Think You'll Spend Less to Insure a Purebred Dog? Think Again

My family and I adopted our dog, Champ, in 2020. And to this day, when people ask us his breed, our response is, "We have no idea."

Sure, we've got some guesses. His body looks like a lab, his face looks like a pitbull, and his ears tend to shoot upward in that unmistakable shepherd style every time he gets startled or curious.

But all told, we've never felt compelled to dip into our savings to pay for genetic testing. So to us, he's just our giant, lovable mutt.

Meanwhile, a friend of mine recently asked how much my family pays for Champ's pet insurance. And when I told her, she was shocked.

The reason? She actually pays more money for coverage for her purebred golden retriever. And while different insurances offer different levels of coverage, our policies seem pretty similar at first glance.

But while my friend was unpleasantly surprised at that outcome, I actually wasn't. It's a big myth that purebred dogs are less expensive to insure. Often, they're more expensive, and there's a very good reason for that.

When purebred means more health problems

You might assume that purebred dogs are less likely to encounter health issues because their genetic histories are well-known. But actually, their purebred nature could work against them.

Mixed-breed pets, by nature, have different genes going into them. That often makes them less likely to encounter breed-specific health problems.

In fact, Nationwide found that purebred dogs on a whole have a higher risk for cancer claims than crossbred and mixed-breed dogs, at 1.9 times the relative risk. So that could easily explain why it might cost more to insure a purebred dog.

To put it another way, purebred dogs have the same genetic health issues passed down to them because there aren't new genes in the mix. Mixed-breed dogs can often avoid some of those issues due to varied gene pools.

How to get the best deal on pet insurance

The amount you end up spending on pet insurance will vary based on factors such as:

• Your dog's breed
• Your dog's age
• Your dog's health
• The amount of coverage you're looking for

But whether you have a purebred dog or a goofy mutt like we do, your best bet is to shop around with different pet insurers and compare your options. Some of the details you'll want to look at include:

• What deductible you'll pay before your insurance kicks in
• Whether there's a cap on different services, and what that cap entails
• Whether your plan includes any wellness benefits

You should also know that no matter what type of dog you own, any pre-existing conditions they have will generally be excluded from coverage. So if they have hip dysplasia, for example, and that's known at the time of your pet insurance application, your dog won't be eligible for treatment related to that condition.

If you're in the process of trying to adopt a dog and you have your heart set on a certain breed, you may want to do some research first and read up about the health issues that tend to be prevalent among that breed. Granted, potential health issues aren't necessarily a reason to not adopt a dog that's an otherwise good fit for your family. But it's definitely helpful to know what you're potentially getting into.