What Does Pet Insurance Cover?

Our cats and dogs are an important part of our lives and to many of us, are members of the family.  When they are injured or unwell, we want to get them the best possible care but sometimes the cost of the vets bills can be a serious problem.  One way to help deal with this issue is to get insurance for them.  But what does pet insurance cover?

Insurance basics

Like any type of insurance there are varying levels of cover and cost involved allowing people to insure as much or as little as they want.  Most policies do have a number of standard features that are at their core.  These include covering vets fees to a certain figure, as well as costs for advertising and recovery if the pet goes missing.  If the animal somehow manages to cause damage to third party property, such as causing a car accident, then there is also liability cover as the pet owner.

In the exclusions department, routine treatments are rarely included and neutering and vaccinations fall into this category.  This means you would need to pay for these yourself even if you have insurance.

Comprehensive policies will offer the option to cover for the cancellation of a holiday because your pet is ill or if your pet has go into boarding or a lodge while they recover.

Picking a policy

When you are on a budget, the temptation is to go for the cheapest policy so you have peace of mind that some cover exists.  But resist the temptation and study what you are getting for your money because a cheap policy may end up not paying out for those crucial aspects you want covering and will be a waste of money.

There are two ways to pick a policy – by the budget or by the pet.  At one end is the lifetime cover option that will require renewing each year and will see them covered for life.  This is useful for pets who have developed a long term illness while being insured as means there isn’t going to be a point where the insurer stops offering cover.

Annual cover runs for twelve months and expires and this is a good option if your pet is in good health and doesn’t have any conditions develop.  However if they develop a condition during the year, you may want to consider sticking with the insurer regardless of cost as other companies will likely exclude the condition.

There are different cover options for cats and for dogs as well as for pedigree and non-pedigree.  Some insurers look at where you live as a factor while others look at the specific breed to see if it has a higher illness ratio than others and may increase the premium accordingly.  As mentioned, they won’t cover existing conditions and if you don’t disclose any when setting up the policy, it could lead to them not paying out in the event of a claim on another condition because this hasn’t been disclosed.  Think of it like a speeding ticket on your car insurance – it may not affect the accident in question but it is relevant to you as a risk and they need to know about it.