Good question.

Pretty much every carrier will refuse to insure a Los Angeles home if the occupant owns an aggressive breed of dog. Pit-bulls, Rottweilers, Presa Canarios, Dobermans and Akitas are on pretty much all carriers’ lists of unacceptable breeds.

Most carriers will write insurance on a home if there is a dog breed other than those present, provided the dog has no history of biting a person.

For your sake – if you rent to a tenant who has a dog – I would recommend a stipulation in the lease that they maintain liability insurance and name you as additional insured. This means that if you are named in a lawsuit because their dog bites someone their insurance company will defend you as part of the lawsuit. If the tenant is uninsured and their dog bites someone (assuming the dog is not one of the unacceptable breeds mentioned above), you would essentially be insuring your tenant’s dog (not good for you). If the tenant owns one of the unacceptable breeds listed above, your policy would not cover it and theirs wouldn’t either. So any defense costs incurred to fight the lawsuit you would have to pay personally.

I hope this info helps and paints a clearer picture for you. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help further.

Expert advice provided by:

Jake DeGennaro

Managing Broker, DG Insurance – Insurance sales License # 0G72965

Managing Broker, Gateway Realty – Real Estate sales License # 01860562