insurance

Pet Insurance

The best time to buy your dog insurance is when your dog is young and healthy. Pets remain childlike forever; they are curious about everything around them, and are susceptible to injury from running, jumping and playing. Pets use their mouths like children use their hands, so swallowing objects or getting injured is common. Because their immune systems are not fully developed, young pets are also more prone to disease from viruses and bacteria. Symptoms of some diseases, like kidney failure, take months or years to show themselves. Since insurance companies are not able to cover pre-existing conditions, insuring your pets at a young age helps guarantee that the majority of your pet's illnesses will be covered. Remember, insurance is the one thing you can't get when you need it the most, you have to plan ahead. Having insurance gives you access to many more treatment options otherwise unavailable due to cost and allows you to do the best for your pet when a problem occurs and to have some reimbursement for the costs.

All dogs should be covered for third party claims, in case they cause an accident or injury. In this litigious day and age, no dog owner should consider being without it. You as the owner are legally responsible for any injuries or resulting damages he may cause - and the bills in this case could reach thousands and millions of pounds rather than hundreds. Third party cover can sometimes be added to your home insurance. Not everyone has house contents insurance which in some cases covers legal liability for damage or injury caused by pet animals, for example straying into the road and causing accidents.

More and more people insure against veterinary fees when accidents, injuries or illnesses strike, often without warning. Veterinary professionals recommend insurance for pets because the treatment options and likely outcomes are affected by how much the owner (or insurance) can pay. For example, imagine your dog has a badly broken leg. If you only had £30 to spend you may have to sign your dog over to a charity, or have him put to sleep. If you had £300 to spend your vet might pin or cast the leg, or amputate it. Your dog would be able to get about comfortably. However if you were insured, or had £3000 to spend, your vet might refer your dog to a specialist, and then advise physiotherapy. Vet fees for treatment of common conditions include up to £500 for an abscess, £3,000 for injuries following a road accident, £1,000 for removal of a lump or tumour and £500 a year for arthritis - an ongoing condition, according to specialist insurer Petplan.

Top 10 Claims
According to leading pet insurers Petplan, the most common claims for dogs are:

Accidents and injuries

Ear disorders

Eye disorders

Gastro-intestinal/digestive system disorders

Heart disorders

Leg/hip/shoulder disorders

Neurological disorders

Skin problems

Tumours, warts, cysts, growths and abscesses

Urinary system disorders

Pet health insurance can come in many flavours. The most basic pet insurance plans will only cover injuries and accidents such as car accidents, broken bones, swallowing foreign objects or poisons. Although these pet insurance plans are quite cheap, they are limited in what they cover. The slightly more expensive pet health insurance plans will cover your dog against illness as well. These insurance policies will cover against long term treatment for diseases such as cancer or other illnesses . Another often overlooked benefit of these more expensive policies, is kennel cover. This can be invaluable if you yourself are taken ill and your dog needs to be kenneled whilst your are hospitalized or otherwise unable to care for your dog.

It is essential to understand the different types of product on the market, read the small print and make sure you understand exactly what you are buying. You should know that only a few companies actually cover breed-specific conditions. Companies call these conditions genetic or hereditary, and may not cover them. For example, breeds such as German Shepherds, who commonly suffer ailments such as hip dysplasia, have a limitation in most policies against hip dysplasia coverage. So, know your policy's limitations before you sign up for dog insurance. For maximum protection choose a dog health insurance plan that covers these conditions.

It's important to note that pet insurance policies do not cover preventative and routine treatments such as cost due to breeding your dog, dogs used as part of a business, neutering, vaccinations and flea and worm control, and for claims associated with pre-existing illnesses. Most policies carry an excess or pre-payment of the first 10 – 15% of the total claim or for a course of treatment for each illness or condition. After you have bought a policy, read the document and check for any exclusions, when you should notify the company after the start of an illness, and whether you need to inform them before having a referral treatment. You also need to check how much cover they give you for each condition. When your pet needs treatment by a veterinary ophthalmologist (eye care) or veterinary oncologists (cancer), you'll want to be sure your policy covers specialist care. Although £2000 will cover most basic vet treatments, referral and specialist bills can go above this. Pet insurance policies vary hugely in price and the type of cover they offer - and many providers offer several different levels of cover.

When deciding which pet insurance policy to take out, don’t just look at the monthly cost. Take into consideration exactly what is covered for your dog and whether you are getting what you pay for. As a guide, here are some of things you should be asking :-

Does it matter how old my pet is?
Some pet insurance policies will not cover dogs over a certain age or will have a higher premium for older dogs.

Am I insured if my pet goes missing or is stolen?
Sometimes pets can go astray or get stolen. Should this happen, will your pet insurance policy cover the cost of advertising and \ or the cost of putting up a reward for safe return of your dog? Some policies will even reimburse the purchase price of your dog.

