The cover a lot of UK handlers quietly relied on is no longer part of the membership they got it through. Here is what insurance an assistance dog handler actually needs, what the exclusions really say, and the question to ask in writing.
📖 6 min read·By the ADR Team·Updated September 2026
A handler asked us this week where to get insurance for an assistance dog. It sounds like a simple question. It is not, and the honest answer changed a few months ago.
Nobody in the UK sells a product with that name. What exists is:
When someone asks you for "insurance for the dog", they nearly always mean third party liability.
For years the standard advice was: join the Dogs Trust Companion Club for a few pounds a year and third party liability comes with it. Cheap, simple, and what most handlers were told to do.
That cover is no longer part of the membership. Dogs Trust now states plainly that the Companion Club “no longer includes third-party liability insurance for new sign ups”, and tells people to find their own insurer, adding that it cannot recommend a specific one. If you already hold a subscription, check your own paperwork rather than assuming you are still covered.
So if you joined for the insurance, you may not be covered now, and you may not have noticed. That is worth checking today.
We looked for a like for like replacement and could not find one. Which means liability cover now generally comes bundled inside a pet insurance policy rather than as a cheap standalone membership.
This is the question handlers worry about, and the real answer is more interesting than yes or no.
We read the policy documents. None of them mentions assistance dogs at all, either way.
What they exclude is working dogs, and look closely at how that is worded:
Every one of those is aimed at commercial use: earning money, guarding premises, racing, herding livestock. An assistance dog working for its own disabled handler is not earning money and is not connected with a business. On a plain reading, it sits outside those exclusions.
There is supporting evidence. The Dogs Trust scheme, before it closed, said its insurer did not distinguish between an assistance dog and a pet dog, and its own exclusions carved out personal service animals such as guide dogs.
But "on a plain reading" is not the same as "your insurer has confirmed it in writing". That gap is the real problem, and it is the reason handlers get nasty surprises at claim time rather than at the point of sale.
Ask your insurer, in writing, and keep the reply. Use wording like this:
My dog is an assistance dog, trained to perform tasks that help with my disability. She is not used for any business, commercial, security or breeding purpose. Please confirm she is covered under this policy, including third party liability.
Three reasons this matters more than shopping around:
Many handlers are paying for cover they already hold.
Typical third party liability limits we found sit between £1 million and £3 million, usually with an excess on property damage claims. One insurer warns that it may remove liability cover at renewal for high risk breeds or dogs that have bitten, so cover is not guaranteed for life.
On price, the figures floating around suggest roughly £13 a month as an average for dog insurance, and premiums fell slightly in early 2026. Treat both as rough, because they come from comparison sites rather than an official source, and your premium depends far more on breed, age and postcode than on the dog's role.
Good news, and it is worth saying clearly because this is most of our members.
Owner training is lawful and recognised. The Equality and Human Rights Commission's own guidance for businesses says assistance dogs can be owner trained.
No insurer document we read treats an owner-trained dog differently from a charity-trained one. None of them uses "assistance dog" as a rating factor at all. So accreditation is not your risk. The generic working dog exclusion is, and the fix is the same: get the written confirmation.
Sometimes asked, rarely correct.
A landlord cannot require pet insurance for your assistance dog. A clause allowing landlords to require pet damage insurance was in the recent rental reforms, and the Lords removed it before it became law. A pet fee, pet rent or a pet deposit on top of your ordinary deposit is not permitted either.
A venue or service provider cannot demand proof of insurance as a condition of entry, any more than it can demand a certificate for your dog. There is no UK register of assistance dogs and no document you are obliged to carry.
That said, holding liability cover is sensible for its own sake, and it removes an argument before it starts.
The law does not ask you to prove anything. A card in your hand simply ends the conversation faster, without explaining your disability to a stranger. Our free digital law card puts the relevant law on your phone screen, at no cost and with no card details.
Get the free law cardPrefer something physical, with a photo and an ID number a business can check? See the registration plans.
We could not read one major insurer's policy document, and we could not reach an official industry source for premium figures. Where we were unsure, we have said so rather than filling the gap. Insurance wording changes at renewal, so check your own documents rather than relying on any article, including this one.
Insurance is not something we sell and not something we would pretend to advise on.
What we do is the other half of the same problem: making it straightforward to show who your dog is and what she does, whether that is a letting agent, a campsite or a doorway. Our free digital assistance dog law card costs nothing and lives on your phone. Our registration plans add a physical card with a photo, an ID number and a QR code that anyone can check for themselves.
Neither is legally required. Both save the same conversation happening twice.
General information for UK handlers. It is not financial advice or a recommendation of any particular insurer, and it is not legal advice about your own situation.
