Pet Friendly Homeowners Insurance: Do Pets Drive Premiums Up?

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    Homeowners Insurance and Pets

    There are many factors to take into consideration when thinking about purchasing a Florida Homeowner Insurance Policy.  Here is one consideration that rarely goes into people’s minds when they are about to take the necessary steps to protect their homes: their pets.

    It’s a common mistake, after all how could your furry (or not-so-furry) friend affect your homeowners coverage? Yet insurance providers take this issue seriously and consider that your pet, however cute is well capable of causing damage to your property. It is an issue considered to be important enough that in some cases, an animal member of your household may be lead to an insurance denial altogether.

    Question: Do you want to know how to choose the best Florida Homeowners Insurance? The answers to that question are provided in our article aptly called: How Do I Choose The Best Homeowners Insurance?

     

    Save Money on Homeowners' Insurance

    Call us now to find out how: 888-913-6988

    Homeowners insurance and dogs

    Dogs are among the most common pets in the state of Florida. For all their admirable qualities, dogs are in fact the riskiest pets, if only because they can bite. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the continental United States of America, 4.5 million people suffer from dog bites each year, with about 900,000 requiring medical treatment. It falls to reason therefore to understand why insurance providers take such a measured approach to this issue.

    But before you start pulling your hair in despair, there is a silver lining in all of this: most homeowners insurance policies cover dog bites and other incidents where dogs re involved, even if that means that your homeowners insurance policy might cost you more.

    Dogs Companies Will Not Insure

    Believe it not, certain breeds have made it to insurance providers list of “bad breeds” and if you happen to own a dog from that list, you might very well have a challenge on your hands. The rule of thumbs on determining what breed is dangerous enough (in the eyes of the insurance providers) to be listed as a member of the “bad breeds”, consider this:

    If a dog can inflict serious damage from a single bite, then its breed may find itself on this list. Here is another consideration: the size of the dog is not always a determinant factor either.

    A study from the Applied Animal Behavior Science journal says that large dogs, often pigeonholed as the dangerous breeds, aren't any more likely to bite than small ones. Siberian Huskies and Greyhounds, to name a couple, scored as very calm dogs, and even pit bulls and Rottweilers registered average or below-average aggression. The tiny Dachshund, meanwhile, ranked as the journal's most-aggressive breed, with Chihuahuas coming in second. (ref: esurance.com)

    Be that as it may, here is a list of dogs that commonly referred to as “bad breeds” by insurance companies:

    • Akita
    • Alaskan Malamute
    • Chow Chow
    • Doberman
    • German Shepherd
    • Pit Bull
    • Rottweiler
    • Siberian Husky
    • Wolf Hybrid

    Notwithstanding the above, we encourage you to call your Florida Homeowners Insurance agent for any further clarification.

    Save Money on Homeowners' Insurance

    Call us now to find out how: 888-913-6988

    What about Exotic Pets?

    While most people choose a cat, dog, hamster or bird as their pet, some folks prefer more exotic animals. For example, over 10,000 big cats, and 3,000 apes, are privately owned in the US. These are not your ordinary tamed, domesticated animal and however mild mannered these are, they are still wild in nature and as a result wholly unpredictable.

    As such, it is extremely unlikely that any insurance company will cover them under their homeowners insurance policies. If a mountain lion happens to roam inside an enclosure in your backyard, your only option would be to look into exotic pet insurance as they are the only ones that will offer the sky high coverage capable of handling these wild creatures.

    Did you know?

    There are more captive tigers in the US than there are wild tigers on earth?

    Make Sure You Disclose Any Animal Your Own To Your Insurer

    Owning an animal is a big responsibility and requires special care and attention. Dogs, as a general rule, can impact any homeowners insurance coverage you seek and it is crucial that you don't hide the fact that you do own a dog, or any other animal from your insurer.

    Training your dog is one excellent way to ensure that you are taking your role as a responsible dog parent seriously. In fact, training is so important that some insurers might even give you a break, particularly if your dog gets a "Canine Good Citizen" certificate, obtainable from the AKC.

    Whether you own a pet or not, it is important that you get the right Florida Homeowners Insurance coverage for yourself. Want to save yourself a little money? Make sure you check our article: Spring Maintenance Tips to Protect Your home, which gives you some clues on things you can do right now to your home that have the potential to reduce your home insurance premiums. If you wonder what the difference is between a condo and a homeowners insurance, you can find some answers here.

    We, at LNC Insurance Providers are a family owned insurance agency, in business for over a decade.  Our main office is in Miami, but we provide insurance cover throughout the state of Florida. As such we have a unique knowledge and experience of the challenges and realities of all aspects pertaining to Florida Insurance.

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