Does Getting a Dog Raise Your Home Insurance? What Dog Owners Should Know

Americans love their dogs, and insurers keep a close eye on the bill. In 2025, liability claims tied to dog bites and other dog-related injuries cost homeowners insurers $1.862 billion, according to the Insurance Information Institute, 2025. That same year, the number of dog bite claims jumped to 28,450 from 22,658 the year before, a striking increase that helps explain why carriers ask about your pet at all (Insurance Information Institute, 2025).

Here is the reassuring part: the average dog-related injury claim ran $65,450 in 2025, and almost all of that is paid by the personal liability coverage already built into a standard home or renters policy (Insurance Information Institute, 2025). So bringing home a puppy usually does not raise your base premium. What a dog can change is your liability exposure, your eligibility with certain carriers, and what your rate looks like after a claim. Let's break down each piece.

Does a dog actually raise your premium?

For most owners, no, at least not directly. Your homeowners or renters premium is driven mainly by your property, your location, your claims history, and your coverage limits, not by the fact that a friendly Labrador sleeps on the couch. A dog does not usually get its own line item that bumps the base rate.

Where dogs matter is on the liability side of the policy. Personal liability coverage pays if your dog bites someone, knocks over a guest, or injures another pet, and those payouts are large enough that insurers underwrite them carefully. When a rate change does happen because of a dog, it tends to be modest for most breeds. One analysis found home insurance rates rise only about 1% on average for owning a restricted breed (ValuePenguin, 2025). The bigger risks are not a few extra dollars a month, but a coverage exclusion, a declined application, or a non-renewal, which we cover below. If you want the wider picture on what moves rates, our guide to why insurance rates are going up puts dog risk in context.

Why insurers care about your dog

It comes down to liability math. Dog-related injuries are one of the largest sources of homeowners liability payouts in the country, and the claims are both frequent and expensive. With nearly 28,450 claims averaging over $65,000 in 2025, dogs represent a real and predictable cost that carriers price into their underwriting (Insurance Information Institute, 2025).

Important nuance: this is a homeowners and renters issue, not an auto issue. Your car insurance does not care whether you own a dog (aside from a dog riding loose in the car being a distraction). Coverage for a bite or a dog-caused injury lives in the personal liability section of your property policy, which is exactly why disclosing the pet to the right insurer matters.

Blacklisted and restricted breeds

Some carriers keep a list of breeds they consider higher risk, sometimes called "restricted" or "blacklisted" breeds. Commonly named breeds include pit bull types, Rottweilers, Doberman pinschers, German shepherds, Akitas, chow chows, Great Danes, Siberian huskies, Alaskan malamutes, Presa Canarios, and wolf hybrids (ValuePenguin, 2025).

These lists are not universal, and they are increasingly controversial because a dog's behavior depends far more on training and history than on breed alone. A handful of carriers, including some large national ones, take a breed-neutral approach and underwrite based on an individual dog's bite history rather than its breed. That difference is your biggest lever if you own a listed breed: the same dog can be uninsurable at one company and perfectly acceptable at another.

How carriers commonly handle dogs

When a breed or a bite record does come into play, insurers generally respond in one of four ways. Here is how those responses typically map to different situations.

Situation	Typical carrier treatment	What it means for you
Standard breed, no bite history	Covered normally, no surcharge	Your dog is included in liability coverage at your usual rate
Commonly-restricted breed, no bites	Small surcharge, a liability exclusion for the dog, or declined at strict carriers	Coverage varies widely; shopping a breed-neutral insurer often solves it
Any breed with a prior bite claim	Dog excluded from liability, higher premium, or non-renewal	The dog, not the breed, is now the flag; expect tighter terms
Undisclosed dog involved in a claim	Claim may be denied; policy may be cancelled	Non-disclosure can void the very coverage you are counting on

Source: general carrier practices summarized from Insurance Information Institute and ValuePenguin, 2025. Individual insurer rules vary by state and company.

The three tools carriers reach for are a surcharge (you pay a bit more but stay covered), an exclusion (the policy stands, but dog-bite liability is carved out), or declination/non-renewal (they will not write or renew the policy). An exclusion is the sneaky one: you keep paying premiums and assume you are protected, then discover after a bite that this exact risk was removed. Always read your liability section for breed language.

