3 Tips For Preventing Your Dog From Increasing Your Homeowners Insurance Rates
When you think about the cost of owning a dog, you might think about the cost of things like buying a dog, buying dog food, and paying for vet bills. What you might not realize, however, is that your dog can cost you money in other ways that you might not have even thought about as well, such as by causing your homeowners' insurance rates to go up. These are a few tips that can help you prevent this from happening or that can help you ensure that the increase is minimal.
1. Choose the Right Breed
If you don't have a dog yet but are thinking about getting one, you may want to be careful about the breed that you choose. Some homeowners insurance companies consider certain breeds, such as pit bulls, to be "vicious." If you adopt or buy a dog from one of these breeds, your homeowners' insurance company could cancel your policy, or you could face serious increases. The list of breeds varies from company to company, so you may want to call your homeowners' insurance agent first to ask. Then, you can avoid certain breeds that would cause issues with your homeowners' insurance company when you do choose a dog to take home.
2. Make Sure Your Dog is Secured
Your homeowners' insurance agent might ask about whether or not your dog is secured when it is outside since a well-secured dog can be less likely to cause problems for others. Consider installing a sturdy fence for your dog and posting a "Beware of Dog" sign. Not only can this make your insurance agent happy, but it can also protect you from liability, protect others in your neighborhood from being bitten and can help you keep your dog safe.
3. Ensure Your Dog is Well-Trained
If your dog bites someone, you could face a lot of serious consequences because of it, including lawsuits and homeowners insurance increases. Therefore, it's a good idea to make sure that your dog is well-trained and well-socialized so that you can prevent this type of problem. There is a lot of information online that can help you with this, or you can hire a professional dog trainer to help.
As you can see, there are ways that you can avoid a homeowners insurance rate increase because of your dog. Plus, following these steps can help make dog ownership a little bit easier for you in other ways as well.