Reactive dog- insurance help needed

bruciebounus

I let my pet insurance lapse a couple of months back- had been with Tesco for both my cat and dog. We decided not to renew with Tesco as we had never made a claim, but the renewal was almost double what we had been paying. I'm now trying to gather quotes again, but have hit a stumbling block.

My lovely stuffy x boy is dog aggressive. He is always on a lead and muzzled when we are out of the house, but he will bark/lunge if he see's another dog. A lot of insurers have a disclaimer saying something along the lines of 'I agree that my dog shows no aggression to people/animals' etc.

There are lots of reactive dogs out there- how do they get insured, anyone in a similar position?

Thank you.

con1888

My insurance didn't ask that, i'm with Axa, I don't remember being asked that for any quotes.

bruciebounus

Thanks Conn, will add them to the list to check out!

bruciebounus

AXA no longer offering pet insurance to new customers

elsien

When I had mutt and was with petplan I had to let them know she was dog reactive. I think they are looking to see that it is being managed properly, so the dog is muzzled / on lead when out and that he's not in a situation where he could get hold of another dog indoors.
I don't think the disclaimer means they won't insure, but you need to phone them and let them know so they can decide and quote on an individual basis rather than the standard online thingy.
As long as you show you are aware of and dealing safely with the issues it shouldn't be too much of a problem. Any difficulty is likely to arise if something does happen (dog escapes etc) and is out of control, which will allow them to then not uphold the claim.

con1888

yeah axa are no longer offiering to new custs. I was quite confused when my renewal came through last mongh as I was under the impression they would be stopping... I keep meaning to look into another insurer so that I can change over whilst I haven't yet made any claims

zaksmum

I'm with Marks & Spencer and I don't recall being asked if my dogs were aggressive to other dogs. Possibly they asked whether they were the subject of any complaints about their behaviour but that's all.

I don't see how insurers would find out if your dog was reactive to other dogs, OP, if you don't tell them and it's not documented anywhere.

Wellyboots6

I'm with John Lewis and it asks if they show any signs of aggression. My dog is reactive to other dogs through fear, so I guess he shows signs of fear...?

krlyr

Personally, I don't class my reactive dog as aggressive. We have (unfortunately) been put in the position where he could have attacked a dog but his behaviour certainly proved he is not aggressive. I think he's probably even less likely to bite than your average dog as his behaviour when pushed beyond the reactivity is very much "I'll shut down and internally freak out" than to defend himself.

I believe a friend with Petplan told them about his dog issues and they've covered him for medical claims but not third party - she's covered by the Dogs Trust's third party cover (become a member and any dog in your household is covered - think it's about £25 a year)

UKTigerlily

I have a reactive but not aggressive dog so she doesn't need or wear a muzzle & it was fine, I just said she's never caused any harm to another dog as she doesn't bite just holds until I grab her & is kept on a lead & they were fine

Misty_Blue

M & S ask:

Are the following statements true to the best of your knowledge and belief?

No complaints have been made about xxxx's behaviour.

xxxx has not been the cause of an accident or legal action.

xxxx has not been trained to attack and has not been used for
Security purposes in the past.