LCO 1 of 3
General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 1386
January Session, 2025
AN ACT CONCERNING DOG BREED AND THERAPY ANIMALS IN
INSURANCE UNDERWRITING AND EVALUATING THE FEASIBILITY
OF ESTABLISHING A PENALTY FOR MISREPRESENTING A DOG AS
A SERVICE ANIMAL.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2025) (a) No insurer that delivers, 1
issues for delivery, renews, amends or endorses a homeowners or 2
tenants insurance policy in this state on or after October 1, 2025, shall 3
charge an increased premium for such policy or cancel, refuse to renew, 4
refuse to issue, exclude, limit, restrict or reduce coverage under such 5
policy solely on the basis of the breed of dog or mixture of breed of dog 6
owned or harbored by the insured or applicant. 7
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, 8
any insurer may cancel, refuse to issue or refuse to renew any 9
homeowners or tenants insurance policy or impose a reasonably 10
increased premium for such a policy based on the designation of an 11
individual dog of any breed or mixture of breeds as a dangerous dog, as 12
determined by underwriting and actuarial principles reasonably 13
derived from the actual loss experience of such insurer with such 14
individual dog and any anticipated loss given such loss experience. 15
(c) The Insurance Commissioner may adopt regulations, in 16 Substitute Bill No. 1386
LCO 2 of 3
accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 of the general statutes, to 17
implement the provisions of this section. 18
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2025) Except as provided in subsection 19
(b) of section 1 of this act, no insurer that delivers, issues for delivery, 20
renews, amends or endorses a homeowners or tenants insurance policy 21
in this state on or after October 1, 2025, shall establish rates or minimum 22
premiums for such policy or cancel, refuse to renew or refuse to issue 23
such policy solely on the basis of (1) the breed of dog owned by the 24
insured or the applicant, with respect to any dog that is a dog trained or 25
being trained as a service animal to assist blind, deaf or mobility 26
impaired persons, or (2) the ownership of a therapy animal by such 27
insured or applicant. As used in this section, "service animal" has the 28
same meaning as provided in section 22-345 of the general statutes, and 29
"therapy animal" has the same meaning as provided in section 17a-22ee 30
of the general statutes. 31
Sec. 3. (Effective from passage) The Commission on Human Rights and 32
Opportunities shall evaluate the feasibility of establishing a penalty for 33
intentional misrepresentation of a dog as a service animal to gain 34
accommodations under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 35
1990, 42 USC 12101, as amended from time to time. Not later than 36
February 1, 2026, the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities 37
shall report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the 38
general statutes, to the joint standing committees of the General 39
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to human services and 40
the judiciary on any statistics or other information concerning the 41
establishment of such penalty. For the purposes of this section, "service 42
animal" has the same meaning as provided in section 22-345 of the 43
general statutes. 44
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2025 New section
Sec. 2 July 1, 2025 New section
Sec. 3 from passage New section Substitute Bill No. 1386
LCO 3 of 3
INS Joint Favorable Subst.