Pet Insurance

October 11, 2008 by more insurance

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Pet Insurance

Pet Insurance is the protection your beloved animal needs to cover unfortunate eventualities such as accidents and illnesses. It will also cover voluntary but advisable procedures such as the spading or neutering of your pet, as well as the implanting of the highly recommended ID microchip. For a monthly premium paid to your insurer, they will cover these expenses. Given the substantial cost of uninsured pet healthcare, it’s the best thing you can do for your pet and your wallet!

Pet Healthcare

Healthcare works in an almost identical fashion to human healthcare – consultancy, treatment and board all cost money, this much is certain. Pet insurance companies will offer a flat rate for veterinary fees to a pre-ordained maximum which is often several thousand pounds. Depending on the policy chosen, this coverage may extend to each and every individual illness or injury your pet might suffer, which should highlight the sort of expenses one would be facing without insurance. For example, your insurer may offer £7000 per treatment for as long as that treatment needs to be administered while enjoying accommodation at the veterinary surgery.

On top of this they may offer what is essentially pet life insurance, so in the event that your pet goes missing, is stolen or suffers accidental death, you will receive a payment usually to the tune of several hundred pounds. Depending on the circumstances this can go towards advertising for missing pets or, in the more unfortunate cases, replacing lost, departed or stolen pets.

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More on Pet Insurance Coverage

Main coverage may also include a limited form of travel insurance. Should you want to bring your pet on holiday within Europe, you can fund treatment for it on your pet insurance plan. You may even be provided with access to 24-hour vet help lines such as ‘Vetfone’. These lines are covered by veterinary nurses and are extremely helpful for advice on your pets’ health and welfare.

Other non-healthcare related benefits may include heavy liability insurance should your pet be responsible for damage to a third parties property. This might come in handy if you happen to own a particularly large and frisky dog! Given the level of love and affection owners have for their pets, you might also want to look into some of the alternative therapies covered by some insurers. Acupuncture and homeopathic treatments are even available to pets!

Factors Determining Insurance Premiums

Your premium will be determined by several factors, including the species of pet, the quality of its breed and its age. Typically, larger pets are more expensive, so cats are cheaper then dogs and a terrier will be cheaper then a Labrador. A pedigree will always be more expensive then a crossbreed or mixed breed animal. And of course, the younger your pet is, the less it will cost to insure as age related impediments are less of a factor.

When looking at your final quote, you’ll generally be pleased to find that pet insurance is not overly expensive. Typically one would be looking at a premium of only £10-20 a month. Placing more than one pet on your policy will often result in a percentage reduction to your premium, so if you have multiple pets it will always be worth putting them on the same plan.

Limiting Factors

There are a couple of factors that can severely hamper the chances of you being provided with a policy. In all cases, you must keep your pet at the address on the policy. It is unlikely you will receive a quote if you cannot meet this stipulation. Dogs in particular carry several strict requirements. If it has been the subject of any accident, legal action or behavioural complaint you will find it very hard to insure. More specifically, if the dog has had any use or training in security or guard work or has been trained in attack, you will not be able to get insurance for it. The same problem would occur if your pet has been raced at any point. Common pet insurance is designed for domestic animals only.

As with so many things today, arranging your insurance online carries the benefits of ease and speed but also reduced expense by cutting out the middleman. Insurers will offer up to 10-20% discounts on your premium and most reputable insurers will offer this type of insurance. Providers such as MoreThan or Direct Line are excellent places to start. If you accept the responsibility of owning a pet you can also appreciate the need to care for it properly and pet insurance is one of the most important steps in so doing.