Can you take out dog liability insurance and health insurance together?
Yes. Dog liability insurance and health insurance are two separate policies with different jobs that you can take out independently or together. Many providers offer both, so you can protect your dog from two sides with just one point of contact. To know what you are combining, it is worth first looking at the two jobs.
The difference can be summed up in one sentence: one protects others from your dog, the other protects your dog.
Dog liability insurance is a liability policy. It pays for damage your dog causes to others. The basis is the animal keeper's liability under Section 833 of the German Civil Code (BGB), under which you are liable for any damage your dog causes, even without fault of your own.
Pet health insurance is a health policy for your dog. It covers vet costs for treatments, operations and medication when your dog falls ill or is injured. So the two policies have nothing to do with each other, except that both protect your everyday life with a dog.
What dog liability insurance covers
Dog liability insurance applies whenever your dog causes damage to a third party. Three types of damage are covered:
- Personal injury: your dog bites someone or brings a cyclist down who is injured. The insurance covers treatment costs, compensation for pain and suffering and follow-up costs.
- Property damage: your dog damages someone else's property, such as a vase, a bicycle or another person's dog.
- Financial loss: financial consequences, for example a loss of earnings because the injured person cannot work.
Not covered is damage to yourself or your own property. If your dog chews up your own couch or bites you, liability insurance does not pay.
Focus on the cuddles, we'll focus on the costs.
What pet health insurance covers
Pet health insurance, often also called dog health insurance, covers the cost of medical treatment for your own dog. Depending on the tariff, this includes:
- vet visits, examinations and diagnostics in case of illness or accident
- operations including anaesthetic, aftercare and medication
- depending on the tariff, also preventive care, alternative treatment methods or behavioural therapy
A distinction is usually made between two variants: a pure surgery insurance that covers only operations, and comprehensive health insurance that also includes outpatient treatment. Not covered here is damage your dog causes to others, that is what liability insurance is for.
Dog liability insurance and health insurance: the difference at a glance
The overview below shows the most important differences side by side.
| Feature | Dog liability insurance | Pet health insurance |
|---|---|---|
| Protects | others from your dog | your dog |
| Pays for | damage to third parties | treatment of your dog |
| Typical case | your dog bites someone | your dog falls ill or is injured |
| Legal background | owner's liability under Section 833 BGB | voluntary health cover |
| Mandatory? | yes in many federal states | no, always voluntary |
Who pays what: dog liability insurance or health insurance?
These examples make the boundary clear:
- Your dog bites a jogger. This is personal injury to a third party, so dog liability insurance pays.
- Your dog is bitten by another dog while playing and needs surgery. This is the treatment of your own dog, so your pet health insurance or surgery insurance pays.
- Your dog swallows a foreign object and needs an operation. This too concerns your dog, so health insurance.
- Your dog scratches the door of a holiday flat. Property damage to a third party, so liability insurance.
- You are bitten by your own dog. This is neither a matter for liability insurance nor for pet health insurance, but for your own health care.
What this means: as soon as a third party or someone else's property is involved, liability insurance is responsible. As soon as it is about your own dog's health, health insurance.
Why dog liability insurance and health insurance complement each other
The two policies cover the two big financial risks of owning a dog, and these have nothing to do with each other. A single biting incident can quickly cost several tens of thousands of euros on the liability side. A serious operation or a chronic illness can be just as expensive on the health side.
Anyone who has only one of the two leaves a big gap open. With liability insurance alone you are legally covered, but you pay your dog's vet bills yourself. With health insurance alone your dog is medically cared for, but damage to third parties hits you with your full private assets. Only together is the protection complete.
Focus on the cuddles, we'll focus on the costs.
What dog liability insurance and health insurance cost together
The difference between the premium and the possible loss is clearest with a concrete case. Take a three-year-old, healthy crossbreed with no pre-existing conditions. For it, surgery insurance costs from 7.99 euros a month, health insurance from 15.99 euros a month, plus dog liability insurance from 4.99 euros a month. For both building blocks together you therefore pay, depending on the tariff, around 13 to 21 euros a month, a manageable and predictable amount.
