Border Collie dog insurance

Clever, playful and affectionate, that’s the Border collie! If you’re thinking of welcoming one of these amazing canines into your home, here’s what you should know.

One of the first things you should do is protect your new four-legged friend with some suitable pet insurance, especially as they can be prone to certain health conditions.

Let’s take a closer look at these remarkable dogs, and how dog insurance can help you look after your Border collie.

5 reasons we love Border collies 

1. They’re super smart

A famous study conducted by Stanley Coren, a professor of dog psychology, revealed that the Border collie is the smartest breed around. They would obey after just one command at least 95 per cent of the time. Yes, the Border Collie is an unusually smart and able dog.

2. They love exercise

If you like getting out and about, the Border collie is the dog for you. All that mental agility means that this is a dog that needs plenty of exercise and stimulation. They’re also famous for their stealth, speed and herding instinct.

3. They’re good with children

Border collies are so valued as pets for busy, active families. If yours is an energetic, adventurous household, and you want a dog to share in these adventures, a Border collie could be the perfect fit for you.

4. They come in lots of colours
When you think of a Border collie, you may think black and white. But this brilliant breed also comes in lilac, brindle, merle, liver, brown and more. They also have rough and smooth coats.

5. They’re easy to train
Border collies love nothing more than learning new tricks. From agility training to socialisation training in the park, they’ll love it all! Or maybe just start with teaching them to lie down!

What about grooming?

Border collies shed - a lot! Especially during the spring and the autumn. Grooming is all part of being a responsible pet parent but you’ll have to do this a lot more frequently with Border collies compared to other breeds.

This is true for both rough and smooth coat collies. If someone in your household has allergies, a Border collie may not be the best choice.

Why do I need pet insurance for my Border Collie?

The reasons for wanting to own one of these lively, intelligent and fun-loving dogs are all fairly obvious. But once you have a Border collie in your life, should you think about protecting them with dog insurance?

There are lots of good reasons for doing so. Dog insurance comes in various forms, but all will offer some kind of financial compensation if you need to pay expensive medical bills for your Border collie’s medical treatment.

We’ll look at some of the health complications that can affect Border collies in the next section. Many of these may require treatment and even surgery – and these procedures are often expensive, especially if they are needed in an emergency.

Paying a set amount each month for your pet insurance means you don’t have to worry about large, unexpected medical bills - helping you budget more effectively.

Other benefits of pet insurance for your Border collie

The financial help it provides with medical bills is probably the most significant feature of a pet insurance policy. However, there are other benefits, too, depending on what type of insurance you choose – and which insurer you go with.

Here at Purely Pets, all of our insurance customers have free access to a 24-Hour Vet Helpline. This dedicated phone line, exclusive to Purely Pets insurance customers, is staffed by experienced veterinary professionals.

Any time you have a health query or concern about your Border collie or other pet, you can call the helpline and ask one of our experts for advice.

Let’s run through some other benefits typically offered by a pet insurance policy.

1. Dental cover

Some pet insurance providers will help to cover the costs if your dog needs dental treatment. Purely Pets covers this as standard.

2. Holiday cancellation cover

A typical policy may offer you compensation if you have to cancel (or shorten a holiday) because your dog becomes ill.

3. Lost pet advertising and reward costs

We hope it never happens – but if you did ever lose your dog, your insurance policy may be able to help. Some providers will make a contribution towards the costs of advertising a lost or stolen pet. They may also help with a reward offered to the finder.

4. Help with pet boarding fees

If you ever have to spend a few days in hospital, who will look after your beloved dog? Some insurance providers may cover the boarding fees if you are forced to put them into kennels.

5. Multi Pet Discount

Do you have more than one pet? You may be able to get a multi pet discount, protecting all your cats and dogs under one policy. Here are Purely Pets, we can offer multi pet discounts - just ask the team for more information.

Remember, these benefits are all on top of the basic financial cover you should get in the event of an accident or injury to your dog. When you’re comparing dog insurance cover, these are the types of things you should look out for.

The RSPCA and the British Veterinary Association agree that pet insurance is a good way to protect your pet, getting them the help they deserve when they need it most.

