I have been trying to get quotes for insurance for my Bullmastiff puppy and have been hitting a bit of a brick wall. I went to a comparison website and alot of the companies listed couldn't quote for my details. I thought it may be because they ask if she has been spayed/microchipped/vaccinated and I have been selecting no as she is only 8 weeks so although we have appointments booked for the microchipping and vaccinations she doesn't have them at the moment. So I called the companies and have been told by 4 differnent people that they dont insure Bullmastiffs.

I have been given the following reasons 1) they dont have enough of them in the country for them to have been risk assessed 2) they are a dangerous breed with a bad reputation that is always in the media for attacking people!! (The RSPCA insurance people said both to me!!!)

Now both of those are complete sh#t if you ask me as there are quite a few bullmastiffs in the country and the companies that say that BM have a bad reputation admit that they are still insuring SBT and the like and I have heard so many more horror stories about those (sorry to any responsible owners - I know its not every SBT that is a problem)

So can anyone help me with a company name that do cover BM so I dont have to keep trying ones that dont. KC will do it but I dont like going with the firt quote I get and they have quoted me £107.36 a month which first of all seemed high to me but if noone else will cover her then I guess its not that high!!

Why on earth was the KC's quote that high? Are you sure it wasn't because you answered no to microchipping and vaccination and the quote might have been different had the answer been yes? For that kind of price I'd have thought it would be better to put the money aside each month in your own bank account and use it for vet's bills should they be needed. Have you checked with Pet Plan? They are usually pretty reliable. I only have one dog insured, the one I co-own as he cost a small fortune to import, and his insurance is approx £300 for the year and that was with a high purchase value. I'd have thought there would be far more Bullmastiffs than Malinois in the UK!(Indeed, checking now, there were 1169 Bullmastiffs registered by the KC in 2010, compare that to 138 Malinois.)

The KC didn't ask me the microchip/vacc question - I was on the phone with them about the free insurance you get for the first month as they wanted to check a detail and had sent me a letter to ask me to call them. While on I asked how much to extend the cover and they said £95 for a £5000 maximum claims a year and £108 for £10,000 with such a little difference if we do go with them we would probably get the higher one.

I haven't tried pet plan yet I will do that now.

I was amazed at the replies I got on the phone.

Have you tried NFU - they insure all types of animals and seem to have a more realistic view than a lot of the insurers who aren't animal savvy.

I think Petplan cover your breed but there are a whole bunch of exclusions and limits applied to 'select breeds' of which mastiff breeds are one.  See policy doc here

There is quite a good explanation of the types of insurance cover available here - so you'll be able to research the ideal cover for you

Good luck with finding an insurer - and do check with your breeder he/she must have experience of this and ought to be able to recommend an insurer for you

This company seem to cover most breeds.  My 9 year old golden has been insured with them since she was 8 weeks old and they have been very good.  Not cheap mind you - but good insurance never is.  Bear in mind it's largely your postcode that has an effect on the cost of your insurance.  I know this to my cost :-(  Also be aware that companies vary as to how long you have to be insured for before you can make a claim.  Usually a couple of weeks but can be longer!

http://www.helpucover.co.uk/product/pets/page/quick-quote

http://www.insureyourpet.co.uk

Try this site, got load of info on different levels etc. You can also go direct to virtually all the firms own sites to get quotes.

Chris

Marks and Spencer and Homebase both cover Bullmastiffs too.

I've used both of them and they offer very good life cover

Agree with Harley. TRy NFU  I highly recommend them as a company to deal with.  I have had to claim 3 times for my horse and have found them super quick, no heel dragging and quick pay outs direct to vets.

:)

All my Bullmastiff pups were insured with petplan ..no problems

My 2 Bullmastiffs are insured with Tesco.
I have found though that any company underwritten by AXA dont insure Bullmastiffs.Their loss not mine

Mum has never had problem getting insurance for our bullmastiffs

does the breeder of the pups insure?  If so you could find out who s/he is with.

Phew, sounds like you'd be better off putting a sum aside for vets bills each month, that's what we've started doing because with 3 dogs the premiums and excess are just too high to be worth it.

Thanks all. I shall give my breeder a call and ask her and check out all the links you have given me.

This has really surprised me I thought I had coveed everything in my research into the breed - I just totally forgot insurance or at least didn't think it would be a problem!

I have Bullmastiffs and I would definately recommend Animal Friends. My lot are insured with them and all my pups who have gone to their new homes have insured with them. They also let the new owners start the policy at 6 weeks so that the 2 week intro period was over and the pups were fully insured at 8 weeks when they left. Lifetime cover was £26 per month.

Can't remember if they asked if the pups were chipped or not but my lot were chipped before they left. Animal Friends used to be underwritten by E&L (big no-no) but changed a few years ago due to them not being happy with E&L's ethics.

Hmmmm.... just tried to get a quote from Animal Friends for my rescue dog and after a looooooong filling in of forms it came back Premium £0.00 so I assume she is uninsurable?
They weren't kind enough to give any other explanation :(

My Rotties were insured with Argos, and had really good service, no probs paying out for claims - and I would imagine that there would be less appetite to insure my breed than yours (I used to have Bullies years ago, but can't remember who I insured them with). I only switched due to cost, and I'm now covered through work (I work for a Bank).

But I've never been refused insurance when I've rung around for a quote for them.

Hi Kesmai, I have a 22 week old Male Bullsmastiff who I insured with Petplan from 8 weeks old without any issue at all.........They were brilliant infact.....I pay £47.99 per month which is the policy with the low excess on too......I would highly recommend PetPlan !!

Vetsmedic have been recommended to me. I think they are a newish company. They charge £18 across the board for all dogs (regardless of breed, age, postcode) but do certain breeds at £28 per month. This includes all mastiff breeds. The cover is £10k lifetime cover. Might be worth investigating.I just took out insurance with John Lewis for my Golden. £10k lifetime cover. I am fed up with M & S increasing the premium every year when she has had no claims.

Have you tried PetGuard? Mine is with them after PetPlan got too expensive on a monthly premium. I found that with owning a Bernese it came into a category of breeds which are deemed as 'high risk', so if a company does insure them normally the policy is expensive.. I now pay £25p/m with the above company.

A while ago there was all the hoohah about car insurance for young females being cheaper and eu rules that insurance companies were not allowed to do it as it was gender discrimination.
Wonder if there is a case for complaint about companies being 'racist' regarding different breeds.........German shepherd, Bernese M D, English springer, Norwegian elkhound etc :-D :-D

> Vetsmedic have been recommended to me.

Do you have a link, perchance? Can't find them on Google :(
Oh yes and I can't get to Petguard either!????

Vet-Medic is the online pharmacy for pets, I often buy from them ,worming tablets and similar. There is a tab having appeared on their site saying Insurance but it leads to a blank page. http://www.vet-medic.com

>Do you have a link, perchance? Can't find them on Google

I think the insurance company being referred to is Vets Medi Cover...

>Oh yes and I can't get to Petguard either!????

I found a reference to Pet Guard here - but the link appears to be broken.  is this what you had found?

Yes, the Pet Guard is the one I found. Thanks for the other link, though :)

my pup came with the kc insurance and when it was not far from running out they called me and i carried on with the plan and saved quite a bit, £31 a month but smaller breed, not sure if i he one the the special breeds like the dogue is though.