Pet insurance
can cover you against life’s unexpected
emergencies, it won’t cover you for routine or
preventative treatment for your animals such as worming
tablets or their regular injections. This is no
different from any other form of insurance though, for
example, you can’t claim for your car’s regular service
on your motor insurance but you can claim for repairs if
you have an accident.
Pet
insurance has been around since 1947 when breeders of
pedigree dogs were offered specialist cover. Now, there
are over 80 providers all offering different pet
insurance policies which can be bought by post,
telephone or on the Internet.
The most important aspect
of a pet insurance policy, and the main reason why
people insure their animals, is to cover veterinary
fees. Essentially, there are three levels of vet fee
cover offered, though there are different variations
available. It’s therefore important that you are clear
on what type you are buying.
Veterinary fees
• Level one - Commonly
referred to as a ‘cover for life policy’, this is where
companies offer a fixed amount of cover for vet fees
each year and then reinstate this amount each year when
the policy is renewed.
• Level two - The second
type of insurance policy involves a maximum limit on the
amount paid out for each condition, so, you can claim
for as long as it takes to reach this limit. This is
generally less expensive than level one and is also
suitable for long term conditions.
• Level three - This type
of cover has a maximum monetary limit per condition and
a maximum time limit that a condition can be claimed for
(normally 12 months from its onset). Once the maximum
monetary or time limit has been reached the condition
will no longer be covered. This is commonly referred to
as a 12 month policy.
There are also additional options you can include in a
pet insurance policy.
A typical pet insurance
policy will cover:
• Treatment for your pet
if it suffers illness, injury or disease
• The purchase price if your pet dies due to accidental
injury
• An element of third party liability cover, usually
applicable to dogs only, for injury to third parties or
damage to their property.
There are a number of
points you need to consider when taking out pet
insurance. Not only can the policies vary in the level
of cover they offer you, but each company will apply
their own additions, conditions and exclusions to their
cover, which means there can be great differences
between them. It’s important to make sure that you
compare like with like when choosing pet insurance and
pick the policy which best meets your needs and budget.
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