Don't know if anyone else has got a letter today about new FSA Regulations.

I always send my pups out with 6 weeks Free Insurance from Pet Plan.  Giving both the purchaser and myself peace of mind from the minute the puppy leaves these premises. I know they get an automatic free 6 weeks from the KC when the transfer the puppy but I am never sure that the puppy will be transferrred into their name or when they will do it.  So don't feel that is security enough.

Now apparently we as breeders are not allowed to do this, all we can do is to give the purchase a Goody bag with includes a voucher for 6 weeks free cover. The new buyer has to ring themselves to get the free insurance cover. I wonder just how many will do this in the first flush of new puppy ownership.  I suppose the only way round it is to ask them to ring from here when they are picking up the new puppy.

I cannot give advice or recommend a type of policy to any purchaser!!! :-(

Talk about a Nanny state, it makes me wonder just what we are going to be prevented from doing next!!!!!

Yep got one from Pinacle.  Bit worrying as this will mean we can't make sure pups are insured the moment they leave us, which is part of our breeds code of ethics too.

Don't know how they are going to get around it.

I had the same problem today.  They had sent the notification letter to the address that I had left 20 months ago.  I have registered 2 litters from my current address!  I hadn't received the "goody bag".  I had tried to ring and was told that they didn't want to speak to the breeder, they wanted to speak to the purchaser!!  I gave the purchaser my phone and it took them over 20 minutes to complete the call to Petplan.  When the husband tried to register the pup in his wife's name, they wouldn't accept that - they wanted to talk to her!!  Petplan also tried to sell them 12 months worth of insurance!!  I'd already suggested that they check out M&S when their 6 weeks was up.  Petplan actually asked the purchaser if the pup had received any veterinary treatment!!
I feel a letter coming on!!

yes I got mine today too. Having read it all carefully, what I gathered, was that we cant actually sell insurance, but we can give the voucher and pack and 'advise' that the prospective owners validate the voucher.

Its not stopping us giving the voucher, just making us not insurance sellers

Got my letter and breeder pack too, but haven't got any puppy packs yet.  They have got my details wrong on the sticky labels that you stick on the goody bags :-(  These new regs are taking away my peace of mind!  I think that I will let all new owners phone from my place before they take their pup away - but you can't force people if they would prefer to wait 'till they get home and then how many will forget in the excitement of the new puppy?

plus we cannot acterviate the poilcy like we use do,

the only way round it that the new owner ring from the breeder house before they travel off with the puppy,but did you read that the puppy will not be insured for 14 day for sickens only acc,where before it was both when they left the breeder

I guess the only way forward is to get the new owner to phone from the breeders house :( I'm shocked by the 14 day accident only clause though - I know they have this in the normal policies to prevent you from taking out a policy and immediately claiming for illness but still.

When did/does this come into effect?

Could the new owner phone the day before collecting the puppy or even the same day and then
the breeder could keep a copy of the referance number given so they know the pup is insured.
Stupid law if you ask me.

Does anyone know of other company offering a similar scheme?

ALL insurance schemes offered by ANY company will be effected. It is new legislation, not the fault of the insurance companies.

Our solution will be to give the insurance details to the purchaser at least a week before they collect the puppy and insist that insurance is arranged before we hand over the puppy.
This probably goes against the letter of the law, but it is OUR interest that the insurance is protecting NOT the Governments!

NO insurance, NO puppy.

Snomaes

Yes, I understand, but I wondered if any other company had a more suitable way of dealing with our problem. 
I also wasn't happy with the way Petplan were trying to sell their insurance when I'd told the purchasers that they were ringing for 6 weeks free cover.  And they asked the new owners if the pup had already received any Veterinary treatment!  They should have been asking me that!!

got mine too - just as a matter of interest, did you have to sign for yours?

Sweep

Yes I had to sign for mine too, I imagine that is to cover themselves in case any of us say we weren't told.

I haven't received mine and tried to ring the overseas call centre in complete ignorance!

I haven't received mine either & also rang the Indian call centre not realising that they have apparently changed the number for the breeder line! Still haven't received anything despite finally getting through to the right number & being assured I would receive my pack by this weekend. I'm beginning to think it's not worth the hassle ;-)

Jane

Yep I had to sign for mine.

I've got mine today.

Part of the 'thou shalt not' clause states that we mustn't promote any insurance company ourselves.

Do you think that means that we mustn't discuss those companies we've found best (and those we've found worst) on champdogs?

How kindly do you think 'Which' magazine will take to this kind of dictatorship?

Jo and the Casblaidd Flatcoats

I phoned PetPlan, and someone from the Compliance Dept called me back.   These are the salient points:-

1.    I cannot give the paperwork to the buyer, give her the telephone & get her to activate the insurance at my house - i.e. before the puppy leaves me.

2.     Nor can I tell her OR advise her to ring Petplan when she gets home - this will consitute "recommendation".

3.     Neither can I collect insurance details from all the other companies offering the same cover and tell her to choose which one to use.

4.     I asked about the Kennel Club's automatic 6 weeks free insurance once a registration is changed over.....was told that I cannot draw the purchaser's attention to this point!!!

I'm just glad that I'm not contemplating another litter until after the end of June when I retire - maybe things will have sorted themselves out by then!

Think we ought to draw the attention of (ahem) Watchdog or some other such programme to this situation......

Margot

This is just total madness, as I said in my original post, yet one more step towards the Nanny State.

Well they can say what they like, I will still recommend my puppy buyers get insurance before the pup leaves my house, and if they call from my house, how on earth is anyone going to know!!!

Oooh - watch it Lady D..... the Nanny Police will be monitoring phone calls :D :D :D

Margot

:-D :-D