Pet insurance – how to choose an appropriate policy

Choosing a pet insurance policy and provider can be a very daunting task. There is a lot of information out there to wade through and it can feel very overwhelming. This guide should hopefully put your mind at ease, highlighting the important things to understand and look out for. Our team are always on hand to answer any insurance queries you may have.

Why is pet insurance important?

Firstly, let’s consider why pet insurance is important in the first instance! When your beloved pet falls ill, or becomes injured, it can often be out of the blue and very sudden. Understandably, when these unexpected veterinary fees arise it can prove extremely stressful and difficult to cover the funds. This is where your pet insurance comes in, as it helps to cover and control these unexpected veterinary costs. Many people discuss whether pet insurance is ‘worth it?’ It may seem unnecessary at times, especially when your pet is healthy and disease free. But is it worth taking the risk if your pet suddenly requires veterinary treatment? For instance, and to put this into perspective, if your dog was in the unfortunate situation of being hit by a car and fractured a leg, the average cost of a fracture repair is around £3000-4000. Having your pet insured would allow less limitation in the treatment and management of your sick of injured pet, as well as greatly reducing your financial stress in an already extremely stressful and upsetting situation. Also, pet insurance is not only available for your cats and dogs, rabbits, birds, and all manner of exotic pets can get insured too!

How do I find a pet insurance company?

Currently, there are many ways to explore and access pet insurance companies. Most pet insurance companies have well established informative websites that are easy to access online. You may come across pet insurance leaflets in your veterinary practice and there are now many advertisements on social media and television. There are over 86 companies in the UK offering pet insurance policies, interestingly this is the most of any country in the world. As veterinary professionals, we are not permitted to advise you to take out a policy with a specific company, but we can advise you on the different policy types and assist you in trying to determine which type of plan is right for you. Furthermore, we would always recommend that you read the small print on any policy that you take out.

What are the different pet insurance policies?

When we start to dive deeper into the different types of pet insurance policies and what each of them entail, it can get rather confusing. The following points will highlight these different policies and the level of cover they provide.

• Lifetime cover – If you ask a veterinary professional what type of insurance cover they would recommend, they will almost always say a ‘lifetime cover’. This is the most comprehensive type of cover for accidents and illnesses throughout the duration of your pet’s entire life. This also means that the veterinary fee cover limit (for example up to £10,000) resets each year, as long as it is renewed on time. Imagine a scenario where your canine companion was diagnosed with a lifetime illness such as diabetes. Diabetes is a condition which requires daily medication and regular monitoring, so visits to the vets and managing this disease incur high and regular ongoing costs. If your dog had lifetime cover on their insurance policy, they would likely cover any veterinary fees incurred due to the diabetes for the rest of their life.
• Annual or time-limited cover – Time-limited insurance policies cover the cost of your veterinary fees for a fixed period (one year) for each illness or injury. Once the 12 months has expired, or the fixed amount per condition has been reached, the condition is no longer covered, despite renewing the policy. If your pet is diagnosed with a lifelong condition, after the 12-month period, or once your limit has been reached, you would be responsible for covering the entire ongoing veterinary fees for that condition through the subsequent years.
• Accident only cover – Quite simply, this type of pet insurance policy only covers accidents and does not cover illnesses or pre-existing conditions. It is often advertised as a more affordable policy, but it is very important to understand that it only covers veterinary fees for accidental injury, only so don’t get caught out!
• Maximum benefit cover – This is a unique type of pet insurance cover which covers each individual illness or injury, but only up to a certain financial limit. Using the previous example of a dog with diabetes, if the limit on your ‘maximum benefit’ policy is £2,000, once the cost of the ongoing treatment reaches that value then the insurance cover for that particular condition ends.

Conclusion

The world of pet insurance is extremely vast and is a little complicated. Lifetime cover is usually recommended for your furry friend, but there definitively isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ scenario, and it’s about selecting an insurance company and policy to suit both you and your pet’s needs. Please feel free to approach us and talk to a member of our team to discuss any aspect of pet insurance further, we are very happy to guide you.