Pet Insurance Review -

Be Sure What's Covered

This independent pet insurance review can help you to find an affordable pet insurance cover tailored to your pet's circumstances.
Research the best pet insurance information before you buy any policy and save time and money.

You may be feeling very unsure about what kind of policy you should buy.

Read this short pet insurance review below to find out what's worth considering in order to get the best pet insurance for your non-human family member.

Before you switch:

Do not cancel your old policy before you are sure you have found a new policy that is tailored to your individual needs.

Read why switching your pet health insurance company needs to be thoroughly researched and planned. Read how customer satisfaction and customer care is rated by an independent, customer written pet insurance review.

It is hard to find a similar policy and if you read through customer pet insurance review websites you will see many stories that tell you just how important a good planning is. Learn here more about pet health plans and their exclusions.

It is not only a sick or injured pet that will distress its owner. Vet bills can easily escalate especially with more sophisticated diagnostics and treatments. Still, only about 40 % of owners are taking out a policy for their pet!

Here are some suggestions and resources listed to obtain (almost) free pet health care and help with vet bills.

The reason for not taking out a policy is usually the cost and the insecurity of the unknown: what is covered, what is not? On the other hand, for about a third of insured pets, owners did make a claim within the last year.

If you shop around and compare pet insurance offers, you will find that the level of coverage varies a lot and it can get confusing with regard to what you can actually expect from your policy. So, low cost pet insurance might be cheap, but it might be because there are all kinds of exemptions!

See here how to compare pet health insurance companies and pet health plans efficiently.

 

 

Pet Insurance Review : Coverage-levels

Cheapest: Limit in Time

The cheapest policies are limited for a certain length of time (usually one year) and capped at a maximum cost.

If a disease or illness is still present after the time limit has expired, the insurer will not pay any longer for that particular condition. You will need to pay out of your own pocket, if it is an ongoing health problem.

Taking out a policy with a different company would then be unsuccessful, as a new insurer would classify the ongoing problem as a pre-existing condition. So thumbs down for policies like this, because they simply do not cover enough.

Limited Treatment Costs

This sort of coverage has an agreed threshold of costs per condition, but no limitation in time.

This means, that if you take out a limit of £5000 per condition, costs would be spread over the length of time, until the £5000-cost-of-treatment limit is reached. This usually works out better, because coverage can be spread ideally over many years.

This kind of policy is usually cheaper than a life time coverage. Dogs are more expensive to treat than cats, so cat owners could consider even a lower threshold.

Comprehensive or Lifetime Coverage

A lifetime policy covers a maximum amount annually. This could be £4000 - £5000. They are continuously paying for ongoing conditions. This is especially handy in case your pet suffers from a chronic illness, like diabetes, arthritis, or thyroid problems, which requires regular treatment and diagnostic tests for monitoring.

The premiums are the most expensive ones, but you can claim every year you take the policy out for the full amount of veterinary costs covered by it.

Ask before Buying: What will be covered?

• Unexpected vet-medical costs? The maximum amount is usually preset and limited to a certain length of time (12 months) or to one condtition.

• Legal costs in case your pet causes injury or damage to a third party?

• Travelling abroad with your pet?

• Prescription of complementary therapy and treatments, like acupuncture, hydrotherapy or physiotherapy?

• Death through injury or illness? Up to what maximum age?

• Is loss of your pet through straying or theft covered? Does the policy pay a part of the advertising costs/reward for the finder?

Don't expect this to be covered in a basic pet health care insurance:

• Routine or wellness veterinary treatments (e.g. dental scale and polishing, worming,vaccinations, neutering)

• Policy excess: if a treatment costs less than your agreed excess, you will pay all of it. If a treatment costs more than the amount of the excess, you pay first the excess, the policy covers then the rest of the costs (up to the max. amount.)

• Pre-existing health problems and conditions are usually excluded. It is best to start pet insurance coverage as long as your pet is young and healthy.

• Most insurance companies do not insure pets beyond a certain age. A usual age limit in dogs is seven years, in cats it is nine years.

How much does pet health insurance cost?

Policy costs can vary widely. A lot of factors are taken into account when it comes down to determinating an individual coverage.

Read here more about budget health insurance for pets in the UK.

What counts?

• Your location. In rural areas you will usually pay less than in big cities.
• Species and pedigree of your pet. Dogs are more expensive than cats, pure-breds will cost more than crossbreds.
• Age of your pet. Annual premiums may rise as your pet gets older.
• How many pets you cover at one pet insurance company. You might be able to get a discount, if you insure more than one animal.

Check out this page for even more detailed pet insurance information that will help you to compare pet insurance policies like a pro.

See here what should be included in a pet health plan and what options you have got.