Cushat Posted November 10, 2008 Report Share Posted November 10, 2008 (edited) On another issue - BASC insurance... I've just been informed by petplan (through the BASC number) that if you earn more than £50 per week (i.e. pick up or beat more than twice a week) then the underwriters will not take on your pet. I've just spoken to the BASC gundog dept who are investigating - I suspect there are plenty of BASC members who are out more than twice a week!! With help from David, I've now had this issue clarified - there is a limit to how much you can earn if you want cover through the BASC endorsed scheme but it is £50 PER EVENT (i.e. max of £50 per day, which should more than cover picking up or beating). However, when I rang up to sort the cover and eventually got through to someone (after they'd picked the phone up three times and ignored it while I listened to them sort out their social plans), I had to declare EVERYTHING my dog had ever seen a vet about, didn't matter how minor, and was told I had to get a full history from the vet despite the fact the dog is fit and well and not suffering from any ongoing problems. They then appear to use this info to make as many exclusions as possible. As an example I was told that as she'd been to the vets for a low grade eye infection (antibiotic drops and clear in 3 days) she would no longer be covered for ANY other eye condition in future. Reading the policy wording I don't believe this is true and it is only a recurrence of the same condition (or pre-existing conditions) that aren't covered (which is understandable), but quite frankly I'm not willing to take the risk. I've now given up with the BASC policy and I'm a bit hacked off with BASC endorsing a policy which is run by a company which doesn't seem to know it's own products and has now given me two lots of fundementally incorrect info (£50/week maximum payment and now the eye infection issue). It's quite simple - I work my dog, I get paid a few quid and I don't mind admitting that and paying a bit more to make sure I'm covered. Don't know where to go now!! Edited November 10, 2008 by Cushat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted November 10, 2008 Report Share Posted November 10, 2008 Cushat, try http://www.healthy-pets.co.uk/ , they came out best when I did my research some time ago. Be sure to take the "full life cover" option. I have had two claims since having the insurance (the sure way to test its benefit and their efficiency) and I had no problems on either occasion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cushat Posted November 10, 2008 Report Share Posted November 10, 2008 Cushat, try http://www.healthy-pets.co.uk/ , they came out best when I did my research some time ago. Be sure to take the "full life cover" option. I have had two claims since having the insurance (the sure way to test its benefit and their efficiency) and I had no problems on either occasion. Just called them - they don't insure working dogs. Also tried NFU - they don't insure working dogs either, although some of the local agents do. I've tried my local office in Reading and they didn't have a clue, so that's another dead end! This is starting to get ridiculous!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Posted November 10, 2008 Report Share Posted November 10, 2008 On another note, Does the BASC membership cover you for public liability if the accident was caused by your dog? I can't think of an example at the moment but say your dog causes damage to someone elses property etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malc Posted November 10, 2008 Report Share Posted November 10, 2008 I have my bitch insured through Swiftcover. Very cheap premiums and I've just read the policy and it only seems to exclude security guard dogs and racing dogs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Posted November 10, 2008 Report Share Posted November 10, 2008 Is there a difference between "working" dogs and "gundogs" I would have thought that a working dog would be like a police dog or guard dog, whereas I class my springer as a gundog, because what i do (and he does) is done for pleasure not payment. Apart for being shot (god forbid) they can sustain the same sort of injuries while in a beating line or out for a walk in the countryside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David BASC Posted November 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2008 BASC membership does cover your liability. As said Healthy Pets do not insure gundogs that 'work' they have just e-mailed me to confirm this. Sorry about the problems with the BASC endorsed Pet Plan product - I will have words! Double check the swift cover - call them and get them to confirm you dog is covered. Can they tell how the dog was injured, possibly not but as I said on another thread (or was it this one) larger claims will be investigated...and if you are caught telling porkies to insurance underwriters they will always get very grumpy! I am very sure that pet insurance .co .uk do cover working gundogs, or gundogs when they are working, or whatever the correct terminology is! David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malc Posted November 10, 2008 Report Share Posted November 10, 2008 Double check the swift cover - call them and get them to confirm you dog is covered. Do you think it's necessary, David? I would have thought that the Policy or even the Terms and Conditions would either exclude or not exclude. Swiftcover does not exclude. If an insurance company just decided to invent some exclusions on receiving a claim... then I'm sure small claims court would not side with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David BASC Posted November 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2008 When I researched the 'top 4' dog insurance providers, on reading the policy summary and policy itself there was nothing to suggest working dogs / gun dogs would be excluded, apart from the Tesco policy when you read the ‘some assumptions we have made’ section of the proposal form. The insurer or their agent is only legally bound to declare in the Key Facts documents key inclusions and exclusions that could affect a person’s decision to buy. Now given that most of these dog insurance policies are aimed at pet dogs- which make up probably over 95% of the UK dog market, I doubt if a court would side with someone who purchased a pet policy for a working dog, who later found cover was not there. There are very very strict rules covering the selling and promotion of insurance, or products that contain an element of insurance and failure to comply with these rules is treated very severely indeed by the FSA. Failure to comply with the FSA can at the very least, result heavily fine and could result ultimately in suspension or revocation of your right to trade. As such I would suggest to you that nearly all insurance companies and their agents know full well what the must and must not do. I offer this a guidance based on my knowledge and experience of the insurance industry gained during the past 13 years, it is, of course, up to the reader to follow my guidance or ignore it. But it is freely offered in good faith. I have no axe to grind with any dog insurance company, and I am sure no dog insurance company would want to take your money if ultimately, you were not covered. