Pet Plan. Cockapoo owners please be aware.

[CanIBuffalo]

Reposting from another thread in case it helps anyone.

I've just had a long conversation with Petplan and anyone whose Cockapoo is down as a Poodle cross or a Cocker Spaniel cross does not have valid insurance if they are in fact a Cockapoo even if their vet has them registered as a Poodle cross or Cocker Spaniel cross. I have pointed out how easy it would be to fall foul of this when completing there quote form on the website and how unfair it is giving the argument that a previous poster made about Labradors costing the Earth to ensure and Rare Breeds being virtually free if high levels of claims were the only factor in calculating premiums.

I have asked that my recorded phone call is passed up to higher management and passed on my concern that there will be people with Cockapoos who are genuinely not insured because they picked the first applicable drop down box on the company's website which is Cocker Spaniel cross.

That seems completely ridiculous. It is a cocker spaniel cross! And a poodle cross!

Out of interest what should they be down as?

If a Cocker Spaniel is crossed with a Poodle they should be down as a Cockapoo apparently.

That's so damned sneaky! It is not a purebred and should not be listed as if it is one! I honestly hope that Petplan are taken to court for this by a Cocker/Poodle crossbreed owner who's been denied. Petplan will lose for sure and they will have to pay up. I just hope that not too many people are financially screwed until it happens.

“It is not a purebred and should not be listed as if it is one!”

They’re not, to be fair... you’re asked if it’s a pedigree, a crossbreed of 2 breeds or a mixed breed of 3 or more.

If you click crossbreed there’s every permutation of strange names and also individual breed crosses, so there’s things like cockalier and cockapug as well as cockapoo and cocker cross would I assume be for if you couldn’t find your particular cross.

But it's far too easy to make a genuine mistake especially if you are a new owner

I really don't think this would stand up in court either - a cocker x is an accurate description of a cocker x poodle.

Having just checked, for my dog (JRT x (I believe) dachshund) if I start typing dachshund, I only get the option of various types of dachshund (wire haired, mini etc.) and cross thereof. If I start typing Jack, I get a variety of options including Jackshund and Jackweenie - both ridiculous names for the same cross. If I get as far as typing Jack Russell, those options disappear, and I only get the option of Jack Russell Cross (or Parsons X)

If PetPlan were that fussed they should really be asking what breed A and breed B are, and then making their own judgements about risk.

My dog has no paperwork unless you count an old puppy vaccination card which claims he's a pure JRT (he clearly isn't). Unsurprisingly he's insured as a JRT X because that's... exactly what he is. Good luck to PetPlan proving he's actually a "Jackweenie" or "Jackshund" and that that is materially different from a JRT X.

“But it's far too easy to make a genuine mistake”

Yes... I was just saying, it’s not listed as a pedigree.

I am curious though, if a dog is down as a cocker cross on everything - how would it be refused when it came to a claim?

The only time there could be an issue, is if the micro chip, vets records and insurance don't match. So if you register your cocker X poodle with the vet as a cockerpoo but then register as cocker X with insurance (because it's cheaper) it can cause an issue but if you register with vet, microchip and insurance as cocker X they can't refuse - Basically as long as you can show you believed the dog was a cocker cross then the dog is covered.

My brother's dog is a rescue and he has no idea what cross she actually is. She has always been listed as Jack Russell X because she looks fairly Jack Russel like.

I’m with PetPlan and called my pup a mongrel. Then I was asked if there were more than two breeds involved I said yes and his premiums were cheaper than if I’d said he was a crossbreed.
He was sold to us as one of the cross breeds with a stupid name (think Daxidoodle) but we suspect he has at least one other breed in the mix.

We have a Cockapoo with Petplan and insured by talking to a human being on the telephone rather than online, which can sometimes help prevent these problems. Insurers can be so and sos.