Insurer Gives Muncie Pit Bull Owners Ultimatum

A Muncie, Ind., couple says their insurance company has ordered them to rehome their pit bulls or lose their homeowners’ insurance.

Shelter Insurance Companies wrote Brad Reinke last month saying the dogs posed a potential liability hazard and should be removed.

Reinke tells The Star Press the company is discriminating against the breed without meeting the dogs.

Shelter officials say excluding aggressive breeds of dogs from homeowners’ coverage has been a common practice for decades.

Dog bites accounted for more than a third of all homeowners insurance liability claims paid out in 2012 and cost more than $489 million.

Shelter says the Reinkes have until April to remove the dogs. The couple plans instead to shop for a new policy.