InsuranceThere are many very good pet insurance companies and also some that are very poor. Choosing pet insurance can be difficult for the first time and is important to get right: if your pet becomes ill & you make a claim to your pet insurance company only to discover they won't pay or make claiming difficult, you will find it difficult to get cover for that condition with another company. Pet insurance is covered under the financial services authority in the UK i.e. only a qualified financial adviser can give specific advice about the suitability of pet insurance products. However, in our experience the financial advisers often recommend inappropriate policies probably because they do not have enough experience of dealing with this specialised market. Is pet insurance worthwhile? We believe it is wholeheartedly. At the very least it is peace of mind that your pet can receive the best treatment without you having to weigh up the cost. Many people say they would spend whatever they needed to on their pet but when they are faced with the prospect of a £2000-3000 operation for their pet at a specialist, they understandably are in a dilemma- its a lot of money to spend if your don't have a guarantee that your pet will get fully better, unless you have pet insurance. What can I expect from pet insurance? Generally pet insurance cover for treatment for a pet's illness or accident. Many policies also make payments towards advertising (should you lose your pet), cancellation fees for kennel/cattery if you are unable to go away on holiday, death benefit (when your pet dies), and third party liability (if your pet runs into the road and causes a road accident you are potentially liable; or your pet attacks someone causing injuries). What types of policy are there? Pet insurance is either on
an annual basis or 'cover for life'. Cover for life will keep paying out each year for treatment as long as you keep your policy with that company. There is usually a limit, which some companies will renew each year (e.g. £4000 for each condition each year), whilst others may not pay after you have reached your limit (e.g. each condition has £4000 cover but once that limit is reached, even if you renew your policy, the insurance company will not pay any more). Clearly a dog with eczema is going to have that problem for the whole of its life so 'cover for life' is better. As you cannot predict what illnesses your pet will get, 'cover for life' is preferable to an annual policy. What animals can be covered? Dogs, cats, rabbits, horses, snakes, lizards, tortoises, hamsters, guinea pigs, chinchillas, rats, gerbils, mice, fish. However, most insurers just cover dogs, cats & horses. What is Conditions are included? Any illness or injury that your pet gets that is not excluded (see below). This can be anything from skin problems to a road accident. What is Conditions are excluded? That depends on your policy! Pet insurance will not pay for routine treatment such as vaccinations, worming, flea treatment, neutering or cleaning teeth. Nor will they pay for any pre-existing problem i.e. any illness your pet had before or when you took out the policy, and usually for a period of 2 weeks after! Don't expect your vet to lie about this- increasingly insurance companies ask for the clinical records when processing a claim, and will also want history from your previous vets if you have changed vets within the last year or so. Some of the better insurers may allow a condition to be covered if your pet hasn't suffered from a conditon for a couple of years after taking out the policy. Some insurance policies will not pay for congenital conditions eg hip dysplasia or a heart problem that your pet has been born with even if you weren't aware of it when you took the policy out! We think this is a bit unfair and personally I wouldn't use a policy like that.... Other things are peripherals- prescription food (if your pet has kidney problems and needs a special diet) physiotherapy & hydrotherapy (if your dog has a knee operation we'd normally advise swimming after); dentistry including extractions; alternative treatments (acupuncture, homeopathy etc though normally these have to be recommended by your vet); some pet insurance policies pay for these things, others don't. Making a claim When you pet becomes ill you need to let your insurance company know if you are going to make a claim- it may be worth checking that condition is covered under your policy. You will have to pay an excess depending on your policy. e.g you will typically pay the first £30-75 of any claim. After you have paid this the insurance company will normally pay the whole of the rest, providing the amount does not exceed your policy limit (e.g they will only pay up to £2000). You will have to pay another excess each time you renew your policy if you are claiming for an ongoing condition on a 'cover for life' policy. Some policies charge a percentage excess on top of the standard excess e.g. £50 initially plus 15% of every claim. These policies are what we'd call 'transparent' & do tend to deter people from claiming/having treatment in our experience and I wouldn't take one out personally! Getting reimbursed How long it takes to get your money back from the company depends on how complicated your claim is, how quickly your vet processes the claim form, and your insurance company. In our experience, the cheaper the policy, the harder it is to get your money back quickly. Some companies insist on a lot of paperwork for your vet to fill in which I cynically feel is a delaying tactic! Payments may take anywhere from 7days to 5 months to get to you. Ask your vet which companies in their experience pay promptly. Claiming direct it is our practice policy not to claim direct from insurance companies, however, depending on your insurance company we make make an exception by prior arrangement. Sadly some companies have taken 5 months to pay us in the past or people have claimed their pet was insured when it wasn't covered. We also find that under the new FSA regs some insurance companies make it very difficult for us to chase payment claiming they can't talk to us without specific authority from the policyholder. How is my premium calculated? The age of your pet, the your postcode and the
breed- purebred dogs & cats will tend to have higher premiums than mongrels
or moggies. The size of dog will also influence your premium with owners of
bigger dogs paying more. It depends on your insurer and age
of your pet. After about 8-10 years old, most pet insurers refuse to take on a
pet, though they may be happy to continue to insure your pet if you already have
a policy with them. generally above this age the policy excess will go up. Checklist for pet insurance:
Remember, one tends to get what one pays for, so if you take out a cheap policy, don't be surprised if a list of exclusions come with it and they take forever to pay your claim and make the vet sigh when you say you are insured with them. We had a client who's bill at a specialist came to £10000. The dog was insured but the insurance company only paid £600..... buyer beware! (the insurance company involved is notorious for this sort of problem). lastly, as we are not FSA authorised we cannot give specific advice and this is merely the opinion of one of the vets (with 15 years experience of dealing with insurance companies) and not specific advice. You should consult a financial adviser but check what experience they have with pet insurance before you take their recommendation- you could always ask your vet if they'd take out a policy with that company and make you mind up from their reaction!
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