Homeowners insurance is canceled because I breed snakes

I just received a letter stating that my homeowners insurance will be canceled because I keep snakes and have a storage building that I breed mice and rats in. Do anyone out there breed snakes and rodents and have insurance? If so I want to switch to them because I AM NOT giving up my hobby of breeding these animals that I care for so much .

That's ridiculous, you might even want to find out if it's even legal to discriminate like that. I've been keeping and breeding snakes and rodents for decades and my insurance company couldn't care less.

They said " the location insured is unacceptable for coverage due to the following physical conditions which will increase the likelihood of a loss: dwelling is used to raise burmese pythons and rats are raised in the outbuilding to feed the pythons" thank you auto owners mutual insurance company

And I only have 2 burmese. And. Many ball pythons

My homeowner's insurance doesn't care what animals I keep, as long as they are legal. They've only asked how many dogs and if they have a history of aggression (don't care what breeds), and asked about our horses (obvious liabilities there, if we were boarding for other people or giving riding lessons, which we don't). I honestly don't think I've heard of a homeowner's insurance discriminating like that, but maybe is a local thing?

Lawyer up and have your attorney give them a call. They will fold. What state do you live in?

Slim... I live in Tn

Might want to give the Tennessee Housing Development Agency a call and see if Auto Owner's even has a leg to stand on.

screw them and go to a different insurance company. a better one.

of course you can also lawyer up and hassle them, and cause them to fold, if that is one of your hobbies. i would still switch to a different company.

its not like a life insurance or private pension plan where you need a long-term relationship with one company. you pay each month/year to cover the risk of certain things happening within that month/year. so if they give you the middle finger, you have no reason to stay with them.

Python friend.... I've talked to 5 companies Noone will insure

I doubt you can do anything to fight it. They are a private insurance company, and like any type of insurance aside from health, they can choose their customers how they see fit. Im sure you will be able to find another company that doesnt care.

This happened to my girlfriends parents several years ago. They had their homeowners insurance cancled over a dwaft caimen that was perfectly legal for them to keep They found anothet company, were up front with about the caiman and they didnt care.

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While we all know it's horse crap, the insurance company could easily argue the burm has the potential to hurt/kill people. In the event that it happened, the home owners insurance would be paying for it. Just like a dog bite. I know some insurance companies will deny/raise rate if you keep breeds like pit bulls and other "dangerous" breeds. Again I know it's horse crap, but easily argued. Just have to call around and find one that doesn't care, their loss, they don't get your money.

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Originally Posted by bradthebanker

Python friend.... I've talked to 5 companies Noone will insure

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wow, thats odd and unexpected. here in Germany, when you talk to 5 companies, you get 5 offers. they might add a paragraph that specifically excludes the 2 burms from the plan, or charge slightly more to get the burms covered. i guess the laws are different.

That's insane on unethical

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Yeah it is stupid and I can't do anything about it

Dumb question.. How did they find out in the first place?

Under writing came by to inspect for my new roof and looked in and saw my burms

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Originally Posted by bradthebanker

Under writing came by to inspect for my new roof and looked in and saw my burms

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is this an attempt to get out of paying for a roof?

Hmm, sounds shady. Well your roof is in bad shape but ...wait... what is that, you have snakes..We are gonna have to drop your coverage due to that *shifty eyes* Yes due to that *insert Mr Burns evil laugh here*

Yeah basically King James. Now my animals have to go

Find an Insurance company and dont mention the snakes?

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Originally Posted by KING JAMES

Find an Insurance company and dont mention the snakes?

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Won't work. The first time they need to make a claim regarding the property, the same thing that happened here will happen. Where are you hiding Brums and a building full of rats, you know?

Why would they go in your basement to look at damage to a roof though

I'm not hiding nothing from him. He asked me and I told him. I didn't volunteer any information just answered what he asked.. He looked in the house and said is that a snake.. Yes.. What kind... Burmese... Where do you get his food... I raise them in my outbuilding

Even getting home insurance to begin with often requires an assessor come out - who looks at everything about the building and property and what's on it. Getting it renewed, same. They can refuse coverage for owning a pool, certain dog breeds, certain types of out buildings - whatever. The reasoning for some of these is that it might draw people in, they'd get hurt and then the insurance would be paying out.

This is a crappy situation, but you're not going to manage to hide something the size of Burms. Balls and frozen in the freezer, sure, maybe. Brums and a building full of rats? Ain't no way.

That's a bunch of Hog wash in my eyes, Insurance company's should consider in this economy throwing customers away is not a good thing. I would go to the law Library and just check on a few laws about this behavior its just them playing Control Manager and its not right.

