Pet Insurance – it’s not just
for Vet’s 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.
