Insurance in NY

[stevenc]

Just heard from a friend in NY. Does anyone know who accepts Rottys in NY for homeowners Insurance? Thanks for your help!:)

[2rotties2luv]

I had Kemper and switched to Travelers a couple of years ago due to lower premium. My insurance agent knows I have two rotties and never mentioned there would be any problem with either insurance company. He also knows that both rotties are therapy dogs. There was a bill pending in the NY state legislature prohibiting insurance companies from denying insurance based on the breed of dog owned - I don't know if it ever passed.

[nynewbie]

Last I knew, the bill was stalled in the insurance committee. I'll have to check on Sen. Pat McGee's site. She usually keeps everything pretty well updated. We have Metropolitan. Not a word in our policy about breed bans, so I called them. They said as long as you don't own a dog that is classified dangerous through the Agricultural & Markets law (individual dog that is a known biter, not by breed) then you are ok.

[alex221]

I'm in Ct, but we also have Metropolitan. They came out and inspected the house, saw the dog and the dog run and never mentioned a thing about dog liability. I work for The Hartford Insurance Co, and they specifically exclude Rottweilers and Pitbulls (grrr). I've also heard that Foremost accepts all breeds.

[Barb and Raven]

I noticed that 2rotties2luv mentioned having Travelers Insurance with no problem. Don't count on it!! I recently posted a thread about being non-renewed by Travelers for having two Rottweilers. I got their insurance two years ago because of the lower premiums. In Apr of this year I had filed a claim due to some storm damage. The adjuster saw my dogs in the yard and only made some good comments about them and went about his business. Well, one month ago I received a letter from my agent that Travelers was non-renewing my policy due to the dogs. Two days later I received the official letter from Travelers. I just tonight had typed a letter to send to Travelers to let them know how I feel. They had sent me a renewal notice for my vehicles and I wrote them that I did not want to do ANY insurance business with their company and was cancelling the auto insurance based on their not renewing the homeowners policy due to the rediculous reason they had given me about the dogs.
I also told them in calling around to other companies I found some that were more than willing to insure me even with the dogs. Also, I wrote to my state insurance commissioner and have received a letter back stating that they have a new Consumer Services Division in the Insurance Dept to serve as an advocate for the state's consumers. The letter also stated that an Insurance Investigator (name was given) will be back in touch with me as soon as he receives info regarding my case. I don't know how far I can get with this but I felt it was worth a try. We just need more of us to do the same by writing to their State Insurance Commissioner any time they are denied insurance based on the breed of dog.

[2rotties2luv]

I believe that the insurance regulations/restrictions/guidlines are enforced differently depending on the state where you live. Therefore, the breed restrictions that a particular ins. co. has in one state may not apply in another state. When my insurance agent wanted to switch me to Travelers, I made sure that this company had no breed restrictions in NY. I was told that in NY, it was bite history and not breed which would determine whether I got insurance coverage.

[stevenc]

Originally posted by 2rotties2luv
I believe that the insurance regulations/restrictions/guidlines are enforced differently depending on the state where you live. Therefore, the breed restrictions that a particular ins. co. has in one state may not apply in another state. When my insurance agent wanted to switch me to Travelers, I made sure that this company had no breed restrictions in NY. I was told that in NY, it was bite history and not breed which would determine whether I got insurance coverage.

Two years ago Travelers did not have any restrictions on breed type just whether or not the dog had a history of dog bites. Things have changed.:(

[nynewbie]

I received the following reply from Senator McGee:

Thank you for contacting my office regarding Senate Bill S.402 of 2002, which prohibits cancellation of homeowner’s liability insurance based on the ownership of a specific breed of dog. The new bill number for this legislation is S.3998.

Currently, this bill has been referred to the Senate Insurance Committee as of April 8, 2003. It has not seen further action this year.

I suspect this bill will be reintroduced in next year’s session starting in January.

Sincerely,

Pat McGee
State Senator

[Overthetop]

Hi,

I live near Albany, NY. I have State Farm Insurance. I currently have 3 rotts and have never had a problem (knock on wood).


Tina

Aries (Rott)
Zoe (Rott rescue)
Moses (Rott rescue)
Apollo (Lab at RB)
Thor (Rott at RB)

and the rest of the critters....