Gun Dog Forum

I am considering buying property insurance on my dog.

However, every google search is either about pet health insurance, or what type of breeds are excluded from your homeowners insurance.

I want to insure the replacement value of the dog itself. We all know a finished, titled bird dog is worth somewhere between $1500 and $15,000 to replace. The personal property in your house is insured at probably $3/thousand, separate gun riders are like $9/thousand and you can insure jewelry at $10/thousand. So insuring a bird dog against being stolen, drowning, getting hit by a car, etc should be around $15 to $50 a year for most people.

And, I'm pretty sure thoroughbreds are insured as property.

Does anyone know of companies writing insurance for dogs as property?

I talked to my insurance agent back in the 90s to see what it would cost for life and theft insurance on my avatar dog. He said it would run 10% the value of the dog (OR HIGHER) per year. He said there was too many things that could happen to a dog(high risk) and they only live approx. 10 years so the premiums have to be high or the insurance company would lose money on every dog that was insured. He said race horses had high rates as well. He might of just been blowin' smoke, but he was a good friend of mine and I believed him. I didn't insure the dog :roll:

Put $100 in a savings account every month.

You can prove value of household goods, jewelry, and other hard goods with receipts and valuation estimates. But how do you prove a dog's value other than by purchase price? How do you prove its value as a stud or brood bitch unless maybe it happens to be one of the most sought after producers in the country? All the training and titles don't mean a thing, as we all know there are dogs who excel after a couple months' training, and those who are still duds after thousands are poured into them. There are Champions, and then there are 'champions'.

I'm with Reba, put money aside in case it's needed for emergency bills, or hopefully to buy another pup after the dog enjoys a long and happy life.

shags wrote:You can prove value of household goods, jewelry, and other hard goods with receipts and valuation estimates. But how do you prove a dog's value other than by purchase price? How do you prove its value as a stud or brood bitch unless maybe it happens to be one of the most sought after producers in the country? All the training and titles don't mean a thing, as we all know there are dogs who excel after a couple months' training, and those who are still duds after thousands are poured into them. There are Champions, and then there are 'champions'.

I'm with Reba, put money aside in case it's needed for emergency bills, or hopefully to buy another pup after the dog enjoys a long and happy life.

You said it yourself, with a valuation estimate. You estimate the value and, if the insurance company's underwriters agree to insure it for that amount, then that's the amount of insurance.

The training and titles are precisely what are used by underwriters to help determine value.

As it turns out, I found out Hartford will write insurance. And, the rate per $1000 of coverage was reasonable . . . except they have a monthly minimum is $250 per month. So, for most dogs (including mine) it doesn't make sense. Better to just stick $100/month in a savings account.

For it to financially make sense, you do either need a high-value gun dog (like one of Mike Stewart's Wildrose Kennel labs) or be in the real money (a show dog with Westminster pedigree or an actual show wins).

Thanks for clarifying