What's happening
This bill prohibits insurers from denying, cancelling, or refusing homeowner's or renter's insurance based on a dog's breed, except for dogs legally designated as dangerous.
Why it matters
Protects dog owners from insurance discrimination. By preventing insurers from denying, cancelling, or refusing homeowner's or renter's insurance based solely on a dog’s breed, the bill helps ensure that responsible dog owners aren’t penalized for owning certain breeds, which can help keep families and pets together.
Promotes fairness and evidence-based practices in insurance. The bill requires insurance rates and decisions to be based on “sound underwriting and actuarial principles,” not stereotypes about breeds. This encourages insurers to use actual risk data rather than breed-based assumptions, potentially leading to more accurate and just insurance practices.
Maintains public safety exceptions. Insurers are still allowed to deny or alter coverage for dogs legally deemed “dangerous” under existing law. This balances the rights of dog owners with the need to address specific cases where a particular dog, regardless of breed, has been found to pose a real risk.
Applies to all residential policies going forward. The law would affect all relevant insurance policies issued, renewed, or changed after its enactment, giving broad and immediate impact for current and future renters and homeowners with dogs.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Ban Dog Breed Insurance Discrimination
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
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 Assembly Committee · Insurance · Sponsor Linda Rosenthal
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
239
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE (Prefiled)
January 9, 2019
Introduced by Sen. HOYLMAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed 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.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
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
Purpose
This bill prohibits insurers from cancelling or refusing to issue a renters or homeowners insurance policy based on the ownership of a specific breed of dog.
Summary of specific provisions
Section one amends the insurance law is amended by adding a new section 3421.
Section two sets forth the effective date.
Justification
A dog's temperament cannot be fairly predicted based upon its breed. Breed specific insurance qualifications regulate all owners of dogs of all targeted breeds despite substantial evidence that aggression is not a specific breed trait. Aggression may occur in any breed of dog. Thus, cancelling or refusing to issue a homeowners or renters liability insur- ance policy based on the breed of dog residing in the home is an unfair and discriminatory system.
Breed specific regulations may alleviate the anxieties of those who are particularly concerned about the reputation of particular dog breeds; however, breed specific regulation is usually intended to avoid specific types of behavior believed to predominate in the breed. Whether aggression or other behaviors are predictable in certain breeds as to justify separate treatment of the breed is impractical. Such regulation fails to adequately address the real problem: aggressive dogs.
This bill will prohibit insurers from cancelling or refusing to issue a homeowners or renters liability insurance policy based on their owner- ship of a targeted breed of dog.
Legislative history
S.84 of 2017-2018 (Hoylman): Died in Insurance 2015-16: A.561 - Referred to Insurance; S.3620 - Referred to Insurance 2013-14: A.6957 - Referred to Insurance
Fiscal implications
None to the State.
Effective date
This bill shall take effect immediately and shall apply to all policies issued, renewed, modified, altered or amended on or after such date.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.