I think Pitt bulls deserve to live their life with their owners. I have to Pitts with some on the way and i can tell you my dogs have never even tried to bite a person. my 7month old nephew sits with my female pitt and plays with her on the floor and my male is always cleaning him up and kissing him. My family was afraid of pitt bulls untill they actually got to meet mine now they are defending their breed and praising them to everyone.. its not the breed its the owner.. if they are brought up to fight or be very protective they will be but if they are brought up to love and be a good companion they will. Punish the owners for their dog killing someone not the breed. A pug could bite or kill someone but they aren’t on the list. So why is it that pitt bulls are being demolished from state to state. it is wrong i guess every time a person kills or injures another person they should be killed too!!!

Thanks for such a great site! Your information was very helpful to me. I just adopted a Staffordshire Terrier and he’s such a love! I live in Ohio so I have had to deal with all of the laws, including insurance. I did find that State Farm would not cover a “Pit Bull” type breed under homeoweners insurance. They were, however, helpful in understanding my position and I found insurance with The Ohio Insurance Exchange. They do not have a website so you would have to find them in the Yellow Pages but they are very nice and helpful. Thanks again for a wonderful website and I hope this information is helpful to anyone out there looking to give a bully dog a home.

I truly think that people really need to wake up and smell the roses. Pits can be the most loving animals in the world. Yes, I under stand its the owners, not the dogs, punish the owner not the breed. Where I’m from pit bulls saved people; they were used to protect and serve. They were cop dogs - they can be trained and tamed. People should be more careful when selling, go through the background - I mean I wouldn’t sell a dog to someone that I think is going to fight. That is where most of the problems come from because if they were not sold to the criminals then the dog might have a chance of living a good life. I really hate that people are so terrified of pits. I have a pit and he is only a pup, 12 weeks, and I just recently moved with my gf and her parents. They were terrified of him and said things like ‘he is going to get big one day’, and it made me feel good to prove her parents wrong, and show them how smart and nice he can be. Then I had to move him in with my mom because their insurance wanted to drop them. Screw all insurance companies that don’t allow as y’all call it ‘bully breeds’.

i totally agree with everyone on here. i have 3 wondeful pitbulls that would never bite anyone. my landlord,after 3 years of living here, now wants us to get renters insurance that covers our pitbulls and alot of insurance companys are ignorant to the breed, along with many other breeds. i think its totally ridiculous!!

I just bought a pitbull puppy. I am thrilled and in love with him, he is very sweet and comes from a long line of sweet, loving, safe dogs. I am very annoyed at the reactions I get by my choice in a dog. I don’t like having to think of what I will have to do when I buy a house (I’m 22). It’s all hype and hysteria surrounding pitbulls. Lets hope it soon changes.

isn’t this discrimination. not only do these insurance companies make an uneducated and biased decision- likely based on media perception- but they don’t event try to fairly evaluate (ie: a mandatory behavioral assessment by an approved behaviourist at owners cost). it is probably fair to say that they are treating responsible pit-bull owners as if we were drug dealers who are generally involved in dog fighting. i for one would like to see the statistics on the breakdown of pit bulls owners who “viciously” attacked someone. categories could be those involved with drugs/felony/arrests versus persons who have no prior warnings/arrests, etc.
is there any potential for legal action based on discrimination or profiling?

First, I would like to assure you that I am not in favor of breed discrimination.

I work for a national insurance company. Most insurance companies will not accept the following breeds of dogs: American Staffordshire Terriers; Pit Bull Terriers; German Shepherds; Akita; Chow Chow; Huskies; Great Danes; Presa Canario (Canary Dogs); Bull Mastiff; Rottweiler or any mix of the above. Always specifically ask before you take a policy!

Most large insurance companies have actuaries who calculate the level of risk for any given scenarios. Dogs are no different. The dogs on the list are large dogs with the potential to do a great deal of harm if they attack a human. Think about how big a Dane is, for example, compared to a small child. Think also about how intense your Am Staff can be when playing with other dogs. They are also dogs involved in high-profile cases of human attack.

The insurance industry is one of the most heavily regulated industries out there. By and large, they are only allowed to practice such discrimination because they have actual evidence to back it up. If you don’t like it, then you will have to lobby your state insurance regulatory body and your state legislators, because currently the industry is regulated on the state level.

Is it discriminatory? Sure. However, not allowing certain breeds of dogs is similar to not allowing people with certain driving records to hold a policy, too. Some companies do not accept drivers with, say, more than one DUI in 5 years because they are a bigger risk than the company wants to accept. This keeps prices down for those of you with good driving records.

You as the owner are liable for the actions of your dog. That means if some small child antagonizes your dog (despite the fact that you have repeatedly asked the child not to do it) and your dog bites that child’s face, your insurance company will likely pay out for that. If your liability is at $100,000 and the medical expenses + “damages” total more, you can be held responsible for that. Some companies have weird exclusions built into their policies, so READ YOUR POLICY!

All of that being said, I understand that you as responsible dog owners are getting a raw deal. The only way to change that is to, as I said, start with state law. You might even start with your local insurance professionals (agents, for example). If enough insurance agents have a fair, balanced view of certain breeds, then things CAN CHANGE!

its realy good to hear what an employee from an insurance co. has to say. Jill, your right about, “not allowing certain breeds of dogs is similar to not allowing people with certain driving records to hold a policy, too.” thats a good point. when i get on these forums and read about rates going up, or some companies will not accept, “what should i do?” It makes me wonder.. If only all these people, including myslelf,on these posts and other thousands the same, just get together and take your piece of advice and start from the bottom. Talking to the agents, the the local, and even state gov, might change things. But if wont happen if we just keep settling on paying more and even dropping policys.
What happen to protesting?