This practice is known by many dog owners as "breed discrimination." Even mixed breeds, like my half-Chow Saffy, are blacklisted. Some insurance companies believe they, along with Pit Bulls, Huskies, Doberman Pinchers, and other specified breeds, are more likely to bite humans and, in turn, cause liability claims to be brought against their owners. Rottweilers and Chow Chows are on the "blacklist" of dog breeds. The reason? Semona is a Rottweiler and Saffy is half-Chow. Much to my surprise, dozens of insurance companies denied my application outright. Both are extremely playful and friendly animals.Īfter I placed a bid on a house in Lubbock, Texas, I began the search for homeowners' insurance-a process which I thought would be straightforward and easy. Neither has shown any aggressive tendencies. Neither Semona nor Saffy has ever bitten anyone.
I brought my two dogs with me: Saffy (a 4-year-old mixed breed whose parents were a fluffy red Chow Chow and a big black Labrador Retriever) and Semona (a 2-year-old Rottweiler). In the Spring of 2003, I moved from Virginia to Texas to begin work as a tenure-track faculty member at Texas Tech University School of Law. *1 THE CASE AGAINST DOG BREED DISCRIMINATION BY HOMEOWNERS' INSURANCE COMPANIESĬopyright © 2004 Connecticut Insurance Law Journal Association Larry Cunningham. Part V shows how the insurance industry is a highly regulated industry which subjects itself to legislative control where, as here, the public is being harmed by underwriting decisions not driven by actuarial justification. Part IV demonstrates that insurers have been ignoring the unique and special role that pets play in millions of American homes.
Part III shows that breed discrimination and breed-specific legislation are opposed by most veterinary and animal groups. Part II analyzes the major scientific studies on dog bites, showing that no one has adequately proven that some breeds are more inherently dangerous than others. Part I of this article gives an overview of the problem: dog breed discrimination by insurers, as well as a related problem of breed-specific legislation by some states.
0 kommentar(er)
