In addition to facing the general rise in prices, households with dogs will have an additional expense this year. Law 7/2023 on animal welfare, which came into force last Friday, obliges dog owners to have civil liability insurance for any damage that the animal may cause to third parties, a measure that was already being applied for potentially dangerous breeds. For the rest, insurance will be essential when the regulations that specify the characteristics and the minimum amount of coverage are approved, something that the acting Government hopes will happen before the end of the year, although there is no date yet.
In some communities, such as Madrid, the Basque Country or La Rioja, civil liability insurance for dogs has been mandatory for some time. Despite this, since Congress gave the green light to the new standard at the end of March, demand for this product has increased significantly. For example, in comparators such as Rastreator, searches have increased by 33% of users interested in subscribing to a canine policy.
Before taking the step, however, the consumer should keep in mind that many home insurance policies cover civil liability for domestic animals. Even so, the Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) recommends contacting the insurance company to “verify” that the animal “is still covered by the new law.” The reason, explains Xavier Pujolar, director of the Personal Insurance Area at Howden Iberia, is that “they mostly exclude” risks that are the subject of mandatory insurance. Therefore, “this validity must be reliably reflected,” adds Antonio Aguilar Martin, senior account executive at Marsh Spain, for whom it is not ruled out that there are insurers that decide to apply “an extra premium” or, if they choose to exclude this risk, the policyholder must take out an independent policy.
In the latter case, the question may arise as to what the minimum coverage capital should be. In this sense, Pujolar recalls that the royal decree that develops the law that regulates the possession of potentially dangerous animals sets the figure of 120,000 euros. An amount that the OCU considers insufficient and requests that it be equal to that covered in automobile insurance for civil liability, which is 70 million for personal injuries and 15 million for material damage.
“A quadriplegic who falls from a motorcycle, bicycle or scooter caused by a lapdog is not going to cost 120,000 or 300,000 euros. It will be valued based on what is provided by the scale of traffic injuries, which is the one used by a forensic expert,” argues broker Carlos Lluch. However, as detailed by Rastreator, the insured capital is between 60,000 and 300,000 euros, depending on the insurance company and other factors such as the breed of the pet, although most insurance policies offer to cover up to 200,000 euros. half.
The insured capital will influence the final price of the policy, which is on average 38 euros per year, according to the insurance comparator Rastreator. However, owners of dogs of potentially dangerous breeds must spend more money, between 45 and 70 euros per year, as well as those who decide to include veterinary care coverage, both for accidents and illness, with an average cost of 328 euros per year.
Finally, Lluch advises reading the general conditions of the insurance to clarify, for example, whether civil liability coverage is limited in cases in which the dog that caused the damage was in the care of a person outside the core of cohabitants. . Aspect that should be specified in the regulations.
