Insurance companies increasingly restrict coverage for certain dog breeds they consider dangerous. These restrictions can leave dog bite victims without insurance to pursue—even when owners thought they had coverage. Understanding breed-specific policies helps you assess what compensation may be available.
Why Insurers Restrict Certain Breeds
Insurance companies make breed-based decisions based on claims data, bite statistics, and perceived risk. Insurers argue that certain breeds cause more severe injuries and generate larger claims. Whether these classifications are fair is debated, but they significantly impact coverage availability.
From an insurance perspective, dog bite claims are costly—averaging over $50,000 per claim—and certain breeds are associated with a disproportionate share of serious injuries.
Commonly Restricted Breeds
Breeds frequently excluded or restricted include: Pit Bulls and Pit Bull mixes (including American Staffordshire Terriers, American Pit Bull Terriers, and Staffordshire Bull Terriers), Rottweilers, German Shepherds, Doberman Pinschers, Akitas, Chow Chows, Wolf hybrids, Mastiffs, and Great Danes.
Lists vary by insurer—some exclude only a few breeds while others have extensive restrictions. Mixed breeds may be excluded if they have any restricted breed ancestry.
Types of Breed Restrictions
Insurers implement breed policies in different ways:
Full exclusion: The policy won't cover any incidents involving the excluded breed. If the dog bites someone, there's simply no coverage.
Policy denial: The insurer won't issue a policy at all to households with restricted breeds.
Higher premiums: Some insurers cover restricted breeds but charge significantly more.
Liability limits: Coverage may be provided but capped at lower amounts for restricted breeds.
Conditional coverage: Coverage requires specific conditions like completing obedience training, maintaining a fenced yard, or carrying additional liability insurance.
Impact on Dog Bite Victims
Breed exclusions can leave victims without insurance to pursue. If you're bitten by a restricted breed and the owner's policy excludes that breed, your only recourse may be suing the owner personally—which is only worthwhile if they have substantial assets.
This creates a troubling situation where bites from breeds insurers consider most dangerous may be the hardest to recover compensation for.
Undisclosed Dogs
Some dog owners fail to disclose their pets to insurers—either accidentally or to avoid restrictions. If the owner didn't disclose the dog on their insurance application, the insurer may deny coverage when a bite occurs. The insurer may argue the policy was obtained through fraud or that coverage was never properly in place for dog-related incidents.
Coverage Disputes
Insurance companies and dog owners sometimes dispute breed identification. Mixed breeds are particularly problematic—is a dog with some Pit Bull ancestry a "Pit Bull" for exclusion purposes? DNA testing may be relevant, and insurers may use visual assessment (which is often unreliable) to deny claims.
If there's a dispute about whether your attacker's breed is covered, an attorney can help argue for coverage.
Owner Liability Without Insurance
Owners of excluded breeds remain personally liable for attacks even without insurance coverage. You can sue them directly, but collecting depends on their personal assets. Many dog owners without insurance lack sufficient assets to pay significant judgments—creating situations where severely injured victims recover little or nothing.
State Laws and Breed Restrictions
Some states regulate breed-based insurance restrictions. A few states have banned breed-specific insurance discrimination, requiring insurers to base decisions on individual dog behavior rather than breed. Check whether your state limits breed restrictions—if so, insurers may be required to provide coverage regardless of breed.
Alternative Insurance Options
Owners of restricted breeds have some insurance options:
Specialty insurers: Some companies specialize in covering "high-risk" breeds that mainstream insurers won't cover.
Umbrella policies: Separate umbrella policies may provide coverage when homeowners policies exclude the breed.
Canine liability insurance: Standalone dog liability policies cover specific dogs regardless of breed.
Investigating Coverage
Don't assume there's no coverage. Work with an attorney to investigate what insurance the dog owner has, whether breed exclusions actually apply, whether the owner has umbrella or specialty coverage, and whether state law requires coverage despite breed restrictions. Thorough investigation sometimes reveals coverage where none seemed to exist initially.