Want to find out more about our Border Collie Insurance/Dog Insurance Product? 

We’ve listed our key benefits below and you can also take a look at our cover levels, customer reviews and awards.

Ready to get started and get a quote?

What health problems can affect Border collies?

Let’s return to the main benefit of pet insurance: help with those medical bills.

As a Border collie owner, what medical treatment might you need to plan for? Which illnesses seem to particularly affect these beautiful dogs?

Collie eye anomaly

This is an abnormality in the back of the eye. Specifically, it’s a problem with the choroid, which supplies oxygen and nourishment to the retina.

Collie Eye Anomaly affects all collie types – not just the Border collie breed, but also Rough Collies and Shetland Sheepdogs.

The good news, however, is that in many cases the condition doesn’t worsen enough to affect your dog’s eyesight.

Epilepsy

Collies seem somewhat predisposed to this brain disorder, which results in seizures. These can be distressing for an owner to watch.

However, epilepsy can often be managed through a mix of medication and regular check-ups. Depending on your Border collie insurance policy, you may be entitled to help with the costs here.

Progressive retinal atrophy

This eye condition develops over months or even years, and typically results in blindness over time. Basically, the retina – the tissue in the back of your eye that sends images to your brain – gets progressively weaker.

By the way, Progressive Retinal Atrophy is hereditary. If possible, find out whether your dog’s parents had the condition.

If so, arrange insurance before the condition develops in your dog, as a typical insurer won’t provide cover for pre-existing conditions. This means conditions that are already diagnosed in the dog when the policy starts.

Hip dysplasia

This painful condition first starts during puppyhood. Essentially, one or both of the dog’s hip joints doesn’t develop properly.

This results in considerable pain and, eventually, arthritis. Again, hip dysplasia is usually hereditary.

The condition usually affects medium to large pedigree dogs, and the Border collie falls into this group. Also, as all owners of Border collies know, these dogs love to run. So, any defect to the hip movement will be painful over time.

Badly affected dogs may require surgery, which will be expensive. As the condition begins in puppyhood, you may wish to consider arranging insurance very early on as, again, any pre-existing conditions won’t be covered by most insurers.

You can find more information about dysplasia in dogs elsewhere on our site.

Trapped neutrophil syndrome (TNS)

This inherited condition affects the white blood cells and weakens your collie’s immune system. Their facial features may appear narrow, and they may suffer from fever and diarrhoea.

You will usually notice this syndrome when they’re still a puppy. That’s why you may want to consider putting pet insurance in place after taking ownership of your collie dog.

The Purely Pet Promise

At Purely, we’re here to support you. That’s why all Purely Pets Customers get access to unlimited video consultations 24/7 with a qualified vet. Our easy to use online portal ‘Manage My Policy’, enables you to access to your policy 24hrs a day. This provides greater flexibility, allowing you to manage your policy at a time that suits you, so that you can spend more time with your furry friends, and less time managing your insurance. Get a quote

What sorts of dog insurance are available for my Border collie?

When it comes to getting some Border collie pet insurance, you have four types to choose from.

1. Lifetime pet insurance is typically the most expensive type. However, this form will also provide you with the most comprehensive coverage. This is what we specialise in here at Purely Pets.

Lifetime insurance gives you continuous cover, up to an annual limit, for each medical condition. And those limits are annual – they each reset every time you renew the policy.

Let’s take an example. Say your Border collie develops hip dysplasia, as mentioned above, and needs some surgery.

The costs of that surgery may be covered by your lifetime dog insurance, meaning that you don’t have to pay anything (beyond your excess). But these costs may take up your entire claim limit for that particular disease – so what if your dog needs further surgery?

Don’t worry – next time you renew, your claims for progressive retinal atrophy (and all other conditions) will go back to zero, allowing you to claim the full amount again for this policy year. It will then reset to zero when you next renew, and so on.

Lifetime insurance makes a good investment for any dog breed at risk of developing any long-term conditions. And, as we have seen, that group does unfortunately include the Border collie.

