Keeping a pet these days can be a very costly business, regardless of its size and purchase price. It is very likely that any pet you own will become sick or injured at some time in its life and this could easily leave you with mounting veterinary bills that you simply can’t afford. Your pet will often become a large part of your life and you will want to treat it as part of the family by offering it the best care you possibly can. This is why more and more people are now turning to pet insurance as a way of overcoming these worries.  

 

As with all insurances, there are obviously a great many to choose from and just about everyone - even stores like Asda and Marks and Spencer offer pet insurance. Many plans can be purchased on line and some even offer good discounts to new customers. You do, however, need to choose your policy very carefully, as all companies are very good at promoting their plus points but not so good at pointing out their negative ones.

 

With many insurance policies you generally get what you pay for and that usually means: the cheaper the policy, the higher the excess. Taking out a cheap policy in the first place may look and sound good until you need to make a claim and this is when all your money problems will begin. Many companies will be able to offer you a variety of different policies, depending on the type of pet you own, and you can usually cover more than one pet on your plan. You can select a plan specifically designed for a dog, cat, rabbit, horse or even an exotic animal - which includes birds, other mammals and reptiles.  

  

Many plans will offer you what is usually referred to as “Lifelong Cover”. This is one of the most important points on your plan and needs to be looked at very carefully, as it could have a huge impact on your pet’s life. This type of cover generally falls into one of three categories:

 

Financially capped cover – This cover does exactly as it indicates, in that it will only allow you to claim up to a certain amount for a particular condition and is not reset each year. So, if your plan was financially capped at say £3000, you could only claim up to that amount for the entire treatment of one particular condition. Once you have reached that ceiling, then you will have to fund all other veterinary expenses for that particular condition yourself for as long as necessary – possibly your pet’s entire life. 

 

Time capped cover – This is similar to the financially capped cover, except that it will only cover treatment up to a set figure, for a particular condition, during the first year you claim. After that you would have to fund the treatment yourself for as long as necessary – again, possibly your pet’s entire life.

 

Lifelong cover – This is exactly what you need, as it will pay out every year up to a certain figure for as long as your pet requires it – the rest of its life, if necessary.

 

Most people consider pet insurance to cover any unexpected veterinary expenses or to cover any costs incurred by their pet, to which they may be liable. However, there are other benefits on offer too and these can be advantageous, depending on your circumstances.

A friend of mine had a macaw, which died very suddenly. The whole family, particularly his youngest son, were devastated. His son desperately missed the bird and without a good insurance policy, he would not have been able to replace it as soon as he did.

 

If you have an expensive pet, for example, it might escape, be stolen or even die for no apparent reason. Insurance tailored to meet your specific requirements will save you from that additional worry. At the time of writing ASDA pet insurance were offering 12 months free “Petback Protect” cover from the Missing Pets Bureau, which will provide you with a Pet ID that can be used to get help finding your pet if they go missing. Check the ASDA website for details.

 

In some situations, it may be worth advertising for a missing pet or even offering a reward for its safe return; you may become too ill to care for your pet and need to use boarding facilities until you recover. These are situations where you could only operate with additional funding and some policies will assist you with this. So keep an open mind when browsing through policies and look carefully at what they have to offer. However, whichever one you choose, make sure that it suits your individual requirements and those of your pet!