Each year, countless homeowners are dropped by their insurance carriers or denied new coverage due to the breed of dog they own. Even the most responsible owners may find themselves facing exorbitant premiums or—worse—the devastating decision to give up their pet in order to obtain or maintain adequate insurance. The battle for coverage often exists regardless of whether the dog is well-trained and has never demonstrated aggression.

AKC has long made it a priority to assist the dog-owning community with this ever-growing problem. Recently, the Canine Legislation department sent a letter to every state insurance commissioner in order to call their attention to breed discrimination by insurance companies. AKC’s letter stated its strong opposition to this practice and urged commissioners to instead support regulations that protect responsible owners while allowing insurance companies to raise rates or refuse coverage only if a dog has been deemed dangerous based on reasonable animal control laws. To read a copy of AKC’s letter, please click here.

How Dog Owners Can Help:

• Initial responses to AKC’s letter indicate that our efforts have indeed heightened insurance commissioners’ awareness to this problem. However, we believe that a nationwide letter-writing campaign is needed to build on this outreach effort if real progress is to be made. The Canine Legislation department is therefore urging dog clubs, federations, and general dog owners alike to write to their state insurance commissioner today. Urge him or her to adopt and enforce reasonable guidelines that do not arbitrarily target dog owners based on breed. You may use AKC’s letter as a model, but be sure to personalize your own correspondence.

Working together, AKC and dog owners have a chance to help eradicate these homeowners’ insurance woes. Please take a moment to contact your commissioner today!

For more information on help with homeowners’ insurance issues, please visit:
https://www.akc.org/insurance/homeowners_inscenter.cfm