Can Having Pets Affect The Price Of Your Home Insurance?
When you get a quote for home insurance, you should expect the agent to ask you a lot of questions before he or she can give you an amount. As the agent asks the questions, he or she might come to a section relating to pets. You might not realize this, but the pets you have could affect the price you pay for your home insurance, and here are several things to know about this.
Home insurance includes liability coverage
Liability coverage is a standard part of a home insurance policy, and the purpose of liability coverage is to protect you against injuries that occur on your property from accidents. If a guest comes to your home and is injured, it is your home insurance that will pay the claim for the injuries if the person sues you or asks for compensation. Liability coverage is important to have, and this is one of the reasons your pets can affect the amount you pay for your home insurance.
How pets affect your premiums
Most average people have pets like fish, birds, hamsters, cats, and dogs. Dogs are generally the main type of pet that impacts the cost of your homeowners insurance. However, having wild animals can also affect your rates. Most people do not have wild animals living at their homes, though. If you do, it may be hard to find an insurance company that will even offer home insurance to you.
Dogs can pose risks to insurance companies due to the injuries they can cause from biting or attacking people. Because of this, insurance companies may charge higher rates on home insurance for people with dogs. If a person's dog bites someone, the insurance company may have to pay a lot of money for the claim.
Insurance costs are based on risk levels, but it is important to know that insurance companies do not view all dogs as high risks. In fact, insurance companies are fine with most dogs. There are just a few different breeds that are known to cause the majority of dog bite cases, and these include pit bulls, Rottweilers, and Doberman Pinschers. Some insurance companies will not even offer insurance coverage if you own one of these dogs, but others will; the premiums will just be higher.
If you have a pet dog and are not sure how it will affect your rates, talk to a home insurance agent to find out.
For more information, you will want to check out a website such as http://gateway-insurance.com.
