[shellbeme]

We are going to start hunting for a home to buy next month and we don't currently have a dog but we are interested in getting a german shepherd and later down the line adding a rottie. (Just in case anyone remembers my s/o with his mild dog allergies we have found it is a mild allergy to saliva and simply washing up after play and keeping clean should take care of that issue)

Anyway back to my concern about this post. So, many companies don't like to cover dogs like shepherds and rotts? We live in Iowa. I have contacted one farmers office and they say they wont, another said he had no problem with covering any breed except pit bulls. The first office referred me to state farm.

We currently have allstate for our car insurance but intend to have home, car and all else all under one name. I haven't yet contacted allstate, I will eventually. I just want to make sure whoever we go with will cover us when we add those breeds to our household.

I have read a thread or two dealing with this already but nothing that went into much detail. I will be sure to share what I find as our search begins in the next couple of months. Have you guys run into any issues with it? Who do you have an what state? I am wondering if it varies from state to state, or like the example above if its mostly agent to agent. I also wonder if it's a flat rate regarldess of breed or if it is an increase PER dog.

I have also seen insurance offered just for dogs specifically and I wonder if you have that, if companies who otherwise would not insure you, would cover you then? One plan we looked at though was about 50 a month for one dog I believe it was 300000 worth of coverage but honestly I didn't get the details, the fiance' was just browsing at the time.

I am interested to hear your thoughts, experiences and suggestions for companies that you have had too experiences with.

 

[Stosh]

My mom's company wouldn't insure her when she got a gsd but her agent found a company that would- she just had to post on the front door and on the fence that she had a gsd. We have USAA because my husband is ex-military. They don't exclude specific breeds to my knowledge, however, we did send them a copy of the STAR puppy and CGC certificates just to have on file. When you do get your dogs, it's wise to start a kind of resume--a file with all the certificates from training classes, letter from a trainer, etc, just in case anything happens or someone complains, you have documentation that the dogs have been well trained. Good luck house hunting!

 

[Good_Karma]

We have insurance through a local company that has no breed restrictions.

 

[JakodaCD OA]

I am in CT and 'had' allstate, notice I said "had", for years on my vehicles. They wanted us to drop our HO, and go with them for everything, I was ok with it, UNTIL, they told me no gsd's. At the time I had 4,,I said, well forget it, they told me i could always get rid of my dogs,,as if that would happen.

They continuously bugged me to switch to allstate, I said as soon as I get in writing, that I have 4 gsd's and you don't have a problem with that, fine..VERY PUSHY..

I finally had to really get nasty and tell them to take me off their mailing/call list, because I was now dumping my auto with them as well..

Right now, I have Peerless, when I started with them, last year, they did send me a questionaire on the breeds of dogs I own,,since I'm down to 2 aussies, and 1 gsd, the gsd has become an honorary malinois)

If I had more than one, I most likely wouldn't 'fib' about the breed, and I'm honestly not sure what peerless policy is on gsd's but I didn't want to chance it..

 

[CassandGunnar]

We have American Family through a local agent. We have never been asked about dogs/dog breeds. They seem to care more how many computers we have and the screen size of our TV.

 

[SchDDR]

A few of the companies that *do* restrict certain breeds, make exceptions for dogs that have passed the CGC.

American Kennel Club - Homeowners Insurance Available to Breeds Previously Excluded with CGC Certification

 

[Emoore]

We have Farmers and they have no problems with us having GSDs or with me fostering for the rescue. I'm not sure if it varies by agent or by state.

 

[CassandGunnar]

We have American Family through a local agent. We have never been asked about dogs/dog breeds. They seem to care more how many computers we have and the screen size of our TV.

I just pulled our paperwork and GSD are not on the list, but the following are: Akita, American Pit Bull Terrier, Chow, Rottweiler, Wolf hybrids, a dog that is a mixture containing any of these breeds.

Hope this helps

 

[AbbyK9]

We're with State Farm currently and they know about the dogs (we still had two when we got the insurance) and it was no problem. Before that, we lived in VA and our insurance was through Travelers and they also know about the dogs and no issues.

 

[Sigurd's Mom]

We have AAA and they have no issues.

 

[Valkyrierider]

I have AAA in California. They don't have a problem with GSDs but do exclude several other breeds. Shop around, check your auto carrier, some give discounts for combining policies.

 

[dogfaeries]

When I had Dobes, I had Farmers. I've since switched to USAA, and there is no problem having the GSDs with them.

 

[racer]

I have safeco no problems but when I was shopping around for insurance as soon I said I had 2 rotties they were not interested giving me a quote

 

[middleofnowhere]

In over 20 years of owning homes (Oregon, Wyoming, Arkansas) I have never had an insurance agent ask about my dogs. Ever. I was in a smaller town in Wyoming and I swear everyone knew I had the Barker Sisters.

 

[UofIowaGSD]

I'm in Iowa and have State Farm insurance. No breed restrictions. PM me if you want the agent's name. We've been with the same agent for 15 years even though we have moved all over Iowa.

 

[Lilie]

We switched from Farmers (Boo, Hiss) to State Farm who came out to inspect before they would cover us. Because we had hot wire around our back yard fence (mostly to keep the horses from dropping their heads over the fence) they had no problems insuring us with no regard for breed.

 

[ElvisP]

GSD's are usually not a problem but Rottie's are ... tough to get coverage from any of the majors with a Rottie. I've got American Family and they have no problem with my GSD but they do have a few breeds they don't cover (I think).

 

[amos.healey]

The Hartford is known to insure quite a few different varieties of dogs, so I’m planning to get a home insurance quote from them.

 

[pyratemom]

We had to insure out house through Lloyd's of London because we own a duplex (both sides) and they don't cover any type of dog. We did have Kemper insurance when we bought the place in 1988 but they quit selling insurance on duplexes. We never had a company that wouldn't cover the dogs before Lloyds' but one I had to tell we had a terrier (APBT) and a mixed breed (GSD and pit) and they were okay with that. It's hard to get good insurance in south Florida.

 

[krystyne73]

I have State Farm in Oklahoma. My agent is my friend and he said they don't insure people with GSD, but he suggested when we bought our new house to have the dogs stay somewhere else during the policy review.
He said although there are some breed restrictions even a snarling collie could make them turn down a new policy since he had a few that had happen to a few new clients.
I left my golden retriever here during the policy check and after they left I brought my dogs back home. LOL once they accept your policy (at least here) they never come back for a policy inspection.
so basically if its a new policy, just hide the dogs, its only for the liability side. It does not interfere with your home coverage and you can still file claims since the claims adjuster that comes out is to access any damage not to handle new claims.
( I have used this advice in my real estate office in Oklahoma for years and have had no problems)