The NJ Assembly will be meeting to vote on bill A1135.  This bill will make
it illegal for insurance companies to refuse or decline insurance to a home
based upon the breed of dog living there.

(There are over 21 breeds on the insurance companies list and this also
applies to mixed breeds!)  This also applies to multifamily homes - all
houses in NJ are affected by this.  If you don't have insurance you can't
have your mortgage so typically the dog has to go. Landlords aren't
sympathetic to begin with so don't expect them to show mercy in this
instance. 

The insurance companies use newspaper articles to help determine
which dogs get added to the list (as testified by an Insurance Company
Underwriter at the October 4th hearing of the Assembly Financial
Institutions and Insurance Committee).  If ONE dog does something bad it
could condemn the entire breed - just keep this in mind if you're thinking
that you don't need to worry because your own dog isn't on the list - it
could all change tomorrow and you could be facing a terrible decision.

What you can do is to either call your Assemblyperson or write and tell them
that
you need them to support Bill A1135 and vote YES when it comes up for a
vote.  I'm not sure when exactly the voting will take place.  Usually they
are given 2 days notice so I'm asking you to contact your Assemblyperson
TODAY. 

If this bill gets out of the Assembly it will go on to the NJ Senate
and than we'll be contacting our NJ Senators, asking for their support. 
This doesn't take much time and if you do choose to send a letter I have one

ready for you below.  Please forward this to as many people as you can.  The

insurance industry is a giant and we are just the little guys but we have to

give this all we've got.

Thank you!



Please take a moment to copy and paste letter below and forward to your
Assemblyman in an email.  This letter can easily be modified to fit your
particular situation (if you don't already have a dog you can indicate that
you'd like to have the freedom to choose whatever breed of dog you'd like to

get when you're ready to adopt a dog, etc).   If you don't know your
Assemblyman you can go to the website
"www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/legsearch.asp" to find his/her name and email

or street address.





Your Name
Address
City, State ZIP

Date

Dear Assemblyman   ______________:

I am writing you to request your support of New Jersey Assembly Bill No.
A1135.

I believe that it is wrong to be declined homeowners insurance based solely
on the specific breed of dog harbored on the insured property.  Dogs do not
deserve to be "profiled" as being bad dogs just because they happen to be of

a particular breed. Homeowners should not be put in the situation of having
to give up their dog because they can't secure homeowners insurance.

As a dog owner, the passage of this bill is very important to me.  I can't
imagine being put in the situation where I would have to give up my beloved
pet because of the inability to secure homeowners insurance for my home.

As your constituent, I request your support for this bill.

Thank you in advance for your support.

Sincerely,

Maryellen