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Rising Insurance Costs Hitting ‘Dangerous Dog’ Owners
Lady — A Lovable Liability?
Rising Insurance Costs Hitting ‘Dangerous Dog’ Owners
November 24, 2011
By Scott Shelters
MAYVILLE - Julie Smith of Mayville felt frightened as she tore open a letter from her insurance carrier on Nov. 1.
An investigator for the company had visited her residence in early October. He saw her graying, arthritic pit bull, Lady, and Mrs. Smith thought that meant trouble.
It wasn't the investigation itself that bothered her. She knew that was coming.
What would be in the letter was the unknown.
"We received an initial letter that said we were going to have a general review of our property sometime in September. We had carried that insurance since March of 2003. We'd been a good, faithful carrier of theirs for all these years," Mrs. Smith said. "We came home from a walk in Mayville. I came in the house, and she, (Lady), stayed in the yard. All of the sudden, I heard a knock on my door. This man had pulled in the driveway and gotten out. She greeted him, not aggressively, and he walked all the way up onto the porch with her in tow. There was no problem."
The question the man asked her, however, showed problems on the horizon, Mrs. Smith said.
"He got out of his car, and he must've snapped a picture of her. As he left he said, 'She's a pit bull, right?' I just said, 'Yeah, she has some in her,' and he left," she said.
Smith felt uneasy after the inspector's departure, despite the fact her dog hadn't presented any previous insurance issues.
"I told myself, 'Oh boy. I bet I'm going to hear about this.' I had heard for years about breed problems with insurance companies."
When the Nov. 1 letter came, Smith knew what was coming. Her carrier determined that Lady was a potential hazard. As a result, the company stated it could choose to not renew her homeowners insurance, advising her to resolve the issue within 60 days.
"I hadn't cried in a long time, but when I got that letter right there, I cried. I knew it. In my heart, I knew he was going to report that and it was going to come back to me," Mrs. Smith said.
She wondered what she could do to resolve the situation.
"I was very upset. We have this Humane Society that's full of these pit bulls. I don't know how many they have, but quite often when I read the paper and see the animal profiles, here and there, there are pit bull mixes," she said. "I'd be on a long list to surrender her. She's a pit mix and would probably be unadoptable. My vet won't euthanize a healthy dog either. I shudder to think of any other options. Where does this leave my Lady?"
Smith decided she would not give up Lady, a black lab/pit bull mix, that she adopted days before she was to be taken to the Humane Society in 2003.
"I promised to give her a good life and see her through until the end. She's my companion. We walk all the time. She has never been aggressive. She's very calm," Mrs. Smith said. "I'll keep my promise. Lady will be with me until her last day - insurance or not."
LOOKING FOR ANSWERS
In hopes of learning more, Smith contacted her agent, Rose Soldano, at Mayville Tremaine Insurance.
"She said there is a dangerous-breed list," Smith explained, noting that pit bulls, rottweilers, dobermans and German shepherds are on it. "I really don't care about the insurance. My husband Marty and I own this house outright. We do not have to carry insurance. We'll take our chances. I will not move out of here. I will not give her to someone else. I'm not going to take her down the road to someone who will leave her tied outside. It's just the principle of it. If you can't adopt these breeds, make a law that says to put them to sleep. Any dog can be vicious. Ankle-biters can bite and do damage to people. Where do you draw the line? We're not dealing with just Mayville, N.Y., or Jamestown. This is a nationwide thing. There are respectable people, they go in and they think pit bulls are wonderful. Are these people going to find out, like me, that once you get them in your home, they can't get insured?"
According to Soldano, that is becoming a possibility. According to State Farm, which released several figures as part of Dog Bite Prevention Week in May 2011, a dog bite claim cost an average of $26,166 in 2010, an increase from $24,840 in 2009. State Farm spokesperson Heather Paul said rising defense and health care costs have driven a 5.3 percent increase in the average cost per claim.
Such statistics are causing insurance carriers to re-evaluate insuring owners of so-called dangerous dog breeds, even though local officials, like Ms. Soldano, say some of the dogs may not be dangerous.
"It happens sometimes. Pit bulls, they've got a bad rap. I had a husky, and some of the companies don't like huskies either," Ms. Soldano said. "Because the inspector was out to the premises, and saw that the breed was a pit bull, they said right away that they didn't want to insure the house because of the breed of the dog."
Insurance companies may rely on dog-bite statistics when making their decisions. According to dogsbite.org, 67 percent of the United States' 33 fatal dog attacks in 2010 were done by pit bulls, despite the fact that the breed makes up just 5 percent of the nation's dog population. Pit Bulls and rottweilers accounted for 104 American deaths from 2005 to 2010, the site reports.
After learning of Smith's situation, Soldano worked to resolve the issue in hopes of allowing Smith to keep her insurance and her dog.
