diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index f005b80..feb16a5 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -517,7 +517,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "hotdog"
-version = "0.1.7"
+version = "0.1.8"
 dependencies = [
  "async-std",
  "async-tls",
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 1fdc153..336621b 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [package]
 name = "hotdog"
-version = "0.1.7"
+version = "0.1.8"
 authors = ["R. Tyler Croy <rtyler+hotdog@brokenco.de>"]
 edition = "2018"
 
diff --git a/src/settings.rs b/src/settings.rs
index 6816b22..cb4d00e 100644
--- a/src/settings.rs
+++ b/src/settings.rs
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ pub enum Action {
 pub struct Rule {
     pub field: Field,
     pub actions: Vec<Action>,
-    #[serde(with = "serde_regex")]
+    #[serde(with = "serde_regex", default = "default_none")]
     pub regex: Option<regex::Regex>,
     #[serde(default = "empty_str")]
     pub jmespath: String,
@@ -152,10 +152,19 @@ fn kafka_timeout_default() -> Duration {
     Duration::from_secs(30)
 }
 
+fn default_none<T>() -> Option<T> {
+    None
+}
+
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
     use super::*;
 
+    #[test]
+    fn test_load_example_config() {
+        load("hotdog.yml");
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn test_default_tls() {
         assert_eq!(TlsType::None, TlsType::default());