Editing Pit bull (section)

=== Liability insurance ===
Dog owners in the United States can be held [[Legal liability|legally liable]] for injuries inflicted or caused by their dogs. In general, owners are considered liable if they were unreasonably careless in handling or restraining the dog, or if they knew beforehand that the dog had a tendency to cause injury (e.g., bite); however, dog owners are automatically considered liable if local laws hold an owner [[Strict liability|strictly liable]] for all damage caused by their dog, regardless of carelessness or foreknowledge of a dog's tendencies. Homeowners and renters insurance policies typically provide liability coverage from US$100,000–300,000 for injuries inflicted by dogs;<ref name="Insurance Information Institute">{{cite web |title=Dog Bite Liability |publisher=[[Insurance Information Institute]] |date=September 2009 |url=http://www.iii.org/media/hottopics/insurance/dogbite/ |access-date=September 24, 2009 |archive-date=June 15, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090615052434/http://www.iii.org/media/hottopics/insurance/dogbite/ |url-status=live }}</ref> however, some insurance companies limit their exposure to dog bite liability claims by putting restrictions on dog owners that they insure. These restrictions include refusing to cover dog bites under the insurance policy, increasing insurance rates for homeowners with specific breeds, requiring owners of specific breeds to take special training or have their dogs pass the American Kennel Club [[Canine Good Citizen]] test,<ref>{{cite web |title=Homeowners Insurance Available to Breeds Previously Excluded with CGC Certification |publisher=[[American Kennel Club]] |date=October 1, 2004 |url=http://www.akc.org/news/index.cfm?article_id=2408 |access-date=February 4, 2009 |archive-date=September 14, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100914051327/http://www.akc.org/news/index.cfm?article_id=2408 |url-status=live }}</ref> requiring owners to restrict their dogs with muzzles, chains, or enclosures, and refusing to write policies for homeowners or renters who have specific breeds of dogs.<ref name="Insurance Information Institute" />

Owners of rental properties may also be held liable if they knew an aggressive dog was living on their property and they did nothing to ensure the safety of other tenants at the property; as a result, many rental properties forbid pit bull–type dogs and any other breeds if the rental property's insurance will not cover damage inflicted by that type of dog.{{cn|date=April 2024}} The dog breeds most often not covered by insurance companies include pit bull–type dogs, Rottweilers, German Shepherd Dogs, [[Dobermann|Doberman Pinscher]]s, Akitas ([[Akita Inu]] and [[American Akita]]s), and [[Chow Chow]]s.<ref>{{cite web |first=Brian |last=Sodergren |title=Insurance companies unfairly target specific dog breeds |publisher=[[Humane Society of the United States]] |url=http://www.hsus.org/pets/issues_affecting_our_pets/insurance_companies_unfairly_target_specific_dog_breeds.html |access-date=August 12, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090707221314/http://www.hsus.org/pets/issues_affecting_our_pets/insurance_companies_unfairly_target_specific_dog_breeds.html |archive-date=July 7, 2009}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=October 2021}}

In 2013, [[Farmers Insurance]] notified policyholders in California that it would no longer cover bites by pit bulls, Rottweilers and [[Wolfdog|wolf-dog hybrid]]s. A spokeswoman for Farmers said that those groups account for more than a quarter of the agency's dog bite claims.<ref name=Gephardt/>