Help! This is crazy.  There are so many other breeds of dogs that bite.  What can we do to fight against this injustice against dogs?  We need to fight against the irresponsible owners of all breeds, not just make it impossible for responsible owners to keep the breed that they want just because the media makes that breed out to be monsters and says little or nothing about the owners in the cases of dogs biting.

I agree that this punishes responsible owners... But, it's also hard to compete with dog-biting or dog-attack statistics. Insurers are all about risk, and the risk is higher with a bigger, stronger dog that comes from a breed that is designed to attack or bite. When "dangerous breeds" are kept without good training for dog and owner, there is the potential for real harm.

All I can say is that those who want to own these animals should be working with their legislators, to find some way to have insurance available even if private insurers pull out.

I am an insurance agent and know the difficulty in placing a client with a Pit Bull.  Each person's state insurance carrier ("the fair plan") will write "dangerous breeds", but the premium can be sometimes double that a standard carrier.

We just purchased our first home in March 2007 (in GA)..when checking with insurance carriers, none of them were concerned with what breeds I owned, and i specifically asked...the only response was 'why are you asking? do they bite?". We got a great policy thru Allstate and State Farm was also willing to insure us (but we got a better rate with Allstate). Some insurance companies will also make exceptions if your dog has passed a Canine Good Citizen test or another type of temprament testing (ATTS).

Glad to hear that some have had a good experience when getting insurance and owning dogs. Here's hoping that more insurance companies will look seriously at the "Canine Good Citizen" test, as well as other temperament testing. Not all dogs who are big are also dangerous.