that doesn't have breed restrictions.. again, not 100% on that but I believe it's them.

 

[Magwart]

I was originally very hesitant to switch banking to USAA because I worried about not having a local branch. The worry turned out to be a non-issue -- their banking is so easy. Checks can be deposited at any UPS Store, or by mail, or via their app. They even give you pre-paid deposit envelopes (USAA actually picks up the cost of postage on mailed-in deposits). You can use any ATM, and they reimburse you the fee charged by the ATM owner--if there's a $3 surcharge for using that ATM, they credit your account $3 at the end of the month. It's insanely consumer-friendly. It's what you get by a not-for-profit, member-owned, member-driven organization. Even my local credit unions aren't this awesome.