Pet Insurance its not just for Vets Bills
What do YOU think pet insurance covers?
If you ask most people this question, they will probably answer “vets’ bills”. But pet insurance covers far more than this.
Recently an Alsatian dog ran into the road while being looked after by friends of the owner. This caused a car accident and a medical claim for more than £40,000. If this had been your dog, would you have been insured? If not, you could have been bankrupted or lost your house.
Pet insurance policies do of course cover medical treatment for accidents or unforeseen illness. (Normally they DON’T cover routine procedures such as neutering, vaccinations or flea and worm treatments – any more than motor insurance would cover routine servicing of your car.) But there are lots of other things that policies can cover, depending on which policy you choose.
advertising and reward payments if your pet goes missing;
boarding fees in kennels or cattery if you have to be hospitalised;
cancellation costs of your holiday and flight if your pet is ill at the last minute;
third party liability insurance if your pet injures someone, or causes damage or an accident;
legal advice and legal fees;
pet bereavement counselling;
help with pet behaviour problems;
transport costs if the vet refers your pet to another practice or a specialist;
taking time off work if you are bitten by your dog;
complementary or alternative therapies like herbal medicines or homoeopathic treatment;
pet replacement if your pet is killed, lost or stolen.
If you are deciding which pet insurance policy to choose, you need to think carefully about what cover you are likely to need, and check the types of cover provided by different policies. There is no point in paying extra premiums for pet insurance cover you are never likely to need.
For example, if you don’t believe in homoeopathy, you are unlikely to request homeopathic treatment for your pet. And replacement costs for a lost pet may only be worth insuring against if you have a very expensive pedigree breed.
So when looking for pet insurance cover, be very clear exactly what you want to insure against, and make sure you don’t pay for what you don’t need.
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