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Posted November 11, 2008 Report Share Posted November 11, 2008 David, In no way was I suggesting that anyone should be dishonest, I was suggesting that the likelyhood of an injury or illness is the same whether your dog is a pet or working dog. The only injury that my dog has had apart from the collapsing episode was he ripped his ear open on some barbed wire. That could as easily happened while out for a walk as it did while we were beating. There's a campaighn idea for BASC, rid the countryside of the unecessary barbed wire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cushat Posted November 11, 2008 Report Share Posted November 11, 2008 I was suggesting that the likelyhood of an injury or illness is the same whether your dog is a pet or working dog. I couldn't disagree more! My dog and those I've seen on shoots over the last 25 years work a hell of a lot harder than they do when out for a walk. They face thicker cover, cross more obstacles, work longer and at a higher intensity and all this means the probability of an injury are higher. I'm glad you've been lucky MC, and I know of countless others who are the same, but working dogs have more chance of injury than pet dogs, no doubt about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malc Posted November 11, 2008 Report Share Posted November 11, 2008 Double check the swift cover - call them and get them to confirm you dog is covered. You are quite correct David. I have telephoned Swiftcover/Thornside and they stated that they only do "Pet Insurance" and only cover animals that are used as pets. No working dogs, including gundogs, of any description. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David BASC Posted November 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2008 Worth checking then! As to barbed wire i could not agree more - the number of times i have ripped my kit climbing over fences when beating! Luckily none of my dogs have ever been hurt by wire, but Sod's Law says next weekend.... David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Posted November 11, 2008 Report Share Posted November 11, 2008 It is beginning to look like the BASC insurance is the only one worth having. On re reading my earlier post it did not come accross correctly, what I actually meant was a dog could sustain any type of injury at anytime. Apart from being shot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted November 11, 2008 Report Share Posted November 11, 2008 As for being shot the only cases I can remember bearing in mind my dads a vet, have been dogs that have gone missing and ended up chasing livestock or gamebirds and gone home peppered in shot and none were "working dogs" obviously dogs could get shot while out shooting but its not the only way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Posted November 11, 2008 Report Share Posted November 11, 2008 I don't know why I bother Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santlache Posted November 13, 2008 Report Share Posted November 13, 2008 Tesco do not insure working dogs With all respect, David, how would they know if a dog incurred an injury while out working or romping around the woods ? Two of mine are insured with Tesco, and they've just paid out on an injury one sustained that needed four visits to the Vet and some minor surgery patching them up. They never even asked if the dog was working or not. Of course they were just romping about and playing in the woods Pretty faultless really, they were very good and gave an excellent service, I just handed the paperwork to our Vet and they did the rest. Three weeks later a cheque dropped through the letter box minus the excess. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David BASC Posted November 13, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2008 As I have said, if they find out.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darren m Posted January 22, 2009 Report Share Posted January 22, 2009 so what was the final verdict on A. working dog insurance B. gun dog insurance C. pet insurance saying working dog indicates there is payment ( which is not always the case ) surely most of use have "gun dogs" , the term is just a class of dog like ie . terrier , lots of people have labs and springers as pets . when phoning for a quote , what is the correct term to use :- i have a working lab , a gun dog lab , just a lab Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted January 22, 2009 Report Share Posted January 22, 2009 If you have an interest in selling insurance then its to say its a working dog otherwise if its a pet that comes out with you as usual just say its a dog that you want to insure. Despite the scaremongering its not the vets job to try and invalidate your cover on technicalities they are only interested in getting paid. As said any injury picked up when out shooting could happen on a daytime walk, of course if you want to pay more then call it a working dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
activeviii Posted January 22, 2009 Report Share Posted January 22, 2009 I went with pet-insurance co uk in the end. £12 a month for a cocker. as long as its a gun dog and not an attack type dog then im covered. spoke to the vet last week about this insurance and they said 'whos gonna tell them' by this i took it that the vet dosent care how illness happens as long as the animal receives proper medical care, so this made me feel better. 'IF', god forbid, anything happens then i will not say anything as to what, where or when to the insurers and just let the vet doing there job Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirty Harry Posted July 6, 2009 Report Share Posted July 6, 2009 I went with petinsurance.co.uk. Dog recieved a small rip to his nads when he jumped over a fence and the vet stitched it back up. This was 5.5 months ago and I have still not recieved payment. I was told today that it must have been lost in the post. Bunch of cowboys in my opinion. I get the impression they are pulling your chain everytime I speek to them. I cancelled the policy and am now looking for another. Since taking out the policy with them I have heard so many horror storys about them. You have been warned! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devilishdave Posted July 6, 2009 Report Share Posted July 6, 2009 Easy dont tell them you were working it you were just walking it the fact you were with 12 of your pall all carying guns is neither here nor there!! Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huntinlass Posted July 6, 2009 Report Share Posted July 6, 2009 Even better-forget about dog insurance- save up in a seperate account what you would usually pay each month for the insurance, and when you need it its there, rather pay that money to someone to keep it safe, then when you actually need it they say no your not covered for that or ok but you'll have to pay £*** excess. Insurance is a con Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyb Posted July 6, 2009 Report Share Posted July 6, 2009 Even better-forget about dog insurance- save up in a seperate account what you would usually pay each month for the insurance, and when you need it its there, rather pay that money to someone to keep it safe, then when you actually need it they say no your not covered for that or ok but you'll have to pay £*** excess. Insurance is a con I doubt putting 15 odd quid away each month would cover the cost of any sizeable procedure or Public liability claim involving your dog... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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