100 signatures reached
To: Arkansas Insurance Commissioner
End Arkansas Insurance Breed Discrimination
Please sign this petition to the Arkansas Insurance Commissioner asking for his support for the National Association of Insurance Commissioners to issue a data call and moratorium on breed discrimination. These practices negatively impact certain pets and their families. People should not have to be underinsured, uninsured or give up their dogs to have affordable renters or homeowner’s insurance.
Why is this important?
Currently, responsible pet owners of particular breeds or mixes of dog get charged extra premiums, get denied insurance coverage, or may be dropped from their insurance company. These policies are all based upon the breed, or what breed the dog APPEARS to be. The practice of using breed as a predictor of risk is unsupported by reliable data.
There is a wide range of dogs falling within the category of “risk” breeds including Boxers, Giant Schnauzers, German Shepherds, Chows, Great Danes, Alaskan Malamutes, American Staffordshire Terriers, Akitas,Cane Corsos, American Bulldogs, Belgian Malinois, Keeshonds, Rhodesian Ridgebacks, Ovtcharkas, Siberian Huskies, Dobermans, Pit Bulls, Dalmatians, Rottweilers, Australian Cattle dogs and more.
The NAIC should protect pet-owning consumers. Insurance companies should focus on the behavior of the dog. Dogs with aggressive behavior should not be protected by any moratorium.
This is important because dogs are viewed by the vast majority of Americans as part of the family, and the ability for people to keep families together should be protected. Breed discriminatory insurance practices can cause responsible pet owners to be unable to keep their dogs, and cause an increase in the amount of pets in shelters.
The likelihood a dog will bite is based on many factors such as socialization of the dog, obedience training, supervision provided by the owner, and how the victim interacts with the dog. It has not been proven by scientific evidence that aggressive behavior is present in any particular breed of dog. Insurance companies that want to reduce risk should focus solely on behavior.