public liability insurance???

[coccyx]

Is this standard with pet insurance? what is third party insurance. Thanks

If your dog injures someone and they sue you the 3rd party liability insurance covers you. Same if your dog damages some one else's property.

It's standard, yes, but you can opt out with some policies. My own dogs are insured purely for their veterinary care at premium level (i.e. ongoing care which doesn't stop after the first year of treatment and is for a higher total sum). I opted out of additional cover such as advertising if lost (I have the best contacts in the country to do that for me), holiday cancellation (holiday? Don't make me laugh!), hospitalisation of owner, accidental death of my dogs and public liability cover. The policy was taken out over the phone although I got the online discount as the website wasn't working properly, and as a result I was able to say what I did and didn't want.

This is one of the few occasions where I'd disagree with Val. I'd say that third party liability is ESSENTIAL. I recently went to one of the excellent Dog Law Seminars (see the DogLaw website for more info). Not only would I recommend the seminar wholeheartedly, but it also confirmed the importance of insurance, so much so that as soon as we got home, I nagged/persuaded DH to check our policy cover.

We live in a very litigious age, rightly or wrongly. Let's picture a few scenarios. Your dog is off lead in the park, and trips up a cyclist or runner. They break a bone. Before you know it, you're paying out for medical costs, possibly physio, loss of earnings, their legal fees, your legal fees and a whole host of things I probably haven't even thought of. Your dog escapes from the garden and is involved in a car accident. Running on the road, a car driver slams on their brakes to avoid him, and gets shunted from behind. Now we're talking telephone numbers because cars are involved, and the driver claims for whiplash and so needs to visit a chiropractor at £40 a session, plus those legal fees, and and .... you get the picture. Also, if in the very unlikely event your otherwise perfect dog does bite someone (even if provoked by a child who thinks it's OK to "torment" dogs) wouldn't you want the best legal advice and behavioural support that you could afford?

I honestly do think that making sure you have this form of insurance is essential, along with good solid veterinary cover. The two together won't cover all eventualities but will ensure you can take problems in your stride, as even the most responsible owner and the best trained dog can have unexpected incidents and events.

I'm with Scuttle here. I'm ex-Insurance and cannot emphasise enough the importance of liability cover.

Some of the things people will sue over these days are truly ridiculous and the amounts being paid out will make you wince (hence why everyone's insurance is now far more expensive than 10 years ago).

ScuttleButter, for many/most, I'd agree with you. In my case the cynic comes out in me and my view is, "So sue me... I have nothing to lose, you won't get far."

Hence for me it was a considered choice not to add that premium to my insurance cover but to spend it where I need it the most - on my dogs' health. Others might be in the more fortunate (or disadvantageous?!) position of having something to lose and for them of course it's a different matter. All I was saying is that you CAN opt out of third party liability and the other bits offered too, come to that, IF, like me, they are not needed.

Absolutely Val - your post made it clear that you had thought about it. But for me, one of the scary things about this issue is the number of dog owners who either don't have cover, or not enough without either knowing about it or thinking about it. They are very vulnerable.