It might be all the rage with car insurance but one UK-based insurer is allowing dog owners to use GPS technology to prove they keep their dog healthy and to reduce the cost of insurance premiums.
More Than Insurance has designed a GPS-tracking dog collar that will link-up to your smart phone to show just how much exercise your dog is getting. If you and your pooch meet certain daily recommended guidelines based on breed, you could save up to 20% on your insurance premiums annually.
The new technology will be launched next year and a director at More Than, Matthew Poll, has compared the smart-collars to wearable technology used by joggers.
Poll told The Daily Telegraph: "Rewarding owners who look after the welfare of their pets is important, and while we're unable to confirm the exact level of discount at this stage, we believe the technology has the potential to result in possible savings of 10 to 20 per cent."
More Than will provide owners with information on what a healthy dose of exercise is for your breed of dog which, if you own a German Shepard or Boxer, could see you and your pooch out on walkies for up to two hours a day.
Owners will need to install an app on their smartphone or tablet which will provide a detailed breakdown of the dog’s daily movements.
More Than have also included a speed monitor on the collar so users can’t drive around in their car to cheat the system.
With one in three pet insurance claims in the UK related to obesity, More Than hope they can tackle the “huge issue” of pet obesity one walk at a time.
It won’t only be the owners that get a discounted treat as More Than have also said they will post healthy dog snacks to participating pooches too.
