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You can make a difference. Families shouldn’t have to choose between a home and their pet.
Looking for an insurance company that doesn’t have breed restrictions – click here.
Be confident in exercising your rights as a consumer. Every state has an insurance commissioner, who is tasked with protecting your interests from unethical or discriminatory insurance practices. You can make a positive impact by reaching out to your state’s insurance commissioner and sharing the negative impact that breed restrictions have had on you, your family, or your community. Our insurance commissioner should have up-to-date information on the impact of insurance company policies and practices when making recommendations to insurance companies. Let your story be heard and be confident that you are taking a step towards creating more inclusive insurance policies for all dog owners . Their job is to protect you, not big business. Click on your state to find contact information for your state commissioner.
States in YELLOW have a law prohibiting insurance companies from using breed as a factor in insurance coverage.
Dear [INSURANCE COMMISSIONER NAME]:
I am writing to you because [INSURANCE COMPANY NAMES] has denied me insurance coverage because my pet dog is assumed to be a risk. [INSURANCE COMPANY] discriminated against me because of a breed label as they have never met my dog nor does my dog have any history of causing injury. I am a loving and responsible dog owner. When insurance companies exclude my dog they are excluding me. ” *Then you can go on to tell your commissioner about your dog and how important your dog is to you and your family. You can also talk about how being denied insurance has affected you.
Physical appearance and breed labels do not predict behavior. Insurance companies should be prohibited from discriminating against pet owners like me.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation and prompt attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
[YOUR NAME]
also consider including a photo of you and your dog.
Click on your state below for a link to your states online insurance complaint form.
States in green already have a law prohibiting insurance companies from using breed as a factor in insurance coverage.
Complaint forms can seem lengthy, however only a few fields are actually required to submit. If you don’t have all of the information they ask for, you can usually skip those sections. The most important thing is to make your point in the “details of the complaint” and “desired resolution” sections.
Here are examples on how to respond to those two sections.
Details of Complaint:
“[INSURANCE COMPANY NAME’S] has denied me insurance coverage because my pet dog is assumed to be a risk. [INSURANCE COMPANY] discriminated against me solely because of a breed label as they have never met my dog nor does my dog have any history of causing injury. I am a loving and responsible dog owner. When insurance companies exclude my dog they are excluding me. ”
Then you can go on to tell your commissioner about your dog and how important your dog is to you and your family. You can also talk about how being denied insurance has affected you.
Desired Resolution:
Physical appearance and breed labels do not predict behavior. It is my hope that you will consider the information I have included and prohibit insurance companies from discriminating against pet owners like me. You can include this link for your commissioners to reference the research: https://bit.ly/3Blv5UC
Upload Section:
Your complaint form may have an upload section. Here you want to include proof of denial, if you have it. Including screenshots from insurance websites showing you were denied. You can upload a photo of you and your dog. You can also attach this downloadable PDF of research supporting your claim.