How do dogs affect your homeowners’ insurance rates?
It have proven that insurers can look at your situation at home and give different rates.
Whether you live in a more hurricane prone area, your home is 100 years old or you have just had a fire, there are a lot of ways you premium can change.
But, did you know that having a certain breed of dog can also affect your homeowners’ insurance rate?
Pittbulls, Rottweilers, Dobermanns, and some others are considered dangerous breeds. They are strong, often aggressive by nature and have a high bite incident rate.
For this reason, they are also likely to cause more havoc in the house and cause damages.
By owning one of these breeds, the insurer is seeing a higher potential for claims and can instantly raise your insurance rates to calculate for these risks.
Can I insure my dog in my homeowners’ insurance policy?
It is normally possible to insure your dog within your homeowners’ insurance policy. This would mean that you can insure damages caused by it, but also the dog’s possessions that you keep in the house.
However, it is good to know that the more you insure, the higher your premium gets, just like with any other optional insurance policy.
It is not mandatory to insure a dog within your homeowners’ insurance and you should very well consider whether that is something you are willing to pay for.
Especially when it comes to the dangerous dog breeds that insurance charge extra for, you should make a proper calculation on the premium versus the insurance coverage.
What can I do to ensure the best homeowners’ insurance rates?
It is crucial to look around at different insurers, to see if and how they offer pet insurance along with homeowners’ insurance.
There are also seperate pet insurance you can take that do not package into a home insurance, so those are also always worth taking a look at. Often these insurances are more flexible in what they insure.
Of course, owning a dog is something you choose and a trusty pet is a happy thing to own. No matter the breed, there is always a suitable option to insure your pet.
Homeowners’ insurance policies can change yearly, or even earlier, so take a good look at your existing insurances, call up your insurer and see if there are any changes, or perhaps discounts you might be eligble for.
An insurance is a protection, not a mandatory thing, so always take a good look at your financial situation and weigh the risks and rewards that you personally would get from it.