It's really important when taking out any insurance, but especially when taking out pet insurance that you shop around. Here's a few questions to ask to help you find the right policy for you and your pet:-
- Does your vet allow 'direct claims' from the insurer to remove some of the stress when your pet is undergoing treatment?
- Is the cover 'life-long' with vet fee limits recharging each year so that you continue to be covered for ongoing illnesses, or does the cover end after a fixed period?
- Can you claim against an unlimited number of conditions or is there a maximum vet fee benefit amount for all conditions?
- How many times do you need to pay your excess? Is it only once per condition or every year if repeat claims need to be made for ongoing illnesses?
- What is your excess? Are you able to tailor the amount?
- Does the policy place restrictions on certain treatments? For example a maximum payment for things such as food, blood tests/lab fees, OOH, Euthansia/Cremation, home visits etc.
- Does the policy cover 'alternative treatments' such as acupuncture, physiotherapy, hydrotherapy?
- If people already have insurance, changing insurance companies can have implications: Any named condition whether claimed for or not, will be excluded by the new insurance company.
- Pet insurance policies vary hugely - we'd recommend reading the small print carefully and choosing the policy that fits your pocket and situation best. A word of warning, some of the cheaper policies have relatively low maximum cover levels, and we have had a number of clients recently being caught out when they need to claim.