Is third party liability cover for my dog available?
Nowadays, with claims for compensation becoming more and more common, it makes sense for you to insure yourself in case your dog causes damage to somebody else or their property. Third party liability covers against this up to an agreed value.

Will I have to pay an excess if I make a claim?
Most pet insurance health policies will carry an excess. This simply means that for any given claim, you as the policy holder will be liable to pay a certain amount towards the claim. More often than not, the policies with a lower monthly premium will have a higher excess. It is best to confirm that the excess is something you can afford before taking out an insurance policy for your dog.

What is excluded from the policy?
As with most insurance policies, there are limitations and exclusions. It is wise to look into this before taking out any policy. It’s much better to find out now what is not covered than when you wish to make a claim.In particular, check for limitations on how soon you can claim after the policy is taken out. Some policies will not allow a claim before a certain number of weeks have passed. Also check to see if preventative treatments are covered. Things such as fleas, worms, vaccinations, pregnancy etc.

Something else to consider, is whether you will get a discount for insuring more than one pet. Some insurance companies will offer a 5% discount or similar if you insure all your pets on one policy.

If you require optimum coverage for your dog, you will find that insurance companies will allow you to add extra cover for a given charge.

Additional cover may include :-
Holiday cancellation If your pet is ill and you need to cancel a holiday to get treatment, some policies will provide reimbursement for this.
Hospitalization Of Owner If you are taken ill, your dogs boarding costs will be covered.

Taking your dog abroad Quarantine costs and emergency expenses when abroad can be covered.

Taking out a pet insurance policy for your dog can bring peace of mind and give you some assurance that if the worst happens, your dog is going to get the best treatment possible. Take your time to find the best policy for your circumstances. A small monthly payment on a pet insurance policy may save you a lot of unnecessary expense in the future.

There are usually three different types of cover on offer.

1. Covered for Life policies.
These cover vet fees up to a certain amount per year and, provided you renew your policy, reinstate the same amount of fee cover each year no matter how many claims you make. Continuing your coverage with this policy ensures that conditions for claims made during a policy term are not considered pre-existing on the next term. A key point is that they will pay the costs of treating on going chronic and recurring ailments such as arthritis, diabetes and eczema. Premiums are set annually and usually rise as the animal gets older and if it has a particularly bad claims record.

2. Maximum Benefits" or "Financially Capped" policies.
Here there is a maximum amount of vet fees cover per condition.

3. Yearly Renewal policies
Even more restrictive, but often the cheapest, are "12 month or yearly renewal" policies. Here again, there is maximum amount per condition but also a limit of one year during which vet fees can be paid for each condition after which the relevant condition is excluded from cover.

Premiums are typically based on the age and breed of a pet and the area in which the owners live. Pedigree animals are generally more expensive to insure than non-pedigrees because moggies and mongrels tend to be hardier and healthier, attracting fewer vet fee claims. Animals living in London cost more to insure than animals living in other cities, suburbs or the countryside. The cost of cover also goes up the older the pet becomes, as the risk of illness rises. Some companies will only offer cover for dogs and cats under eight or nine years old. But if your pet is already insured when they reach these ages, the insurer will normally agree to continue cover though premiums might then go up sharply.

Other benefits
Policy extras may include cover for advertising and rewards for lost and stolen pets, complementary medical treatments, such as acupuncture, behavioural treatments, dental treatments, counselling in the event of the death of a pet and cover for your holiday being cancelled due to the pet needing emergency treatment.

It must be pointed out that some people do not cover their dogs through the insurance companies but instead prefer to put aside money in a savings account or have a credit card just for dog emergencies.

Having pet insurance allows your major concern to be the health of your pet, not the cost of your dog’s care

Your veterinarian is a trained and experienced expert who uses advanced technology to treat your pet. Diagnostic tests and treatments for your dog are now readily available for what were once fatal conditions but, this treatment comes at a suprising cost that should be planned for now

Today veterinarians can provide MRI’s, kidney transplants, radiation therapy, and offer a wider range of medicines to treat your dog for serious illnesses.

Having pet insurance to help cover your dog’s medical costs simply makes sense in today’s world

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Animal Friends Pet Insurance

We are the only UK pet insurance business to donate 100% of our net profits to help animal charities worldwide.

Animal Friends Pet & Life Insurance is your ethical choice; they are unique in the pet insurance sector as they are a not-for-profit company. All their net profits made from the sale of pet insurance policies go directly to charities which help animals in need.

Animal Friends Really Cares:
By choosing to insure your pet with us, you can help make a real difference for less fortunate animals. We've already helped to support many UK pet charities & protect endangered species through our various donations. We know that you care about your pets. Now, together with Animal Friends, be a part of something so much bigger all over the world.

Visit their website for more information and details on Animal Friends policies at www.animalfriends.org.uk

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