Backchat is often in the dog house but a couple of loss adjusters happened to reveal some of true stories about dogs recently that made him howl with laughter.

A chum from Ashworth Mairs Group told how a gas explosion in a house had been investigated due to suspicious holes in the gas pipe that had caused the leak. It turned out not to be sabotage, but the family dog who had chewed the pipe.

The “Old Shep” had been in the house when the explosion happened. The trusty cur had not been killed in the blast but, sadly, had been deafened. Having survived this ordeal, the mutt promptly snuffed it anyway because it didn't hear a car coming and ran into the road.

And Backchat's old mucker in Crawford's had a canine tail of his own too. A family was so angered by being burgled that Dad bought a pedigree Great Dane to protect their home. On the family's first night away they were burgled. The only thing stolen was the dog.


The 2025 Insurance Times Awards took place on the evening of Wednesday 3rd December in the iconic Great Room of London’s Grosvenor House.

Hosted by comedian and actor Tom Allen, 34 Gold, 23 Silver and 22 Bronze awards were handed out across an amazing 34 categories recognising brilliance and innovation right across the breadth of UK general insurance.
Many congratulations to all the worthy winners and as always, huge thanks to our sponsors for their support and our judges for their expertise.

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