"I went to the marketing rep. I said, 'We've had this account for a number of years.' I told her, 'I think you should make a consideration on this dog. I don't think this is an aggressive dog at all.' The dog walked the inspector to the door. If she was an aggressive dog, she would've chewed (his) leg off. Some of these inspectors are real nitpicky," Soldano said.
Some local governments and U.S. military housing areas became so concerned about pit bulls that they created special regulations for them, according to dogsbite.org. Those decisions may have resulted from the number of dog attacks that caused bodily harm for North Americans in recent years. According to dog-obedience-training-online.com, pit bulls and pit bull mixes accounted for 1,182 of these attacks in the U.S. and Canada from 1982 and 2006. The site reported less than twice that number, 2,209, for the total dog attacks causing harm during that period.
GOOD DOGS OR BAD DOGS
Despite the data, Smith's insurance company removed the non-renewal on Nov. 21. She believes they did so because she has no small children and had no previous bite-related claims.
"I still have strong feelings about the pit bulls," she said.
As does Sue Bloom, shelter manager for Chautauqua County Humane Society. Due to the negative attention and fears surrounding pit bulls, Bloom said the Humane Society has a more difficult time getting pit bulls adopted.
"I think that pit bulls are getting a bad rap. Actually, most of your bully breeds, you're talking rottweilers and dobermans, do. When you go to get insurance, there are some of them that ask you, 'Do you have a dog and what kind is it?' It depends on the individual carrier, and it's up to them," she said. "We hear more about pit bulls because people don't understand them. You always hear the bad stories."
On the local level, Bloom hears of no more attacks done by pit bulls than any other breed. "Unfortunately, we see just as many bite cases with the smaller breeds. The problem is, because they're a smaller dog, they might not cause as much damage. That's why you don't hear as much about them."
Individual owners can solve bite or behavioral issues with their pit bulls. However, that may not change an insurance company's decision.
"People should recognize that this is a breed that some of the insurance companies do not wish to insure," Soldano said. "If anyone is contemplating having a pit bull in the house - whether it's a mix or whatever - they should contact their insurance company to make sure there will be no problems with this dog. It's a case-by-case situation. I think if you have a good agent, and they know your account like we do, that's not going to be an issue."
Bloom believes the decisions and responsibilities belong to the owners, stating that behaviors can vary within breeds.
"Any dog has the potential of biting. Part of it is being a good owner, taking your animal and getting it socialized. It's not necessarily the breed. It's what a person did with that dog," she said. "There's some pit bulls in here that I would take home over some of these other dogs."
http://post-journal.com/page/content.detail/id/594912/Lady---A-Lovable-Liability-.html?nav=5192
Lady — A Lovable Liability?
Rising Insurance Costs Hitting ‘Dangerous Dog’ Owners
November 24, 2011
By Scott Shelters
MAYVILLE - Julie Smith of Mayville felt frightened as she tore open a letter from her insurance carrier on Nov. 1.
An investigator for the company had visited her residence in early October. He saw her graying, arthritic pit bull, Lady, and Mrs. Smith thought that meant trouble.
It wasn't the investigation itself that bothered her. She knew that was coming.
What would be in the letter was the unknown.
"We received an initial letter that said we were going to have a general review of our property sometime in September. We had carried that insurance since March of 2003. We'd been a good, faithful carrier of theirs for all these years," Mrs. Smith said. "We came home from a walk in Mayville. I came in the house, and she, (Lady), stayed in the yard. All of the sudden, I heard a knock on my door. This man had pulled in the driveway and gotten out. She greeted him, not aggressively, and he walked all the way up onto the porch with her in tow. There was no problem."
The question the man asked her, however, showed problems on the horizon, Mrs. Smith said.
"He got out of his car, and he must've snapped a picture of her. As he left he said, 'She's a pit bull, right?' I just said, 'Yeah, she has some in her,' and he left," she said.
Smith felt uneasy after the inspector's departure, despite the fact her dog hadn't presented any previous insurance issues.
"I told myself, 'Oh boy. I bet I'm going to hear about this.' I had heard for years about breed problems with insurance companies."
When the Nov. 1 letter came, Smith knew what was coming. Her carrier determined that Lady was a potential hazard. As a result, the company stated it could choose to not renew her homeowners insurance, advising her to resolve the issue within 60 days.
"I hadn't cried in a long time, but when I got that letter right there, I cried. I knew it. In my heart, I knew he was going to report that and it was going to come back to me," Mrs. Smith said.
She wondered what she could do to resolve the situation.
"I was very upset. We have this Humane Society that's full of these pit bulls. I don't know how many they have, but quite often when I read the paper and see the animal profiles, here and there, there are pit bull mixes," she said. "I'd be on a long list to surrender her. She's a pit mix and would probably be unadoptable. My vet won't euthanize a healthy dog either. I shudder to think of any other options. Where does this leave my Lady?"
Smith decided she would not give up Lady, a black lab/pit bull mix, that she adopted days before she was to be taken to the Humane Society in 2003.
