Third Party Liability - Pet Insurance

Pet insurance plans include third party liability cover for dogs as part of the policy as majority of the top insurers do not provide the cover on it's own.

Pet owners can be legally responsible for the actions of their animals. If your pet were to injure someone or run across the road and cause an accident, as owner of that animal you could be liable to prosecution and claims for compensation. With this in mind it is a good idea to ensure that you take out third party liability as part of your pet insurance package.

Third party liability insurance basically protects you financially in the event that your pet harms another person or causes them injury, or if your animal were to damage or destroy someone else's property. Under the 1971 Animals Act this includes damage to vehicles too. Some third party liability options extend to insure pet owners in circumstances where the animal is responsible for the death of another person. If your pet's actions were to cause such an incident the claim for compensation could be substantial -- and if you do not have third party liability cover you might even have to sell your home in order to make the settlement!

Compare Pet Third Party Liability Cover
Insurer	Policy Name	Third Party Liability Amount	Third Party Liability Restrictions	More Info
	Optional	£2 Million	Dogs only. Excludes any injury or damage to property of you, your family, or anyone living or working with you. £250 Excess.
	Standard	£1 Million	Dogs only. Excludes any injury or damage to property of you, your family, or anyone living or working with you. £250 Excess.
	Premier	£2 Million	Dogs only. Excludes any injury or damage to property of you, your family, or anyone living or working with you. £250 Excess.
	Pet Saver	£1 Million	Dogs only. Excludes any injury or damage to property of you, your family, or anyone living or working with you. £200 Excess.
	Standard	£2 Million	Dogs only. Excludes any injury or damage to property of you, your family, or anyone living or working with you. £200 Excess.
	Value	£1 Million	Dogs only. Excludes any injury or damage to property of you, your family, or anyone living or working with you. £200 Excess.
	Standard	£1 Million	Dogs only. Excludes any injury or damage to property of you, your family, or anyone living or working with you. £100 Excess & £250 Excess if abroad.
	Superior	£1 Million	Dogs only. Excludes any injury or damage to property of you, your family, or anyone living or working with you. £100 Excess & £250 if abroad.
	Essential	£2 Million	Dogs only. Excludes any injury or damage to property of you, your family, or anyone living or working with you. £250 Excess.
	Premier	£2 Million	Dogs only. Excludes any injury or damage to property of you, your family, or anyone living or working with you. £250 Excess.
	Option 1	£1 Million	Dogs only. Excludes any injury or damage to property of you, your family, or anyone living or working with you. Excess as per schedule.
	Option 2	£2 Million	Dogs only. Excludes any injury or damage to property of you, your family, or anyone living or working with you. Excess as per schedule.
	Optional	£1 Million	Dogs only. Excludes any injury or damage to property of you, your family, or anyone living or working with you. £250 Excess.

Who should take out third party liability cover for pets?

All pet owners should consider third party liability insurance. We live in a very litigious world -- with the help of the Internet and TV advertising making an injury claim on a no-win no-fee basis is now all too common. Some pet owners have been sued for damages just because their pets were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

If you own a dog you should certainly take out third party liability cover. In an overwhelming number of pet-related legal cases it is dogs rather than any other animal that have been responsible for causing an incident where the third party has taken action -- mainly because dog ownership is so prolific in the UK and dogs come into contact with the general public more often than most other pets do.

Even if you have a well-behaved dog it is worth considering taking out third party liability cover. It only takes a moment for your dog to act against its nature and harm someone. If it does you could be sued -- perhaps for up to several hundred thousand pounds! The question you have to ask yourself is is it worth taking the risk when you can have third party pet liability insurance in place to cover such eventualities for only a few extra pounds each month?

Restrictions on third party liability cover for pets

Most third party policies are geared up to insuring dogs. If you would like to buy pet insurance with third party cover for a different animal you will need to do your homework to find the right level of cover. Look out too for excess payments. If you need to make a claim you may have to commit to pay the first £100 or more of the damages brought against you and your pet. Generally, the higher the excess amount, the lower your monthly premium is likely to be.