On Tuesday, March 4, 2025, the Connecticut General Assembly’s Insurance and Real Estate Committee will accept public testimony on SB 1386, concerning dog breed insurance underwriting and service dogs. The bill would prohibit homeowners’ insurance and renters’ insurance policies from discriminating based on harboring or owning any dog of a specific breed or mixture of breeds. If enacted, these insurers would no longer be able to cancel, refuse to issue, or renew any homeowners or renters insurance policy, or charge an increased premium, unless an individual dog has been designated as dangerous. In addition, the state would evaluate the feasibility of establishing penalties for the intentional misrepresentation of a dog as a service animal.
The American Kennel Club (AKC) believes that insurance companies should determine coverage of a dog-owning household based on the dog’s deeds, not the dog’s breed. Ownership of dogs that match vague physical characteristics are consistently discriminated against regardless of their parentage in relation to housing, insurance, and re-homing. If a dog is a well-behaved member of the household and the community, there is no reason to deny or cancel coverage.
Further, AKC strongly supports the rights of persons who require a dog to perform essential services to access as provided by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and to be permitted to keep the service dog without regard to the dog’s size, phenotype, or breed. We are particularly concerned about the unjust impact that fraudulent misrepresentation of pets as service dogs has had on undermining the ability of individuals with disabilities who truly need properly trained service dogs to conduct their daily activities.
WHAT YOU CAN DO: Connecticut residents are strongly encouraged to electronically register your support by contacting the committee.
- Click on the committee contact form here.
- Fill in the fields for your name, and select “March 4, 2025, 9:00AM” from the “Hearing Date and Time” drop down menu.
- Select “SB01386-AAC DOG BREED IN INSURANCE UNDERWRITING AND EVALUATION”.
- On the right-hand side, select “Supports”.
- If you wish, you may add comments and/or upload written testimony in PDF format.
In addition, you may speak at the March 4, 2025, 9:00AM public hearing in person or remotely. To do either, you must register by following these details before Monday, March 3, 2025, at 3PM.
For more information on these or other legislative issues in Connecticut, contact AKC’s Government Relations Department at 919-816-3720 or doglaw@akc.org.