What's happening
This bill prohibits insurers from denying or canceling homeowner's or renter's insurance based solely on a dog's breed.
Why it matters
Protects dog owners from insurance discrimination. The bill ensures that homeowners and renters cannot be denied, canceled, or non-renewed insurance coverage solely because of the breed of dog they own, which addresses longstanding concerns about breed-based stigma and fairness.
Shifts insurance risk assessment to actual behavior. Insurers must base liability coverage decisions and pricing on sound underwriting and actuarial principles, rather than breed stereotypes, potentially leading to fairer and more individualized risk evaluations.
Exception for legally-designated dangerous dogs. The bill allows insurers to deny or alter coverage if a dog has officially been determined “dangerous” under New York’s agriculture and markets law, maintaining protections for public safety while preventing blanket breed bans.
Applies broadly and immediately. The new rules would apply to all relevant insurance policies issued, renewed, or amended after the law takes effect, ensuring that both new and existing policyholders benefit from these protections.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Ban Dog Breed Insurance Discrimination
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to insurance
- Referred to insurance
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Ban Dog Breed Insurance Discrimination
In Senate Committee · Insurance · Sponsor Brad Hoylman-Sigal
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1025
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 14, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. L. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Insurance
AN ACT to amend the insurance law, in relation to prohibiting insurers from cancelling, refusing to issue or renew homeowner's insurance and renters insurance based on the breed of dog owned
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The insurance law is amended by adding a new section 3421 to read as follows:
§ 3421. Homeowner's liability insurance and renters insurance; dogs. No insurer issuing a policy or contract insuring against liability for injury to any person, or injury to or destruction of property arising out of ownership or lease of residential one, two, three or four dwelling real property, including renters insurance, shall refuse to issue, renew or cancel for such a policy or contract based, in whole or in part, upon the harboring of any specific breed or breeds of dog or dogs upon such real property or rental. The rates for that portion of any such policy or contract which insures against liability for injury to any person, or injury to or destruction of property shall be based on sound underwriting and actuarial principles. However, if any such dog has been designated as a dangerous dog pursuant to section one hundred twenty-three of the agriculture and markets law, the provisions of this section shall in no manner prohibit an insurer from refusing to issue or renew or from cancelling any such contract or policy, nor from imposing an increased premium or rate for such a policy or contract based on sound underwriting and actuarial principles reasonably related to actual or anticipated loss experience subject to the applicable provisions of section three thousand four hundred twenty-five of this article.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to all policies issued, renewed, modified, altered or amended on or after such date.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02589-01-9
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.