The guidance on this site is based on our own analysis and is meant to help you identify options and narrow down your choices. We do not advise or tell you which product to buy; undertake your own due diligence before entering into any agreement. Read our full disclosure here.
Bulldog Insurance: 4 Top Tips to Ensure the Right Cover
Compare Cheap Pet Insurance
Pet cover can help with vet bills. Protect your beloved Bulldog today.
According to The Kennel Club's latest breed registration statistics, French Bulldogs were the 2nd most popular breed in 2019 and English Bulldogs were the 4th most popular breed in the UK. (The long-reigning Labrador Retriever has regained the top spot as the most popular dog in the UK after being temporarily unseated in 2018).
Unfortunately for these darling pets and their owners, however, Bulldogs are prone to a host of health problems. Follow these four pet insurance tips to help ensure you have the necessary health cover to protect your four-legged friend and your wallet, in case a health condition emerges with your beloved dog.
Top Tips for Insuring Your Bulldog
It can be hard to find an affordable pet insurance plan for a bulldog. Follow these tips to provide your dog with the pet insurance cover he needs.
1. Sign Up for Health Cover ASAP
It's crucial to sign up for pet insurance when your pet is still healthy. If you wait to take out a policy until your pet shows signs of illness, most insurance companies won't reimburse you for any vet bills related to that illness. Given Bulldogs are prone to numerous problems, it's wise to buy pet insurance when your dog is young, before any issues arise. (There are a few pet insurance companies that cover previous health problems, however, but there are restrictions on cover.)
In fact, insurers typically exclude cover for any illnesses that show up in the first few days or weeks of a new policy. They do this to help prevent pet owners from signing up only once their pet becomes ill.
You can find the details of this exclusion, which will vary from insurer to insurer, in the terms and conditions of any policy you are considering. For instance, you might read language stating a Significant Exclusion is "Illnesses that show signs in the first 10 days after your policy started." Just another reason to sign up for pet insurance ASAP.
2. Get Lifetime Cover (or Max Benefit)
Lifetime policies are the best type of pet insurance for Bulldogs—and unfortunately, usually the most expensive. Many Bulldog health issues require regular trips to the vet, with treatment easily costing hundreds if not thousands of pounds. Because conditions can recur and treatment can span over years, Time Limited policies are usually not suitable.
To help ease the financial burden of Bulldog vet fees, a Lifetime pet insurance policy is usually most helpful because limits renew each year and there's no time limit on treatment. That means you're covered for recurring Bulldog ailments, like infections in the skin folds or cherry eye.
If Lifetime plans are outside your budget then you could consider a Maximum Benefit plan—but these only cover each condition up to a certain limit. And they're not always cheaper anyway. There's no time limit with Max Benefit/Per Condition plans, but once you hit the £ limit for a certain condition then you won't be reimbursed for any more vet bills (for that condition).
Bilateral conditions (conditions that can affect both sides of a pet, like cherry eye, hip dysplasia, etc.) are treated as one condition, so you'd only have the Max Benefit limit to use for BOTH sides of the body.
3. Check Your Policy Doesn't Exclude Congenital/Hereditary Conditions
As the owner of a Bulldog, you'll want a policy that covers congenital or hereditary conditions. Unfortunately, some plans specifically exclude congenital or hereditary conditions—these plans won't be much good to a Bulldog or their owner. For this reason, we'd recommend staying away from pet-insurance.co.uk if you own a Bulldog. We'd always urge you to look through the terms and conditions of a policy before you sign up, in order to look for this exclusion. You can also read our article on Best Insurance for a Bulldog.
4. Try to Get Dental Illness—if you can afford the extra premium
The Bulldog jaw structure leaves them prone dental conditions, such as abnormal placement, number and development of teeth. As a result, it can be good to buy a health plan that includes Dental Illness for a Bulldog. Insurance plans vary significantly in their coverage of dental conditions. The three options you'll see for pet dental cover are:
- No dental cover at all
- Dental injury only (due to accident)
- Dental injury and illness
However, Dental Illness cover doesn't come cheap. Lifetime plans including Dental Illness can cost hundreds more per year.
Bulldog Health Problems
Bulldogs are prone to a number of health problems, including spinal, eye, skin and dental conditions, plus breathing difficulties:
- Cardiac disease
- Respiratory disease
- Hip dysplasia
- Cherry eye
- Infections in skin folds
- Urinary tract stones
- Spinal problems (including pain, loss of hind limb function and incontinence)
Final Thought on Pet Insurance for Bulldogs
Keep in mind that switching insurers in future may be problematic as pre-existing conditions are only covered by a handful of companies, and can cost more. So don't be swayed by insurers that offer a massive discount for your first year—pick an insurer you feel comfortable with because you may be with them for years to come.