Do I need third party cover for a dog?

sukiduki

Hi,

Is it true that home insurance covers third party claims from e.g. dog runs out in front of car, car driver sues owner for damage?

I got some quotes for ins for my spaniel on moneysupermarket.com. The cheapest was AFI at £4.25 / mnth but this has no 3rd party cover. Is it necessary?

Cheers!

lisyloo

Home insurance normally covers you against 3rd party claims for negligence e.g. someone slips on a lose tile.

Dogs are meant to be on a lead in public places, so if a car hit your dog on the public road then you would be liable as you had been negligent.

You would have to check your home insurance to see if there is any exclusion for animals (I don't know without checking to be honest).

Normally pet insurance covers vets bills, but agian you'd need to check the policy details.

david39

Most home insurance policies will cover you for third party claims due to your pets under your public liability.

What it will not cover is:
Being negligent about keeping the dog under reasonable control
Damage by your pet to your own property
If it is a dog that is covered by the Dangerous Dogs legislation.

Just check the terms of your insurance policy - if the relevant clause refers to dangerous dogs not being covered then, by inference, it means that other dogs are covered.

lisyloo

Being negligent about keeping the dog under reasonable control

Are you sure?
This is normally what the 3rd party liability section covers you for in other respects.

So for example, if you clear the snow on your drive and make it slippery and the postman slips then he sues you for negligence.
Same with slipping on loose tiles or tiles falling off roof etc.

dacouch

I was thinking the same Lisyloo.

The other party cannot normally sue you unless you have been negligent eg not repaired known gaps in the fence, keeping the dog on a lead and / or with a muzzle on especially if there is a history of biting etc etc

loveNYC

"The other party cannot normally sue you unless you have been negligent eg not repaired known gaps in the fence, keeping the dog on a lead and / or with a muzzle on especially if there is a history of biting etc etc "


Oh my... I let my dog of the lead and never have thought about insurance - she is soft as a brush so would not harm anyone but. she could cause an accident when running around, think I will think twice about where we go from now on and try and keep her on the lead as much as poss...dont think she will be happy though. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.

dacouch

LoveNYC Just because your dog causes some kind of damage when it is off the lead does not neccessarily mean you would be held liable. The law would look at what type of control you have over it eg how close you were, the type of place it was loose in, the history / temperment of the dog etc etc.

Just because your dog gets out of your back garden and causes say a car accident does not neccessarily mean you are liable for the damage.

If you have home insurance or pet insurance the chances are the liability section of the policy would cover any claims that you were liable for.

lisyloo

So as an exmaple, if your fence blew down in a freak storm and the dog got out then your wouldn't be liable for a car accident caused by the dog as it's not your fault.

However if you failed to maintain your fence, then the car owner (or more likely their insurance) would seek compensation from the owner (or more likely their insurance).

sukiduki

So if my dog is off the lead and runs in front of a car I am covered by my house insurance under public liability as long as I was not negligent. But if I was negligent then the 3rd party cover on the dog insurance would cover it?

Thanks for all the advice.

dacouch

Please ignore the earlier poster who said your Insurers will not pay out if you were negligent as this is incorrect. They will pay out in most cases if you have been negligent, what they will not want to pay out is if you have been reckless.