The basics of pet insurance
Pet insurance pays vet fee's if your pet gets injured, has an accident or becomes ill etc. A number of policies will even pay out funds for more extreme circumstances such as your pet dying or being lost or stolen etc.
Risk mitigation is the premise of which pet insurance works. You are effectively not willing to take the risk of paying vet fee's yourself if your pet becomes ill etc. Veterinary costs are still nowhere near the costs of private medical healthcare of people, however animal procedures are becoming more advanced and technologically advanced operating equipment and drugs are being used now which means funding for even basic procedures yourself can be very expensive. In general pets standard of living has increased significantly in the UK.
History of pet insurance
The very first pet insurance policy was incepted in the year of 1890 by Claes Virgin. It wasn't until 1947 that Britain introduced their first pet insurance policy. As of today the UK is only behind Sweden as having the highest level of pet insurance policies. The gap is always closing though and in the near future you can expect the UK to top the charts.
So how does pet insurance work?
You would be forgiven for thinking that pet insurance works on a similar basis to people health insurance, but actually pet insurance is a form of property insurance. This means that pet insurance providers will reimburses owners after they have paid for the pet care in the first instance.
You will find that most UK companies will cover 100% of the fees encountered at the vet and most providers will offer an excess to which contributes towards the claim just like how motor insurance functions. Sometimes the excess will be variable and sometimes fixed. It is very likely that in the future most providers will offer variable excess levels.
With some pet insurance policies you will still need to establish whether they pay for preventative care, with vaccinations, dental care and neutering falling within this bracket. Believe it or not some treatments such as acupunture or covered by a number of UK policies.
Pet policies are split between lifetime and non-lifetime. Lifetime covers the entire life of the pet with the premiums being fixed most of the time, and even if a pet requires treatment for a chronic condition in year 1, in year 2 it will be covered. Lifetime cover does include some limits though such as only paying out a certain number of times per condition, or only paying out a certain number of times per years. Non-lifetime policies work in a similar way to regular motor insurance, so normally they are yearly policies, and if you make a claim for your pet in year 1, when it comes to renewal in year 2 you will need to declare that claim and you can expect your insurance to rise.
Like human health policies, you will find that cover for pre-existing conditions is limited and there are restrictions on how quickly you can claim on a policy from inception. For instance for a number of dog breeds, hip problems are common and if a dog has suffered with such problems before there is a probability that coverage in this area will not be comprehensive. To stop fraudelent claims there will normally be a period of 14-30 days from the set-up of the policy in which you can not claim on your policy.
We have focused on the negatives and restrictions of pet insurance, however some providers are very innovative with what they will provide cover/assistance for. For instance, some will pay for posters to be produced and posted when a pet is lost or stolen and some policies will even alllow for holiday cancellation when you need to see your pet through a serious operation.
One special mention needs to go to third-party liability insurance especially in relation to dogs or cats. So if a cat runs out in front of a car and the car swerves to avoid it and crashes, or a dog bites a child and the child needs hospital treatment, there is protection there. If your pet insurance policy does not provide this, you need to be aware of this fact and potential legal action being taken against you.
General differences between providers
Pet insurance in general is going the way of motor insurance and as such allows for a lot of customisation. Apart from the areas discussed already there are a number of key differences where insurers will differ, and you really need to pay particular attention to these points:-
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What is the coverage for hereditary and congenital conditions, e.g. Heat conditions, diabetes etc.
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What is the basis the reimbursement of fees is calculated on? Some insurers will only use their own customary rates, however other providers will fund whatever the vets charges.
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All limits and caps on the policy
More useful pet insurance information coming soon, we intend to expand this impartial site further
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