Choosing pet health
insurance: what do I need to know?
If you’re new to the world of
pet health insurance, you could find
yourself confronted by a bewildering choice. And
you do need to be VERY CAREFUL in choosing your
policy.
Why? Because it is very difficult to change
in mid-stream. Once your cat or dog is diagnosed
with a particular condition, you will not be
able to move as most providers exclude
pre-existing conditions.
So think carefully about your choice. What do
you need to know?
The main thing you need to be aware of is
that pet
health insurance policies fall into three
main groups.
The first kind limits a claim per
condition and per year – e.g.
£4,000. So if your pet developed a
condition such as a tumour, and this
cost £4,500 in the first year, the
policy would pay £4000, leaving you to
pay the remaining £500. If the condition
needed further treatment the following
year, you would be on your own.
The second type limits the claim
per condition, but does not limit
the payout amount in any one year.
The third type limits the claim for a
particular condition to a certain amount
in any year, but will continue paying
that amount for that condition every
year for the lifetime of the pet.
If your pet were to be diagnosed with a
chronic condition, such as diabetes, only the
third type would enable you to cope with this
financially. Even if the treatment went over the
limit in one specific year, you would still be
able to claim again the next year.
Of course, these three types of pet health
insurance policy vary in cost – the first will
always be the cheapest. If it’s all you can
afford, it’s still better than having no
insurance at all.
But remember, the other thing you have to
look out for is the policy on excesses. Beware
of pet health insurance policies that set an
excess of a percentage of a claim – say,
10 per cent – rather than a fixed amount. If you
had to make a large claim – say for a serious
illness or an accident – a percentage excess
could involve you in huge expense.
It’s all very confusing. But it’s well worth
spending the time doing your homework
beforehand. Choosing the wrong type of pet
health insurance policy could be an expensive
mistake to make.
