Insurance

Just as we can insure ourselves, there are separate insurances available for dogs. Normally, your American Staffordshire terrier might be part of your household insurance (I know this sounds terrible…) having said that, for certain insurance companies a “pet” can be a fairly broad concept. Therefore, take a good look at the policy terms and conditions of your insurance policy so that you know in advance what you may or may not expect regarding to paying out when there is a problem.

To circumvent this ambiguity there is the possibility of taking out a seperate dog insurance. This is a specific insurance that can assist you legally when your dog has caused any damage to third parties and the insurance company can compensate you for the costs as a result of an accident and/or illness.

In the Netherlands only about 5 percent of the pets are insured. This number is currently growing slowly. For example, in Britain, 24 percent of the animals are already insured and in Sweden it’s a vast 70 percent. In Spain, where our second Old Hickory kennel is located, it is even a legal requirement to insure our American Staffordshire Terrier. All in all, if we are talking about pet insurance, the Netherlands is well behind other countries.

Over the years, we have noticed that many dog owners have their dog separately insured. Because the dogs are now insured we have seen that this lowers the threshold regarding veterinary visits. In other words, your dog’s health can benefit from this by addressing possible diseases at an early stage, and the vet bills won’t get that unnecessary expensive. I would say with an additional dog insurance, you will be sure to provide your dog with the necessary medical care without having to worry about the costs.

In a nutshell, there are four types of insurance to choose from.
Insurance for the dog’s health, accident insurance and other incidents, insurance for traveling with your dog, and insurance in case your dog dies.

Of course, the insurance companies will give you the opportunity to combine these above-mentioned possibilities.

The costs?! The monthly or yearly fee that you have to pay for taking out a dog insurance depends on the condition and the age of your dog. In principle, I would say that it works most cost effective if you take out a dog insurance immediately when you get your puppy, which means as early as possible. A puppy is normally very healthy and therefore an insurance company runs a minimum or smaller risk than for a dog which is older than for example ten years. This reduced risk will immediately pay itself out to you in terms of a lower insurance fee.

If you have any questions about this subject do not hesitate to contact us.