Should dogs have to be insured against biting of others?

[tulpe]

Just listening to debate on Radio 2 about the proposal for all dogs to have full insurance against biting other humans or animals.

What do you think?

The presenter quoted approximately £22 a month on average for insurance!

Naturaly they should. Just as drivers have to be insured for the damage the car they are driving may do to others, dog owners shoudl be insured for the damage their dog may do to others.

£22/month sounds excessive, though. I should hope there would be some adjustment for the breed, and also a good No Claims Discount arrangement.

I think insurance should be compulsory too but, as you say, £22 a month is outrageous.

I thinks it's probably fair enough, although (as with most things) I bet it will be the responsible dog owners who get the insurance and the utter nob-ends of this world who shouldn't be left in charge of a box of kleenex let alone a dog who flout the law and whose dogs end up biting people.

and

HOLY SHIT @ £22 per month

really?

gah

Third party insurance is included as part of our breed club membership; they negotiated some good deal, though am not sure it covers slobber damage.

wildfig, can I ask you what the advantages of belonging to a breed club are (esp if you have no intention of showing or woking your dog)?

Depends on whether you're a 'joining things' sort of person or not, but I find it's just nice to know where to get some (local) moral support when things go a bit wooooaaaahhh, as they inevitably do. Some breed clubs organise walks and get-togethers, where you can meet potential dogsitters other owners, some negotiate offers for stuff like insurance, crates, etc; my breed club organises scent trailing for non-working hounds, which is something I couldn't really do off my own bat. Plus, I'm a nosy parker, and like reading up on which dogs are related to which and which breeders have fallen out with which other breeders and why. Best In Show is not far off. Think our joint membership costs £9 a year, and I've easily had my money's worth in advice alone - most of that before we even got our dogs, which is why I'd always steer a first time owner towards them, at least to begin with.

But, some people hate them and find them cliquey - it really depends!

thanks for that wildfig.

I am a bit of a joiner-inner (and a nosey parker ) so maybe I'll check them out.

Why is it £22 per month? Is that included with the cost of medical insurance?

My dog has third party damages insurance included in his normal insurance, for upto £1m. I had presumed it was this amount incase he kills someone?

His insurance in total is about £18 per month but we pay an extra £2 per month to the PDSA

All very well but how and who is going to enforce it? local councils ? - they can't even enforce dog fouling let alone this !

Also the knobs people who walk about with pit bulls etc will not get insurance will they , it will the repsonsible dog owners who never have any problems with the dogs .

I get the sentiment behind it but the people who willget insurance are not the owners authroities need to target.

I think it's a good idea (although £22 a month sounds really excessive). As has already be said though it will be the reponsible dog owners who have it, and those that are causing the problems that don't. The police would have to be given the power to stop people with dogs and check their insurance and then be able to sieze the dog if they were uninsured. I could turn into a logistical nightmare!!

I answered this on the other thread, but I think this is madness! I think if a dog bit one of children, the fact that it was insured (ie I'd get some financial reward) would be the last thing I would care about. Can just imagine it- dog bites child in face "oh, don't worry," says owner, "he's insured" ...well, that's ok then!

And how are they going to police it?

And does anyone really think the fighting-dogs/ look-at-me-I'm-so-hard dog owning brigade will comply? Nuts

The same as always the responsible owners will have their dogs insured and microchipped and others will not. It will probably cost more money to enforce. However all my dogs are insured and it is a sensible thing for anyone to do. £22.00 I guess like any insurance it will vary on dog, area you live etc.

I don't think insurance for all dogs is very fair, but I do think if your dog attacks another dog and causes an injury needing veterinary treatment, the owner of the dog at fault should have to pay the bill.

I also don't think it is very fair for everybody who owns a pit bull type dog to be penalised, whether they are a responsible owner or not, I feel for people who are stereotyped because of the type of dog they own as I regularly have to answer ignorant "is he dangerous/vicious" type questions in regards to own of my own dogs, when there is a Labrador kept by a neighbour who is a menace when your walking past, but he can't possibly be dangerous because he's a sweet family dog.

It's a totally pointless idea. Although I disagree with the argument that some have put forward, that it penalises responsible dog owners, because the average responsible dog owner already has their dog chipped and insured - and most insurance has a third party element anyway.

But this idea that all the neds with "status dogs" will immediately rush to comparethemarket.com to set themselves up with a policy? I doubt it.

Ours is an extension of our house insurance, but I don't live the the UK and pet health insurance is not really available here. If your dog bit someone/caused a car or bike accident/broke something valuable in someone's house or whatever then you could be sued for damages.

licensed more than insured.

my dog os ensured medically and it includes up to a million compensation if he injures someone

£17.89 a month

quite happy with that

Not everyone would obey, but lots of people would if it was an offence not to. Like car insurance and speed limits. Not all dog bites are caused by drug dealers' pit bulls.

Yes, all dog owners should have liability insurance for their animal. Its not just biting, they could cause injury in other ways (my current dachshund is very unlikely to bite but is a definite trip hazard). Most responsible owners already have it included in their pet insurance - ours covers health, liability and I think replacement cost (though I can't imagine claiming that part)

grimma I agree - you need insurance to cover your dog running into the road and causing a car crash, or breaking something, as well as any injury to dogs or people. My two are very unlikely to bite anyone but you just can't predict circumstances.

Whether having compulsory insurance will stop violent status dogs is another matter. If there was some way of diverting dog licence money towards specific poo bins/dog wardens/enforcement teams to target dog fighting, in the same way that road tax pays for highway maintenance, it would be one thing, but insurance premiums just go to the insurance companies, no?