Summary: Section one amends the insurance law by adding a new section 3421 which prohibits homeowners’ liability insurers from refusing to issue, renew, cancel, or charge or impose an increased premium rate based solely on harboring or owning any dog of a specific breed or mixture of breeds. This excludes reasonable increases of premiums or rate based upon the designation of a dog of any breed or mixture of breeds as a dangerous dog.

The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:

Section  1. The insurance law is amended by adding a new section 3421 to read as follows:

§3421. HOMEOWNERS’ LIABILITY INSURANCE;DOGS.

1.  WITH  RESPECT  TO HOMEOWNERS’  INSURANCE POLICIES AS DEFINED IN SECTION TWO THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED FIFTY-ONE OF THIS CHAPTER, NO INSURER SHALL REFUSE TO  ISSUE  OR RENEW, CANCEL, OR CHARGE OR IMPOSE AN INCREASED PREMIUM OR RATE FOR SUCH POLICY  OR  CONTRACT, OR EXCLUDE, LIMIT, RESTRICT, OR REDUCE COVERAGE UNDER SUCH POLICY OR CONTRACT BASED SOLELY UPON HARBORING OR OWNING ANY DOG OF A SPECIFIC BREED OR MIXTURE OF BREEDS.

2. THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION SHALL NOT PROHIBIT AN INSURER  FROM REFUSING  TO ISSUE OR RENEW OR FROM CANCELING ANY SUCH CONTRACT OR POLI- CY, NOR FROM IMPOSING A REASONABLY INCREASED PREMIUM OR RATE FOR SUCH  A POLICY  OR  CONTRACT BASED UPON THE DESIGNATION OF A DOG OF ANY BREED OR MIXTURE OF BREEDS AS A DANGEROUS DOG PURSUANT  TO  SECTION  ONE  HUNDRED TWENTY-THREE  OF  THE AGRICULTURE AND MARKETS LAW, BASED ON SOUND UNDER- WRITING AND ACTUARIAL PRINCIPLES REASONABLY RELATED TO ACTUAL OR  ANTIC- IPATED  LOSS  EXPERIENCE SUBJECT TO THE APPLICABLE PROVISIONS OF SECTION THREE THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED TWENTY-FIVE OF THIS ARTICLE.