Third Party Dog Insurance

As much as we love our dogs, they are still animals primed to attack when threatened. Third party dog insurance is a type of liability insurance for dogs there to help if your dog injures someone or something, whether deliberate or accidental damage by covering bills for damage and even legal action. Dog owners are liable for the actions of their dogs under UK law, and a dog owner needs to be aware of this. With the correct insurance dog owners can sleep a little easier.

In short, if your dog injures someone then you are legally liable and you could find that the victim decides to sue you and make a claim.

And that’s not as rare as you might think. In England there are nearly 7000 hospital admissionsfrom dogs attacking people each year.

While you may choose to forgo pet insurance on the basis that you will pay for any medical bills your pet needs, could you afford legal action against you for a serious injury? Insurance for your dog is more than just about their injuries!

With EmeraldPet you can get up to £1,000,000 in dog liability cover per claimable event. That includes your legal costs and compensation payments up to that amount.

Dog liability insurance is a simple extra you can add to our comprehensive pet insurance. We offer four levels of vet fees cover from £1000 to £7,500 so you can get the cover that’s right for you. Don’t forget that EmeraldPet also comes with a variety of complementary treatments including behavioural training up to £200 and we think we compare favourably with other insurance

Besides third party liability cover, other add-ons with EmeraldPet include missing pet advertising and reward, emergency boarding and holiday cancellation.

If you have multiple dogs then you can get discount pet insurance complete with public liability with our 10% multi-pet discount.

With low-cost and effective insurance so easily available with vet fees and legal cover included, why go without dog liability insurance and risk huge legal costs should the worst happen?

What’s Covered By Third Party Dog Insurance

Generally third party dog insurance is quite a simple third party liability policy. The aim is to give you the piece of mind that if your dog damages someone or something then your costs are covered.

A good dog third party liability insurance policy should cover you if your dog causes damage, injures someone or injures another dog . It should then cover damage costs, legal fees and any vet bills incurred if another dog needs treatment.

However, it is important that you also read the exclusions of any third party liability pet insurance policy you are considering buying.

Most pet insurance brands will not provide third party liability for any dogs that are required to be registered under the 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act or any further additions to the prohibited list, so find that list before you think about liability insurance.

There is also the exclusion that you will not be able to make a claim if your dog has previously shown aggressive tendencies towards other people or animals or has previously damaged someone’s property.

Perhaps more suprisingly, policies like EmeraldPet also exclude claims arising from someone handling your dog without your consent.

Claims from professionals involved with your pet like vets and groomers are also excluded.

Like most insurance products, dog third party liability insurance also features an excess which you have to contribute towards any claims. With EmeraldPet this is £250 for a third party liability claim. But that could be very small compared to the legal fees your insurance could pay for if you did have to make a claim.

Public liability insurance is typically an add-on for standard pet insurance policies and buying it as an add-on may be better value than buying standalone third party liability cover. With EmeraldPet you can get all the advantages of our pet insurance with four levels of flexible vet fees cover, complementary treatments and even money towards clinical diets, and it is very easy to get an insurance quote – just go to www.emeraldlife.co.uk and you can find a link there.

(Note that cat owners are not similarly liable, so if you have a cat don’t buy cat insurance that has liability cover, as it is not needed.)

Can I Get Public Liability Insurance For My Dog?

At EmeraldPet you can get cover from when your dog is just eight weeks old and we have no upper age limit to start insurance cover for older dogs.

The biggest limitation is breed – as mentioned above we will not cover any dogs registered under the 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act. We also cannot provide cover for any dog that has previously shown aggressive tendencies.

Once you have read our policy wording and have established that our cover is right for you, get a quote by completing our fast online quote form or you can get a quote by phone. Whichever method you choose, make sure to specify that you want dog liability insurance when asked and this will be added to your quote.

How Much is Third Party Dog Insurance?

What you pay for pet insurance will vary considerably based on your dog’s breed, age and location. That’s because of the varying risk and price of pet insurance claims.

For instance, an older dog is more likely to incur vet fees than a younger dog, especially if it is a breed that is more likely to develop medical conditions. Those vet fees are likely to be higher in urban areas and so this is also reflected in what you pay for the insurance.

According to CompareTheMarket, the average cost of lifetime dog insurance was about £185 per year in 2020. Given that the average pet insurance claim was nearly £800 in 2018, while legal action for dog bites could be significantly more, you can see how pet insurance with dog liability included represents good value.

If You Need To Make a Claim

If someone accuses your dog of causing damage or injury then it is important that you let that person know that you have insurance for dogs that includes third party cover, and then contact EmeraldPet straight away. Do not admit any wrongdoing by you or your dog until you have spoken to us and received further guidance.

What Is EmeraldPet?

EmeraldPet is a pet insurance policy collaboration between the challenger insurance brand Emerald Life and the large insurance business Covea.

Emerald was started to bring more equality and diversity to the world of financial services. Part of that meant recognising the importance of pets to some of our core audience such as LGBT+, single people and non-traditional families.

It was for that reason that we developed a comprehensive pet insurance product as part of our mission towards better customer service and outreach to help more people get the financial protection they need.

With EmeraldPet you get the passion and innovation of a small startup paired with the backing of a giant so you know your pet insurance is of good quality and secure. Emerald Life Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and can be found on the financial services register, so you know your pet is covered by genuine, reliable company. Emerald Life Limited is a company registered in England and Wales and its registered office can be found through Companies House. Terms and conditions apply to Follow us on Twitter @YourEmeraldLife