What a bite claim does to your future rates

This is where a dog most clearly affects your wallet. A single paid liability claim, dog-related or not, marks you as a higher risk at renewal. After a bite claim you may see a premium increase, a liability exclusion added for the dog, or a non-renewal that forces you to shop elsewhere, often into a higher-priced market. Because the average payout tops $65,000, insurers treat these claims seriously (Insurance Information Institute, 2025). If you ever do face a dog-related incident, our walkthrough on how to file a homeowners insurance claim can help you handle it cleanly.

Renters: your dog is covered too

If you rent, your renters policy includes the same personal liability coverage that a homeowners policy does, and it follows you and your dog even away from home in most cases. The same breed rules and disclosure requirements apply. Because renters insurance is inexpensive, raising your liability limit is one of the cheapest protections a dog owner can buy. Start with our overview of affordable renters insurance if you do not have a policy yet.

Where an umbrella policy fits in

Standard liability limits, often $100,000 to $300,000, can be swallowed whole by a serious bite claim. A severe injury with surgery, lost wages, and pain-and-suffering can easily run past those limits, and you are personally on the hook for the rest. A personal umbrella policy sits on top of your home or renters liability and adds $1 million or more of protection. It is remarkably affordable: coverage starts around $200 per year for $1 million, with the average policy near $380 for $1 to $2 million (NerdWallet, 2026).

For dog owners specifically, an umbrella is one of the best-value moves available. We walk through a real dog-bite example in is umbrella insurance worth it, which shows how quickly a friendly dog on a bad day can exceed a base policy. Just confirm the umbrella does not carve out your breed, and that your underlying liability meets the insurer's minimum, often $300,000 (NerdWallet, 2026).

A dog owner's coverage checklist

A few practical steps keep you protected without overpaying:

• Disclose the dog. Tell your insurer the breed honestly. Hiding it can void a claim and cancel your policy.
• Read your liability section. Look for any breed exclusion or animal-liability limit before you assume you are covered.
• Raise your liability limit. Moving from $100,000 to $300,000 usually costs little and closes a dangerous gap.
• Add an umbrella policy. A million dollars of extra protection for a couple hundred dollars a year is hard to beat for a dog owner.
• Invest in training. A Canine Good Citizen certification or documented obedience training can help with breed-neutral carriers.
• Shop breed-neutral insurers. If your dog is on a restricted list, compare carriers that underwrite by behavior, not breed.

Before you renew or bring home a new dog, it is worth a quick coverage review. Take five minutes to check your liability limits and ask an advisor whether your breed and umbrella coverage line up with the risk. Our homeowners insurance checklist is a good companion for that conversation.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to tell my insurance company I got a dog?

Yes. Disclosing your dog and its breed is expected, and failing to do so can be treated as misrepresentation. If an undisclosed dog is involved in a claim, the insurer may deny the payout or cancel your policy, which defeats the entire purpose of carrying coverage.

What dog breeds are not covered by homeowners insurance?

There is no national banned list, but breeds commonly restricted include pit bull types, Rottweilers, Doberman pinschers, German shepherds, Akitas, chow chows, Great Danes, huskies, and wolf hybrids (ValuePenguin, 2025). Rules vary widely, and some carriers cover every breed and judge each dog on its own history.

How much does a dog raise your home insurance?

Usually very little. For most dogs there is no direct increase, and even a restricted breed adds only about 1% on average (ValuePenguin, 2025). The real financial hit comes after a bite claim, which can raise your premium or lead to non-renewal.

Does renters insurance cover dog bites?

In most cases, yes. The personal liability portion of a renters policy covers dog bites and dog-related injuries, subject to the same breed restrictions and limits as a homeowners policy. Confirm your breed is not excluded and consider raising your liability limit.

Will one dog bite claim raise my premium?

It can. A paid liability claim flags you as higher risk, so you may face a premium increase, a liability exclusion added for the dog, or a non-renewal at your next term. Given that the average dog injury claim exceeded $65,000 in 2025, insurers react strongly to these claims (Insurance Information Institute, 2025).

Do I need umbrella insurance if I have a dog?

It is one of the smartest buys a dog owner can make. Standard liability limits can be exhausted by a serious bite, and an umbrella adds $1 million or more for around $200 to $380 a year (NerdWallet, 2026). See do I need umbrella insurance to gauge your own exposure.

The bottom line

Getting a dog rarely raises your base home or renters premium, but it does raise the stakes on your liability coverage. With dog-related claims costing insurers $1.86 billion in 2025 and averaging over $65,000 each, the smart play is not to hide your pet but to cover it well (Insurance Information Institute, 2025). Disclose the dog, check for breed exclusions, raise your liability limit, and add an affordable umbrella policy. Do those four things and your best friend stays a joy, not a financial risk.