Second, the CDC mainly focuses on deaths caused by dogs and according to their statistics dogs claim 10-20 lives a year (http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Insu... . While such incidents are deeply tragic, on the whole they are fairly rare. You stand a greater chance of dying from a fall in your house, not to mention driving in your car. There really isn't a comprehensive list of all of the dog bites in the country. Some communities try to keep track of the type of breed involved, some don't. Also, in those communities that try to keep track, the trend is usually that the most common breed in the area is also responsible for most bites. For example, several years ago in my town there was a major influx of chow mixes. So it wasn't surprising when the local humane society released a statement that, when viewing statistics, the chow mixes were responsible for more bites within my county than any other type of dog.
However, insurance blacklists can be even more insidious than BSL for the very reason that the companies are usually within their rights to instate them or change them at any time. Whereas communities considering BSL usually give the public a chance to give their opinion, insurance companies do not. One of the criticisms of BSL is that once a breed is targeted, it is fairly easy for lawmakers to add other breeds to that legislature. It's even easier for a private insurance company, which doesn't answer to voters, to add more breeds to their blacklists. Likewise, even if you live in a state where laws targeting specific dog breeds are prohibited, your insurance company could still have the right to single out your dog.
Hope is out there
First off, not all insurance companies use blacklists. State Farm and Farmers are two major carriers that focus on the individual dog's temperament instead of the breed as a whole. There are also some smaller companies that are more concerned if a dog has had previous bite incident than the dog's breed.
Also, within the past few years, several states have enacted laws prohibiting insurance carriers from denying coverage based solely on the breed of dog a person owns. Those states include New York, Washington, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. In my own state, Tennessee, such a law is pending. I sincerely hope it passes.
Just within the past few weeks, a major insurance company, Nationwide, revised it's own blacklist. This company is now willing to insure Rottweilers and "pit bulls" that have earned a Canine Good Citizen certificate from the AKC. The CGC is a test that the AKC makes available to all dogs, no matter what their breed or mix. Basically a temperament test showing that the dog knows how to behave in public, the CGC shows that the owner has taken the time to train and socialize their dog. Personally, I applaud a policy that encourages responsible dog ownership and weeds out those dangerous people who want a "status symbol" and not a pet.
