Direct Line Insurance looking to cover legal fees

Direct Line Pet Insurance will review its pet insurance policies following its finding that over one third of dog owners would be prepared to go to court to fight for the custody of their dog in a divorce.

A study by Direct Line Pet Insurance found that in addition to this statistic, two fifths of dog owners would be prepared to pay off their partners to secure the guardianship of their dog.

Researchers interviewed 750 pet owners and discovered that some would fork out £10,000 in an effort to keep their pets.

Following this study, Direct Line has said that it is to review its pet insurance policies, investigating whether custody battles should be included.

"Splitting up with a partner is traumatic enough, but losing custody of a pet makes the break even harder to deal with," said Direct Line manager Chris Price.

"With these findings in mind, we're reviewing the legal liability in our insurance policy for dog owners to see if it needs to include pet custody battles."

Despite the findings of this study, a survey by Saga Pet Insurance, released last month, discovered that only 32 per cent of dog owners insure their pet.