Will owning a Dog affect your Home Insurance Policy?

Owning a dog could affect your ability to obtain home insurance or renters insurance. You may have the sweetest, calmest dog in the world, however your insurance company MAY look at Rover differently. Some home insurance companies are not very enthusiastic about insuring certain breeds of dogs and as a result, you may pay more for your policy or they may cancel or not renew your policy.

If you’re thinking of getting a dog, you might want to check with your home insurance provider before you make your final decision. Additionally, if you are looking for home insurance and already have a dog, you should disclose this to your agent or broker in order to make sure that you will have the proper coverage in the event of a dog bite.

Some states have existing and/or pending legislation to prohibit insurance companies from refusing to insure or discriminating against people that own certain breeds of dogs. As of December, 2008, the State of New York has 5 bills pending to restrict insurance companies from non renewing or cancelling policies as result of dog ownership. The American Kennel Club has a page on their site that lists states with pending legislation  along with a brief description of the bills:

If you have a dog and are looking to find home or renters insurance here are a few tips:

Contact the insurance department of your state. They will provide you with a listing of all insurance companies licensed to provide home insurance in your state. Once you have the list, you can contact some of the companies to find out their guidelines on dog ownership. If you find the insurance company’s guidelines are too restrictive on the topic of dogs, you may contact the insurance department to confirm and/or report the insurance company.

If it is not against the law and you find it unfair, contact your state representative. 

Insurers are re-evaluating coverage’s for homeowners who share their living spaces with certain breeds. In New York State, there are a number of companies that will provide home insurance and renters insurance regardless of the type of dog you own. Your starting point on this should be State Farm Insurance and http://www.insurancelongisland.net/ which do not restrict or surcharge based on dog ownership. Above all, you should be aware of this issue if you are thinking about purchasing insurance and make sure you fully disclose this to your agent so that he/she makes sure you are properly insured.

 

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Find out the Rating of Your Insurance Company

When you are in the market for home insurance or renters insurance in New York City or anywhere in New York for that matter, it’s important to not only check the price of coverage, but also to check the  insurance company ratings. Ratings give you information about a company’s financial strength, customer service record, claims records, and more valuable information that you can use when you shop for insurance.

By taking the time to check these ratings, you can select the best company with the best rates and the most affordable coverage.

 

How to Check Ratings

It’s very easy to check the ratings of insurance companies, especially if you go online.

 

Find out how many complaints have been lodged against insurance companies.  The New York State Department of Insurance will tell you how many complaints have been lodged against insurance companies. You will also be able to determine whether the company is actually “admitted ” in New York to do business.  To see how the companies stack up, click here.

 

Find out what consumers think of their insurance company.  J.D. Power conducts consumer surveys and then rates companies on their policy offerings, cost, billing and payment policies, and ease of contacting an agent. 

To see how they rate Home Insurance companies, click here. 

To see how they rate Auto Insurance companies, click here. 

To see how the companies rate on the customer’s buying experience, click here. 

To see how the companies rate when it comes to claims processing, click here.

 

Find out how financially stable your insurance company is.  A.M. Best Company, which evaluates the strength of insurance companies on a scale from AAA (extremely strong) to CC (extremely weak). They also include a rating of R for Under Regulatory Supervision.  To view their ratings, click here.

 

Standard & Poor’s, which looks at an insurance company’s ability to pay claims and meet financial obligations on a scale from AAA (very strong financial security characteristics) to BBB (good financial security characteristics). To see their ratings, click here.

 

 

Using Ratings When You Shop for Insurance

Checking home insurance and renters insurance company ratings will help you narrow down your choices when you shop for insurance, especially if you shop on the phone or online to gather information.

 

Why use a reputable company that is financially stable?

Although the answer is obvious, many people are attracted to the lowest rate that they have been quoted. This, of course, may not be the wisest decision as the company may have poor service, high complaint ratio’s and may be financially unstable. Therefore we recommend you do your research, speak to an actual agent that is accessible and knowledgeable, get a few quotes and then make a decision on which company to choose. State Farm Insurance has served policyholders for over 50 years and their service exceptional-this should be your starting point.

 

We know that ratings and customers’ opinions are valuable.  Please check out the reviews posted about our office:

Reviews written about Long Island Insurance

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What’s Covered In An Auto Insurance Policy

 

An auto insurance policy generally consists of several kinds of coverage’s and will vary by state. A general description of the coverage’s are as follows:

• Bodily injury liability: for injuries the policyholder causes to someone else. This coverage also pays legal defense and court costs.
  • Medical, or in some states, Personal Injury Protection (PIP) for treatment of injuries to covered persons. At its broadest, PIP can cover medical payments, lost wages and the cost of replacing services normally performed by someone injured in an auto accident.
  • Property damage liability, for damage the policyholder caused to someone else’s property.
  • Collision, for damage to the policyholder’s car from a collision with another vehicle, an object or a vehicle rollover.
  • Comprehensive, for damage to the policyholder’s car that doesn’t involve a collision with another car, object or vehicle rollover. Covered risks may include fire, theft, falling objects, flood, hail and hitting an animal.
  • Uninsured motorists coverage, which pays for damages when a covered person is injured in an auto accident caused by a driver who does not have Liability insurance. The application of this coverage will vary by State.

No state requires car owners to carry insurance for all these risks. But many states require drivers to carry minimum amount of liability insurance for bodily injury and property damage, as well as personal injury protection coverage.

In New York, the limits required by law for automobile insurance are 25/50/10. The first two figures refer to bodily injury liability and the third figure to property damage liability. For example, $50,000 for all persons injured in a single accident, subject to a limit of $25,000 for one individual, and $10,000 coverage for property damage.

 

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