By Samantha Khan, Agria Pet Insurance

What is pet insurance?

Pet insurance helps cover the costs of veterinary care for unexpected injuries, accidents or diseases, often including cover for loss or theft, and 3rd party liability for dogs. 

Your annual or monthly premium (cost of your insurance policy) will be determined by the species, breed, age and health of your pet, and the level of cover provided; the cheapest policies are accident only, through to lifetime cover which will be more expensive. 

Pre-existing conditions are almost always excluded, and many policies exclude a condition once it has been claimed for. However, lifetime policies will cover a new condition and then continue to cover that condition for the rest of the pet’s life, making it the best option to take out for young animals before they’ve had a chance to get sick or come to any harm. 

Most pet insurers will also offer optional additional covers, such as:

• Travel insurance
• Breeding risks cover
• Dental cover
• Death benefits

Pet insurance is commonly available for dogs, cats, rabbits and horses; more exotic pets might require specialist insurers.

Explaining the excess

All policies require payment of an excess sum for each claim, the size of which is sometimes optional, ie, choosing a higher fixed excess means your premium will be lower, with a percentage excess on top:

For a £1,000 claim, with £170 fixed excess and 10% variable excess,

you pay £170:                                      £1000 - £170 = £830

you would then pay:                             10% of £830 = £83

the insurer would pay the remaining:    £830 - £83 = £747

It is advisable to put by the sum of your fixed excess, at least, for emergencies.

What are the benefits of pet insurance?

Peace of mind is arguably the biggest, knowing you can pay for treatment, should your pet become ill or injured. 

Others include:

• Financial protection against large, unexpected bills and costs of long-term care/ongoing treatments.
• Freedom to prioritise your poorly pet, rather than financial concerns.
• Protection from making difficult decisions based on money, or taking out a loan.
• Contributions towards vet-referred therapies, like behavioural therapy and physiotherapy.
• Care for your pet in a cattery or kennels should you have to go into hospital.
• Optional extras like travel and breeding risks cover.

Reasons not to insure

“I don’t want to waste money on something I might never need.  I’d rather just put some money by each month, just in case.”

Historically, it was a viable option to provide for veterinary care this way. However, alongside advances in medicine, veterinary possibilities have come far in the last 30 years, and the costs have risen proportionately. 

With most of us reliant on the NHS for medical care, we are out of touch with the true cost of professionals’ time, modern diagnostics, treatments and medication. Now we have the capability to treat animals similarly, the cost of that treatment can be a shock.  Most of us do not have a spare few thousands of pounds.  Pet insurance gives you access to that emergency fund, for a fraction of the cost.

“My cat is an indoor cat.”

Although the chances of contracting communicable diseases or being hit by a car are reduced, cats can still get into trouble inside the home by eating the wrong thing, or climbing and falling.  And chronic diseases like diabetes, or genetic conditions like brachycephalic problems, do not need outside exposure to emerge.

“I keep my pet fit and healthy, maintaining regular preventative treatments, exercise and a good diet.”

That is wonderful, proactive pet parenting, yet accidents do happen, and age and activity can bring on conditions such as arthritis, heart or kidney problems.  Some of these conditions, and their care, treatment and medication, will be lifelong, with lifelong costs.

Why should I insure my pet?

The question really is: “Can I afford to pay out thousands of pounds towards veterinary care, should the worst happen?”  Most of us can’t, and so pet insurance is the safest, most sensible answer, helping you avoid traumatic decisions, such as rehoming or even euthanasia.  Veterinary science has made amazing advances, don’t let cost prevent you and your pet benefitting from them.