{"id":172387,"date":"2025-04-05T20:36:18","date_gmt":"2025-04-05T20:36:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/business\/insurance\/goodbye-%f0%9f%91%8b-specific-dog-breed-exclusions-in-new-york\/"},"modified":"2025-04-05T20:36:18","modified_gmt":"2025-04-05T20:36:18","slug":"goodbye-%f0%9f%91%8b-specific-dog-breed-exclusions-in-new-york","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=172387","title":{"rendered":"Goodbye \ud83d\udc4b Specific Dog Breed Exclusions in New York"},"content":{"rendered":"


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In November 2021 I blogged about<\/a> the signing into law new section 3421 of the New York Insurance Law,\u00a0effective January 28, 2022, which provided:<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00a7 3421. Homeowners’ liability insurance; dogs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a01. With respect to homeowners’ insurance policies as defined in section two thousand three hundred fifty-one of this chapter, no insurer shall refuse to issue or renew, cancel, or charge or impose an increased premium or rate for such policy or contract based solely upon harboring or owning any dog of a specific breed or mixture of breeds.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

2. The provisions of this section shall not prohibit an insurer from refusing to issue or renew or from canceling any such contract or policy, nor from imposing a reasonably increased premium or rate for such a policy or contract based upon the designation of a dog of any breed or mixture of breeds as a dangerous dog pursuant to section one hundred twenty-three of the agriculture and markets law, 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.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I mentioned then that the new law mentioned\u00a0only underwriting functions, not claims–making it illegal to refuse to\u00a0<\/span>issue\u00a0<\/b>or\u00a0<\/span>renew\u00a0<\/b>a policy, or to\u00a0<\/span>cancel\u00a0<\/b>or\u00a0<\/span>charge more premium\u00a0<\/b>for a policy based on a policyholder’s or prospective policyholder’s “harboring or owning any dog of a specific breed or mixture of breeds.”\u00a0 There was nothing in the new statute expressly prohibiting insurers from including a canine exclusion in a New York homeowners policy or in denying coverage based on such an exclusion.<\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n

That was then.\u00a0 This is now.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

On December 15, 2022, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law A9284\/S8315A<\/a>, amending subsection 1 of section 3421 as follows (added language in red CAPS):<\/p>\n

1. With respect to homeowners’ insurance policies as defined in
\n section two thousand three hundred fifty-one of this chapter, no insurer
\n shall refuse to issue or renew, cancel, or charge or impose an increased
\n premium or rate for such policy or contract, OR EXCLUDE, LIMIT,
\n RESTRICT, OR REDUCE COVERAGE UNDER SUCH POLICY OR CONTRACT <\/span>based solely
\n upon harboring or owning any dog of a specific breed or mixture of
\n breeds.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The bill’s Summary explained that the bill “[c]larifies the insurance law in such a manner as to prohibit
\ninsurance companies from excluding, limiting, restricting, or reducing
\ncoverage on a homeowners’ insurance policy based on ownership of a
\nparticular <\/b><\/i>breed of dog.” (my emphasis)\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Clarifies, my ass.\u00a0 It ADDS to the insurance law.\u00a0 We’ll call it a legislative mulligan.\u00a0 Wouldn’t be the first and won’t be the last time legislative drafting missed its intended mark.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

In any event, the amended Insurance Law \u00a73421 took effect on March 15, 2023<\/b>.<\/p>\n

Does someone in Albany read my blog?\u00a0 Probably not, but the original 3421’s scope clearly was limited only to the underwriting function.\u00a0 That’s been enlarged to include the claims function.<\/p>\n

It is important to note, however, that the amended law:<\/p>\n