Did you know that home insurance companies can discriminate against pet owners coverage based on their dog breed?
That is no longer an issue in New York state, where the new law has been passed.
Follow Times Union, pet owners are celebrating the passage of legislation that states that home insurance providers can no longer deny coverage to pet owners based on their dog breed.
Before this law was passed, insurance companies had the right to refuse to cover homeowners if they felt that certain breeds were likely to become “aggressive”. Pitbulls are often the target of these policies, as are German shepherds and Doberman hounds.
Under the old law, insurance companies could also increase premiums based on the type of dog the owner had.
For a while, animal rights activists have been lobbying for a ban on these allowances on the grounds that stereotypes about the breed are actually harmful. They note that aggressive dogs stem from environmental factors rather than their genetics.
In addition, animal rights groups also share that punishing pet owners for discriminatory behavior by dog breed can have an indirect impact on eradicating difficult dog breeds. Pitbulls happen to make up a large number of all shelter dogs, and with laws or policies that target the breed, they can discourage potential owners from adopting them.
But in October 2021, a law banning discrimination between breeds was signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul and recently went into effect.
While this may be a win for pet owners in New York, there are still other states where certain breeds are stigmatized. For example, in certain areas of Florida, gaur is completely banned. Hopefully the passage of this new law will help things start to change across the country.
What do you think of the new law? Let us know!
