Every dog is different, and your dog insurance rate may reflect that
When it comes to taking out an insurance policy for your dog, you might wonder whether some breeds of dog cost more to insure than others. The short answer to this is “yes,” but this is based on statistics and legitimate reasoning, not just on the whim of the insurance provider. If you’re a prospective dog owner, trying to figure out how to keep costs to a minimum, you might like to know which types of dogs are more expensive to insure and why.
Pedigree Dogs
If you decide you want a pure bred pooch, be prepared to pay through the nose for him. Due to some breeders having questionable practices, pedigree dogs are far more likely to suffer from a range of medical conditions. They’re also more likely to be a target of theft. These factors combined pushes premiums up for pedigree dogs. Mixed breeds and those with an unknown origin are usually far cheaper to insure. However, even with pedigree dogs, some are more expensive to insure than others.
“Dangerous” Dogs
While any sensible person knows that it’s bad dog owners who are dangerous, not the dogs themselves, it’s still more expensive to insure a so-called “dangerous” dog. Breeds such as Pitbulls, Rottweilers and Dobermans, are sometimes considered status dogs, and are bought for the wrong reasons and raised badly. Therefore, they’re considered more likely to attack or injure a person or another dog than some other breeds. Whether or not your pup is actually aggressive is beside the point, all these dogs sadly carry the stigma of a few bad owners and insurance premiums rise as a result.
Large Dogs
Unfortunately, it seems to be the largest breeds of dog that tend to be more expensive to insure. This is because they tend to have more potential illnesses from which they can suffer. For instance, it’s not uncommon for a large dog to suffer from conditions such as bloat or hip dysplasia. Big dogs also have the potential to do more damage, so if your policy contains third-party liability insurance (which most do), this can partially account for the higher rates.
Breeds With Hereditary Problems
Some breeds are much more likely to suffer from a range of illnesses and conditions that have been passed on by their parents. As a rule, the more prone a breed is to illness, the more expensive it is to insure. You can see the reasoning here, because it’s the insurance company who is going to be paying out for the vet bills. It’s impossible to give an exhaustive list here, but if you research a breed of dog and it seems that they commonly suffer from a number of veterinary conditions, then it’s likely they’ll be expensive to insure. For instance, English Bulldogs are among the most expensive breeds to insure; their flattened muzzle causes them a range of eating and breathing issues, their wrinkled skin can be prone to infections, their head shape can lead to Brachycephalic ocular syndrome, and their curly tails can give them a serious condition of the spine. Whether or not it’s right to even be breeding a dog prone to these kinds of conditions is a topic for another day, but it certainly puts your insurance premiums through the roof!
Of course, if you already have a dog who is expensive to insure, you’ll just have to bite the bullet and do it! However, if you’re in the process of deciding which type of dog to own, these kinds of factors might sway your decision. A mixed breed dog is going to bring just as much joy to your life as a pedigree one, and will cost you less money, to boot!
Lauren Corona is a freelance writer from merry old England. She specializes in writing about dogs and other critters. Lauren lives near Oxford, with her gorgeous Doberman, Nola. When she’s not tapping away at the keyboard, you’ll find her walking in the woods with Nola-dog, raising money for the Oxfordshire Animal Sanctuary, cooking vegan food, making zines and writing about herself in the third person.
