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A Little Rabbit Could Cost You Big
Bucks…
(16/03/2004)
Have you considered pet insurance to protect your ‘Easter Bunny’?
Vets widely report that, after dogs and cats, the pet rabbit is the next
most common animal being presented in the UK for veterinary treatment.
So if you are considering buying an ‘Easter Bunny’ have you thought
about the cost?
The recent prime time TV focus on pet and vet programmes has challenged
owners to think more seriously about the healthcare and welfare of
smaller animals. As rabbits become accepted as proper family pets -
sometimes even being house trained and living in the home - caring
owners are expecting more from their veterinary surgeon. Once an animal
that vets shied away from as perhaps ‘too difficult to treat’, rabbit’s
can now receive the specialist treatment that dogs and cats, the
traditional family pets, enjoy.
But, the one element often ignored by veterinary TV is the cost. More
sophisticated drugs and modern veterinary procedures come at a premium
and this can cause a dilemma. Rabbits are usually a child’s pet with
pocket money funding the day-to-day costs. When illness or injury
strikes, the child’s ability to pay and the parent’s appetite to
subsidise large veterinary bills, often means treatment is tempered … or
worse.
The true cost of caring…
Rabbits can suffer from a wide range of illnesses. Many of these
conditions are not just one-off incidents and could potentially affect a
rabbit for their lifetime.
In a recently published case study, Barney, a six-year-old Dutch rabbit
received £515.63 of treatment over a period of just 12 months!
Should the worst happen…
We always do what we can to keep our pets healthy, but despite this,
things can still go wrong. However, the cost of unexpected veterinary
bills doesn’t have to upset the household budget or result in debt. A
reliable pet insurance policy can help you plan for the unexpected and,
should the worst happen, leave you to concentrate on your pet’s full
recovery rather than worrying about the size of the likely bill!
This is why more and more rabbit owners are choosing
pet insurance as a
way of protecting their rabbits against unexpected veterinary costs.
Typically, insurance will cover a rabbit against the cost of unexpected
veterinary fees. It may also include additional benefits such as
advertising and rewards to help find a lost rabbit, with boarding fees
in a rabbit hotel if you, the owner, are in hospital. A new policy
launching in April 2004 and provided by Pinnacle Pet Healthcare Ltd will
pay up to £2000 worth of veterinary bills each year and even pay your
premium for up to six months if you are unable to work due to sickness
or redundancy.
The right policy …
Care must be taken when choosing your rabbit’s policy. Some insurers may
limit the time that you can claim for a condition to 12 months while
others may restrict claims to a maximum amount per condition. As a
general rule of thumb, you tend to get what you pay for with pet
insurance so ensure you read the small print!
Follow this quick checklist when comparing quotes:
· Does the policy offer lifetime cover?
· Does the policy maintain the same breadth of cover for older rabbits?
· Will the insurer place new exclusions at policy renewal in view of any
claims you may need to make?
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