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I ask again, are the using this a reason to get out of paying for a roof? You had insurance while the roof was damaged, so they should be liable to pay it. They might have the right to drop you, but they are still responsible to hold up their end for everything that happened previously. I'm no lawyer but IF that is the case, I could see that being grounds for a lawsuit. If they still pay for the roof and then drop you, well I think its dumb, but I don't see how they violate any rights.

No they didn't pay for the roof. The house is on a estate and the estate paid for it but they wanted to inspect it prior to the installation of the roof

Too bad it would be so much of a hassle to move everything out and have them re-inspect, then bring it all back. But that doesn't really solve the issue either. Have you checked with some of the online places that do insurance? No sure if I can say names here, but one of them has a gecko for a mascot.

Tried them and they will if I had a few not. A hundred

It sounds like they dropped you cause they may be thinking you are running a business from your home. I file a complaint with BBB and start yelling discrimination over snakes.

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They say that they can harm a human and be liable for a loss. And I'm like Yeah falling down the stairs is a bigger risk. But insurance doesn't see them as a harmless animal

Geez, so do they cancel policies if they find out you have a dog? Wonder what the actual comparative numbers between dog and snake related injuries and damage is. Someone just plain doesn't like snakes, too bad there's so little you can do about it. Their company, their rules. Still total bs, but it is what it is.

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Originally Posted by Darkbird

Geez, so do they cancel policies if they find out you have a dog?

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For certain breeds yeah they will. We had to switch homeowners insurance because our original company found out we have a husky. They're on some "dangerous breeds" list and they threatened to drop us if we didn't get rid of her. We luckily found another company that didn't have a problem with us having Amber.

I think that allstate will insure me I still have to talk to the agent

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Originally Posted by CrystalRose

For certain breeds yeah they will. We had to switch homeowners insurance because our original company found out we have a husky. They're on some "dangerous breeds" list and they threatened to drop us if we didn't get rid of her. We luckily found another company that didn't have a problem with us having Amber.

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This is true.. Our original insurance was cancelled because we have a rotweiller..... They went completely crazy when I told them we wanted to breed Rottweilers and German Shepherds. Yet, they were okay with the retics and Burms.

I was just thinking, one option you might ask potential insurance companies about: Can they just exclude the snakes from your policy? If you feel the need to get insurance, but they are excluded from your homeowners policy, look into a supplemental liability insurance. May not work out, but something to consider.

This came to my mind because I'm looking into a supplemental liability insurance, both for my animals and for a home-based business I run. Currently in the research and quote gathering stages. The animal liability insurance is for my peace of mind, since I sometimes have visitors and with the variety of critters I have, accidents can happen. I also sometimes take some of my animals out in public for education programs, and for that alone I should carry some kind of liability insurance (never know what could happen, better safe than sorry, so far I've been covered under someone else's policy, but I need to carry my own too, just to play it safe).

Guess i am going to have to move them to my other building on a different property...... G. D. Insurance companies

Oh heck, never thought of it in terms of the whole "dangerous" breed thing. Probly come from growing up around pitts, dobies, owning a rott and a shepard/malamute cross and knowing they're big babies. Well hope you get it worked out.

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Originally Posted by bradthebanker

I think that allstate will insure me I still have to talk to the agent

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Yeah I think the larger nationals won't care about your pets, companies like Allstate or Statefarm or Travelers or American Family. I think for insurance it's best to go with a big company rather then a local one.

GO LIBERTY MUTUAL.... I finally found a company that will insure me with having snakes in the house.

Good! Glad to hear you found a company that is willing to work with you. :)

The snakes don't make sense to me, but I could see the rats. I mean, if I bought a house with a rat infestation they would consider that. Don't see why it would be different if you voluntarily raise them there. They could get out, cause damage, mold, etc. If a house was unreasonably unkempt when the inspector arrived they would probably pursue it as well.

Not saying I think this isn't a pile of crap, but just playing devil's advocate.

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Originally Posted by MrLang

The snakes don't make sense to me, but I could see the rats. I mean, if I bought a house with a rat infestation they would consider that. Don't see why it would be different if you voluntarily raise them there. They could get out, cause damage, mold, etc. If a house was unreasonably unkempt when the inspector arrived they would probably pursue it as well.

Not saying I think this isn't a pile of crap, but just playing devil's advocate.

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rats don't cause mold....mold causes mold....and trapped moisture with little to no air circulation dramatically increases the risk for mold development...

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Originally Posted by bradthebanker

GO LIBERTY MUTUAL.... I finally found a company that will insure me with having snakes in the house.

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its nice to hear good news :)

I can understand them raising what they charge you but denying you insurance all together they are pretty much making the statement that your un-insurable. That your home environment is so dangerous that no amount of insurance will cover you, and thats absolutely ridiculous. Its the same BS prejudice, if not just downright bigotry that we deal with all the time in the news media regarding the "creepy" animals. :taz: