Yes, we all love our pets. In fact, after a while our canine companions often feel more like a member of the family than Great Aunt Lucy, whom you only see at Christmas and Bar Mitzvahs. The problem is, your homeowners insurance provider doesn't necessarily share the same warm, loving view of your pet than you do.

THE NAUGHTY AND NICE LIST

Did you know that most homeowners insurance providers have a naughty and nice list when it comes to your pets? It's true-and you can bet they're checking it twice. Why? Because if your dog decides that someone's stalking a little close to his territory and he needs to take a little nip, your insurance company will be the one footing the bill.

Dog bites rank high on Kasey's Top Forty homeowners insurance liability claims paid out each year. In fact, they fall just slightly below slips and falls, with over 4.7 million injuries resulting from dog bites each year (800,000 of which require medical intervention). That amounts to between $250-300 million in dog bite liability claims a year.

Since your insurer isn't anxious to hand out that kind of money, they're taking steps to prevent it-in this case, pulling together a list of dog breeds that are statistically more likely to bite and/or attack a human being and using that list to determine your eligibility for homeowners insurance coverage. Do you own a Rottweiler, Doberman Pinscher or wolf hybrid? If your request for homeowners insurance has been denied, you might not need to look any farther than the furry ball lying at your feet to figure out why.

WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

Every self respecting dog owner knows that it's environment and training, more than nature, that shapes the way a dog both acts and reacts. There have been stories of toy poodles wrecking mass havoc and Pinschers so gentle children are able to ride around on their backs. It's all about the way you're bringing your dog up.

Despite the influence of their naughty and nice list, homeowners insurance providers are willing to accept the fact that it's nurture, as much as nature, that affects the way a dog behaves. That's why they may ask you for the following before they make a decision regarding your coverage:

1) A letter from your veterinarian certifying that your dog has been a) spayed/neutered, and b) vaccinated against rabies.

2) A certificate from some form of obedience training program.

3) A home visit from one of their agents to determine the threat level of an individual pet. (This is seen more often in the case of breeders than in individual pet owners, unless the dog has a history.)

Socializing your dog, funding his journey to higher education through obedience school and ensuring that your pet is healthy, vaccinated and "fixed" will go a long way toward making your dog safer to be around and, in return, lowering your homeowners insurance premiums, as do fencing in your backyard and posting signs letting unexpected guests know there's likely to be a dog underfoot.

If, even after all your proactive measures, your insurer still won't approve your request for homeowners insurance, ask for a referral to a company that will. Policies regarding pets vary widely between different providers, and while one insurance company may reject you completely another may welcome you with open arms. Most insurers know which are which and can set you on the right path in half the time it would take you to pick up the phone.