"I promised to give her a good life and see her through until the end. She's my companion. We walk all the time. She has never been aggressive. She's very calm," Mrs. Smith said. "I'll keep my promise. Lady will be with me until her last day - insurance or not."
LOOKING FOR ANSWERS
In hopes of learning more, Smith contacted her agent, Rose Soldano, at Mayville Tremaine Insurance.
"She said there is a dangerous-breed list," Smith explained, noting that pit bulls, rottweilers, dobermans and German shepherds are on it. "I really don't care about the insurance. My husband Marty and I own this house outright. We do not have to carry insurance. We'll take our chances. I will not move out of here. I will not give her to someone else. I'm not going to take her down the road to someone who will leave her tied outside. It's just the principle of it. If you can't adopt these breeds, make a law that says to put them to sleep. Any dog can be vicious. Ankle-biters can bite and do damage to people. Where do you draw the line? We're not dealing with just Mayville, N.Y., or Jamestown. This is a nationwide thing. There are respectable people, they go in and they think pit bulls are wonderful. Are these people going to find out, like me, that once you get them in your home, they can't get insured?"
According to Soldano, that is becoming a possibility. According to State Farm, which released several figures as part of Dog Bite Prevention Week in May 2011, a dog bite claim cost an average of $26,166 in 2010, an increase from $24,840 in 2009. State Farm spokesperson Heather Paul said rising defense and health care costs have driven a 5.3 percent increase in the average cost per claim.
Such statistics are causing insurance carriers to re-evaluate insuring owners of so-called dangerous dog breeds, even though local officials, like Ms. Soldano, say some of the dogs may not be dangerous.
"It happens sometimes. Pit bulls, they've got a bad rap. I had a husky, and some of the companies don't like huskies either," Ms. Soldano said. "Because the inspector was out to the premises, and saw that the breed was a pit bull, they said right away that they didn't want to insure the house because of the breed of the dog."
Insurance companies may rely on dog-bite statistics when making their decisions. According to dogsbite.org, 67 percent of the United States' 33 fatal dog attacks in 2010 were done by pit bulls, despite the fact that the breed makes up just 5 percent of the nation's dog population. Pit Bulls and rottweilers accounted for 104 American deaths from 2005 to 2010, the site reports.
After learning of Smith's situation, Soldano worked to resolve the issue in hopes of allowing Smith to keep her insurance and her dog.
"I went to the marketing rep. I said, 'We've had this account for a number of years.' I told her, 'I think you should make a consideration on this dog. I don't think this is an aggressive dog at all.' The dog walked the inspector to the door. If she was an aggressive dog, she would've chewed (his) leg off. Some of these inspectors are real nitpicky," Soldano said.
Some local governments and U.S. military housing areas became so concerned about pit bulls that they created special regulations for them, according to dogsbite.org. Those decisions may have resulted from the number of dog attacks that caused bodily harm for North Americans in recent years. According to dog-obedience-training-online.com, pit bulls and pit bull mixes accounted for 1,182 of these attacks in the U.S. and Canada from 1982 and 2006. The site reported less than twice that number, 2,209, for the total dog attacks causing harm during that period.
GOOD DOGS OR BAD DOGS
Despite the data, Smith's insurance company removed the non-renewal on Nov. 21. She believes they did so because she has no small children and had no previous bite-related claims.
"I still have strong feelings about the pit bulls," she said.
As does Sue Bloom, shelter manager for Chautauqua County Humane Society. Due to the negative attention and fears surrounding pit bulls, Bloom said the Humane Society has a more difficult time getting pit bulls adopted.
"I think that pit bulls are getting a bad rap. Actually, most of your bully breeds, you're talking rottweilers and dobermans, do. When you go to get insurance, there are some of them that ask you, 'Do you have a dog and what kind is it?' It depends on the individual carrier, and it's up to them," she said. "We hear more about pit bulls because people don't understand them. You always hear the bad stories."
On the local level, Bloom hears of no more attacks done by pit bulls than any other breed. "Unfortunately, we see just as many bite cases with the smaller breeds. The problem is, because they're a smaller dog, they might not cause as much damage. That's why you don't hear as much about them."
Individual owners can solve bite or behavioral issues with their pit bulls. However, that may not change an insurance company's decision.
"People should recognize that this is a breed that some of the insurance companies do not wish to insure," Soldano said. "If anyone is contemplating having a pit bull in the house - whether it's a mix or whatever - they should contact their insurance company to make sure there will be no problems with this dog. It's a case-by-case situation. I think if you have a good agent, and they know your account like we do, that's not going to be an issue."
Bloom believes the decisions and responsibilities belong to the owners, stating that behaviors can vary within breeds.
"Any dog has the potential of biting. Part of it is being a good owner, taking your animal and getting it socialized. It's not necessarily the breed. It's what a person did with that dog," she said. "There's some pit bulls in here that I would take home over some of these other dogs."
http://post-journal.com/page/content.detail/id/594912/Lady---A-Lovable-Liability-.html?nav=5192