Tarazet

Banning Dogs -- Insurance Style

Last month I reported a story about a Nebraskan town planning to ban certain breeds of dogs. I thought it was wrong. A reader has just posted a comment there about how his insurance company is cancelling his homeowner's policy because he owns a German Shepard among six dogs. Here is the comment he posted there:

I have six dogs - I live on 60 country acres, my nearest neighbor is over 1/4 mile away.
The group includes a Rott, German Shepard, poodle, Pomeranian, and two Yorkies...
I was informed today that my home owners insurance has been cancelled because I have a GERMAN SHEPARD!
We recently applied for a new policy aan as part of the (apparently) bnormal procedure the insurance company sent an inspector to my home when no one was there.
The German Shepard was outside in a 16' x 40' x 6'high kennel, but the other dogs were in the house. The inspector saw the German Shepard and we "failed" the test for the new policy.
Now, this particular Shepard was actually adopted from the local city police department because he had been in training for police work but was deemed unsuitable because of temperment...he was too FRIENDLY to strangers!
Go figure.
And he is much more aggressive thatn the Rott, who has to be fed in his indoor (airline) kennel, because otherwise the Yorkies steal his food!
By the way, the insurance agent told me that there were more than 20 breeds of dog on the "banned" list!
Including:
Staf's - all versions
Pit Bulls
Rotts,
German Shepards,
Dobes
Husky's - including Alaskan, Siberian, Greenland
Malemutes
Chows
Bull Terriers
Mastif's - all versions
Akitas - both versions
Rhodesian Ridgebacks
And for those who like BIG dogs:
Kuvaz
Komodorok
Pyrenees (sorry about the spelling)
Great Dane
And a few more I cannot remember...

I am curious where this will stop?

Italy, for example, has now banned over 40 breeds from the country.
The latest KILLER breed to be banned?
How about Welsh Corgi!

This is absolutely outrageous. Maybe I'm ignorant but I've always thought of Shepards as being very smart and (at least the dozen or so I've met) friendly. But the fact is that irregardless of breed, dogs are "born nice" and it is only the upbringing that could make a very few of them "mean". Insurance companies should not be refusing coverage based on breed anymore than they should be refusing HUMANS based on race.

Over 400 of you fine folks stop by here everyday. Can any of you offer some advice to this fellow? Comments are open...

Posted by Jeff Soyer at October 13, 2004 01:34 PM