2023-09-07 15:57:49
With the entry into force of animal welfare law On September 29, 2023, it is mandatory for those who have a dog to have third-party liability insurance. This is one of the measures of this law that most doubts awaken since its publication in March and that affects all races and all sizes.
Should only dogs have insurance?
Yes. According to point 3 of article 30 of the animal welfare law, people who own dogs must “hire and maintain in force a liability insurance civil for damages to third parties.
Extract from the animal welfare law in which it is obligatory to contract and maintain civil liability insurance for any type of dog
Before the new law came into effect, only dogs considered “potentially dangerous” had to to hire this insurance, as indicated in Law 50/1999 on the legal regime for the possession of potentially dangerous animalswhose list it keepseven though that him bill promised to repeal it. But from now on, it will be mandatory for all races.
In autonomous communities such as Madrid o Basque Country This was already mandatory, with the entry of the new standard it will now be mandatory on a national scale.
In addition, some home insurance policies have this civil liability insurance included, as already indicated by Unespa, the Spanish Union of Insurance and Reinsurance Entities, in the Civil Liability Insurance report in Pets 2019-2020. Insurers recommend reviewing the home insurance contracted or to be contracted to check if this policy is included.
What does this civil liability insurance consist of?
As Rastreator explains on its website, this insurance is a policy that covers damage that an animal may cause. To thirds. This is the case of accidents such as a bite on a pedestrian, or damage to other people’s property, among others.
Insurers offer this insurance at an average price that, according to the calculation of this comparison website, is around 38 euros per year, according to an estimate from August 2023.
However, insurance that has veterinary and accident coverage will cost approximately 230 euros per year, since the guarantees are more complete.
What happens if I don’t have insurance by September 29 and how much is the fine to pay?
As we say, the law comes into force this September 29, six months after its publication in the BOE. Sergio García Torres, promoter of the regulations and General Director of Animal Rights, explains to Mr. Dog, guide for urban animals, that if he does not have this insurance contracted for this day They don’t have to fine us. From Maldita.es we have asked the Ministry of Social Rights and Agenda 2030 about this issue, but until the time of this publication we have not received a response.
The general director says that the measure “will come into force once the regulatory development of the law is approved”, although as of September 6, 2023 this is not in force. However, he points out that “it is necessary that the Government is not acting to approve regulations of this range.”
Once the regulation is approved, the sanctions that may result from not having this insurance vary from 500 to 10,000 eurosdepending on the seriousness of the facts.
Article 76 of the animal welfare law indicates that a minor infraction, including not taking out insurance, can result in a fine of 500 to 10,000 euros.
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