Against this stand two risks that can quickly reach a multiple of that. If your dog injures a person, a single case of personal injury with treatment, compensation for pain and suffering and loss of earnings can run into five figures. On the health side, a cruciate ligament operation alone costs around 1,800 to 4,000 euros depending on the clinic, and chronic illnesses add up to similar amounts over the years.
How often the health side comes into play in everyday life is something we see in our own figures. In Dalma's claims database we analysed around 23,700 treatment cases from 50 euros upwards. The reimbursements range from double-digit amounts from 50 euros for simple treatments up to the four-digit range for operations with aftercare. Vet costs are therefore not the exception, but the norm of owning a dog.
| Component | Premium per month | Possible risk in a claim |
|---|---|---|
| Dog liability insurance | from 4.99 euros | personal injury and property damage, five figures in individual cases |
| Surgery insurance | from 7.99 euros | a single operation around 1,800 to 4,000 euros |
| Health insurance | from 15.99 euros | chronic treatment, several thousand euros over the years |
Worked example: For a predictable monthly premium you cover two risks that individually can quickly reach several thousand to tens of thousands of euros. The premium is calculable, the loss is not.
Dog liability insurance and pet health at Dalma
At Dalma you can combine both building blocks and protect your dog from two sides.
- Dog liability insurance covers personal injury, property and financial loss with up to 15 million euros, with no waiting period and for all breeds with no age limit.
- Dog insurance reimburses treatment costs up to four times the GOT rate, with 80 or 100 percent reimbursement and an annual benefit limit of 1,500 euros up to unlimited. Health insurance starts at 15.99 euros a month, the pure surgery insurance at 7.99 euros a month.
A note on age: you can take out pet health insurance for dogs between 2 months and 9 years, dog liability insurance has no age limit. So it is best to insure your dog early.
Frequently asked questions about dog liability insurance and health insurance
What is the difference between dog liability insurance and health insurance?
Dog liability insurance pays for damage your dog causes to third parties, for example if it bites someone. Pet health insurance pays for the treatment of your own dog when it falls ill or is injured. The two complement each other.
Do I need both policies?
They cover two different risks. Liability insurance protects you from expensive compensation claims and is mandatory in many federal states. Health insurance protects you from high vet costs. For a completely carefree everyday life, both make sense.
Does dog liability insurance pay if my dog falls ill?
No. The treatment of your own dog is not a liability matter. For that you need pet health insurance or surgery insurance.
Who pays if my dog is bitten by another dog?
Your pet health insurance covers the treatment of your dog. In addition, the other dog's owner is liable through their dog liability insurance. If they have no insurance, default cover in your liability policy can help.
Is health insurance for dogs mandatory?
No. Pet health insurance is always voluntary. Only dog liability insurance is required by law in some federal states.
Can I combine dog liability insurance and surgery insurance?
Yes. Both building blocks combine without any problem. At Dalma you take out dog liability insurance and pet health insurance, that is the health or surgery insurance, together. That way your dog is protected from both sides: against damage it causes, and for its own treatment.
Sources
- Section 833 BGB, liability of the animal keeper, gesetze-im-internet.de
- Dalma insurance terms and conditions
- Dalma table of benefits
- Dalma DE internal claims database, dogs, cases from 50 euros upwards, analysed at incident level (around 23,700 treatment cases, aggregated analysis, reproducibly documented)
Sources
- Section 833 BGB, liability of the animal keeper, gesetze-im-internet.de
- Dalma insurance terms and conditions
- Dalma table of benefits
- Dalma DE internal claims database, dogs, cases from 50 euros upwards, analysed at incident level (around 23,700 treatment cases, aggregated analysis, reproducibly documented)
