Pet Insurance - Cheapest isn’t always best
When you compare pet insurance, it’s likely that you will be on the lookout for the cheapest policy.
However, many vets warn that you need to be very careful, as cheapest is not always best.
There are three reasons to beware of going for the insurance policy with the lowest premiums:
- Policies with the lowest level of premium often have the highest excess levels. Moreover, they tend to set the excess as percentages of the bill rather than as flat rates. Suppose your pet had to receive treatment costing £4,000 and you were subject to a 15% excess (which is by no means unusual). You would have to pay a whopping £600 before the insurance would pay up. That’s hardly “cheap” insurance, is it?
- The cheapest policies often provide only 12-month limited cover. That is, the cover for a specific condition is limited to a certain amount AND to the first 12 months. If your pet has developed an ongoing condition, you could find yourself liable for huge amounts after the first year of treatment.
- Cheaper policies often have age bands, or age limits, or both. If the policy imposes age bands, the premium for your pet goes up automatically every few years, as he increases in age. If there is an age limit, the cover for your pet could cease completely once he reaches a particular age – usually 10 or 12. This could be a big problem if your pet lived on for several years and developed a serious condition – or more than one. And you would not be able to switch to another insurer, unless you had made NO previous claims at all.
So when you want to compare pet insurance, there’s no substitute for reading the small print. A policy that seems cheaper at first sight, may actually involve you in major expense at a later date. Better still - talk to an independent broker, who will be able to point you to the most genuinely economical way to insure your pet.
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