Pet Insurance And Why
| Published: 28th June 2007 06:04 |
Even the most simple of illnesses can be expensive. For instance, an upset stomach (Gastroenteritis)could 
vary from £30 - £250+ and a fracture could cost you in the thousands! Even conditions that require daily medications such as arthritis or heart conditions the bills soon add up with all check ups and blood tests required due to continuous medicating. As for the horses, just a call out fee is a fair pice let alone the treatments on top. A personal view:
I know that if my dog was to get ill that I would want to do all I could for him, I also know that without insurance I couldn't afford to. I would be restricted to the amount I could spend, like most I have a mortgage and the usual house bills coming through the door!
Realistically I couldn't afford to pay silly money on the treatment. I would never forgive myself if I had to make a decision limiting the treatment based on the financial implications thats why, for me, I have my dog insured. I know that should anything go wrong he can have everything and I wouldn't have to give it a second thought as to where the money would come from.
So many to choose from:
As pet insurance is becoming more known and more popular by pet owners it seems all kinds company's are jumping on the bandwagon. I went into a gardenstore the other day and was surprised to see there leaflet on pet insurance! Everyone is doing it but not everyone offers you a good deal so be careful. Read the small print!
What to look for:
The most important thing is that they offer a life long policy for any condition.
Most companys will insure your pet until they die and therefore can say they offer a life long policy BUT what you need is a company that will pay out for the life of your pet and the life of the condition.
If your pet has a problem such as Arthritis or Diabetes and requires treatment for the rest of their life, make sure the company will pay out for duration and not (like most do) have a 12 month limit or a maximum cost limit. If they have these limits, once the company has paid out for that condition for either 12 months or £X (which is usually around £2000) then they exclude this condition and stop paying you money even if the condition is still there! However, they will continue to insure your pet and take your money.
Exclusions
What are exclusions?
This is when the insurance company excudes a condition from the policy. They will insure the animal for other problems and illness but if the excluded condition occurs or something related they will not pay out.
Company's do vary but generally they exclude conditions if;
1) The animal has had or has this problem before being insured.
2) If you change insurance company's and your pet has a condition the new company will exclude it from their policy with you. Even if it was covered by the old company.
3) If you allow your policy to expire then renew it with the same company they will exclude any exsiting condition.
This happens quite a lot with puppies and kittens; If you have been given a free covernote and you don't take out a full policy before the cover note expires, any condition or illness that was covered by the covernote policy, won't be covered in the new policy!
4) Breeding and related problems are always excluded from normal policies. If you intend to breed take out a breeding policy as things like Caesarean sections won't be covered.
5) Some company's exclude hereditary conditions.
6) Most company's don't cover preventative or cosmetic treatments. This means things like vaccinations, worming, routine neutering, dental scale and polish (unless medical reason, this catches a lot of people out).
Each company does vary so please read all the print and know what you are covered for before signing anything.
Making a claim:
I can only speak from my experience on this but generally company's can take anything from a few days to a month once receiving the claim to getting you the money.
If your animal gets ill and you know you might need to make a claim the first thing to do is make sure you have a claim form. If not connect your company and get them to post or fax you one.
Once you have it, fill out your details and your pets details. Other information to be filled in by you does vary but mainly date you first noticed something wrong and symptoms you noticed or condition name if you know.
Your vets will have to fill out and sign the medical section.
You will need to sign the form before it is sent to the insurance company.
Insurance company's I would suggest:
These are the 2 I know best and trust.
PetPlan
PetProtect
My advice: You get what you pay for.
Kirsty Ricketts
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