2. Maximum benefit pet insurance is closest to lifetime insurance in terms of what it provides. As the name suggests, maximum benefit insurance will provide a series of individual amounts of cover for various injuries or illnesses.

So for example, you might get £2,000 towards your dog’s arthritis, £500 to spend on treating their epilepsy, and so on.

The key difference between maximum benefit and lifetime insurance is that the former doesn’t refresh annually. Once you’ve spent £2,000 on your dog’s arthritis, that’s it – you have reached the end of the funding for that particular condition.

By the way, this type of insurance might not be the best fit for an older dog who is suffering from an ongoing health condition. This is because you risk reaching your limit for a particular condition, while your dog still requires treatment.

Border collie owners should bear this in mind, as these dogs can frequently live to a great old age – typically around 12 years, though some can live up to 17 years old.

They may require further treatment during their later years, and maximum benefit customers may find they are not covered for this.

3. Time-limited pet insurance Maximum benefit insurance adds one limit to the cover offered by lifetime insurance: the fact that your claims allowance doesn’t reset to zero every year. Time-limited insurance adds another restriction.

In this form of insurance, you will once again get cover for various accidents or illnesses – but that cover has to be spent within a fixed time period. So, you won’t get that £2,000 to spend on your dog’s arthritis across their whole lifetime, but maybe across one year only.

Within these time restrictions, you will also find that each illness or injury has a claim limit, just like with maximum benefit insurance above.

Time-limited insurance does have one useful feature. Any months of a policy year in which you make no claims will be carried over to the next policy year. For example, if you make no claims during the first six months of a one-year time-limited policy, those six months will be added to the next year’s policy – if you choose to renew.

4. Accident-only pet insurance is the final form of insurance and usually the cheapest. And, as you can tell from its name, it comes with certain key restrictions.

Accident-only insurance will only provide financial cover for any expenses – vet’s fees, for example – incurred after your pet has an accident. Illnesses, and the costs of treating them, are not covered by this type of insurance policy.

As we have seen, the Border collie is at risk of developing certain illnesses. An insurance policy that provides no cover against treatment of illnesses might not be the best fit for them.

However, if you think this policy might work for you, we’d suggest that it’s better suited to young dogs than to older animals. After all, younger dogs are more likely to leap and bound their way into some kind of accident – but perhaps less likely to suffer an illness.

Will my Border collie insurance cover me for pre-existing conditions?

No, unfortunately, most insurance policies won’t cover you for any pre-existing conditions – health problems that have already been diagnosed in your dog when you start the policy.

It makes sense to begin any condition-based insurance policy while your dog is still relatively young and has not yet been diagnosed with any health problems. That means that any health conditions that then crop up should be covered by your insurance policy.

Shop around carefully. Of the insurers that will cover for pre-existing conditions, each one will have a list of conditions that they will cover for. Check whether your pet’s health problem is on that list – and if not, call the pet insurance provider to check.

How do I get a Border collie insurance quote?

Here at Purely Pets, we provide lifetime pet insurance only. That’s because we think pets and their owners deserve the best possible level of cover.

You may find yourself paying a little bit extra for this type of insurance, but we believe that the benefits justify that extra spend.

After all, as we outlined, lifetime insurance provides the most comprehensive cover of all the insurance types. You will have separate claims funds for various health conditions – and each one of those claim limits will reset annually.

Spent all of your claim allowance treating a particular health condition one year? No problem: your claim for that illness will be reset to zero when you renew.

*Our lifetime policies also feature:

• Access to a free, 24-Hour Vet Helpline staffed by experienced veterinary staff
• Direct payment to vets
• No joining limit – you can insure with us at any time (minimum 8 weeks old)
• Flexible Excess Options
• No fewer than 15 levels of Lifetime cover to choose from
• Lifetime cover can reach a maximum of £15,000

*Terms and conditions may apply

If you’d like to find out more about insuring your pet with us, check out our introduction to pet insurance.

There’s more about the various benefits we offer elsewhere on our site, while any other questions may be answered on our online FAQs page.

Start protecting your brilliant Border collie with the specialists! Get a quick quote today.

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