There is one question in the quote form that stops a lot of people: what do I put for the breed? If your dog is a cross, if you have no pedigree papers, or if you simply are not sure, the hesitation is fair enough. The answer is simpler than it looks, and there are only three options.
Why breed matters in the form
The price is not worked out by size or by looks: it is worked out breed by breed, together with the age and the cost of vets in your area. That is why the entry needs to be right.
It is not about picking the correct label, it is about describing your pet as its paperwork describes it. That is enough.
Pedigree breed
Choose pedigree breed when both parents are of the same breed. It makes no difference whether you hold the pedigree certificate: the certificate is not a requirement for ticking this option.
It is the most straightforward option, and the one to use if your pet’s health record or passport names a specific breed.
Crossbreed
Tick crossbreed if the parents are of two different breeds and one breed predominates. In that case, select the breed your dog most resembles.
This is the familiar case of a known cross: you know there are two breeds involved and one counts for more than the other in the result.
Mixed breed
Choose mixed breed when the parents are of three or more different breeds, or when the breed cannot be determined because it is a cross of several.
If you adopted and nobody knows where your dog came from, this is your option. It is not a second-class category: it is simply the accurate description.
The document that decides
When in doubt, always enter the breed given in your pet’s health record or passport. The breed you select should match the one on that document.
The same goes for the date of birth: enter the one shown on the microchip document, the passport or the health record. That is the date we use, and it is also the one that sets the age at joining.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need pedigree papers to tick pedigree breed?
No. It is enough that both parents are of the same breed, with or without a certificate.
What is the difference between crossbreed and mixed breed?
A crossbreed is two breeds with one predominant; mixed breed is three or more, or undeterminable.
What do I enter if I do not know the exact breed?
The one on the health record or passport; if it cannot be determined, mixed breed.
What if my breed is not on the site?
There are breeds we do not include online because the price would be excessive.
Filling in those two fields properly, breed and date of birth, is most of the work: with them and your postcode the premium can already be calculated. And if you then take the policy out, the details will match your pet’s paperwork from day one. Getting a quote takes less than a minute.
