Is Pet Insurance Really Necessary?

By: Catriona Singfield

When you keep an adult dog as a pet, you can expect to pay around 40% of your pet care budget on unexpected visits to the vet. Yet only about 12% of Britains 13 million dog owners take out specialised insurance. (car insurance )

Financial research company Defaqto know that choosing the right pet insurance ( online car insurance ) can seem daunting. According to their research, pet owners are often confused as to what cover offers, and which policy is the right one for their needs. They may even be put off buying pet insurance altogether. Because some policies pay out on claims on a yearly basis, and others pay per condition, it can be hard to compare them for the best deal. In addition, some cover has built-in limits that place cut-off points on payouts when a claim is made.

High premiums can also put owners off. By way of example, a cat has a typical lifespan of 14 to 15 years, and can run up a total cost in medical care of up to £9,500 during that time. The family dog doesnt do much better at an average yearly cost of £500 to £1,000 over a typical canine lifespan of 13 years. And a caring cat owner can pay up to £200 a year for insurance in London.

Pet insurance can help enormously towards costs if a pet should become ill, but what a policy covers can be very limited and it pays to check the details. (pet insurance)

Good pet cover should include veterinary fees, long term treatment, money for rewards if a pet is lost or stolen, and dental care, as well as benefits if a pet should die of illness or as a result of an accident.

Many policies fall short of this, however. Some will not cover repeat claims for the same condition; some will allow this, but cap the amount you can claim per year. Yet others have a limit of £5,000 on any one claim. (loans)

As with all insurance cover, there are many variations. In the same way that car or contents insurance policies have an excess charge - the amount it will cost you before a claim pays out - pet insurance will also impose this fee. Defaqto warn that the cheapest cover can carry an excess of up to 35%, underlining the fact that the lowest premium may not represent the best value for money.

So what should you look for in a policy? Choose one that will last the whole lifetime of your pet. Make sure that it does not exclude any conditions already experienced - ( life insurance quotes some will not pay out on any conditions dating from a year before the cover was taken. Others exclude older pets, or refuse to cover pets younger than six to eight weeks old.

However, there are benefits to having pet insurance that are ( home insurance quotes ) often overlooked. For example, if a car driver should swerve into a wall while avoiding your dog, a good policy will cover you for damage to the car - and even the wall if necessary! You may not know it, but you are legally liable under the Dangerous Dogs Act for damage to people or property caused by your dog. If Fido goes for the postman, you may well be taken to court, but at least you can arrange cover for your legal fees, (car insurance quotes)

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