Getting pet insurance in the year 2005 shouldn? be too difficult. With all of the websites that offer insurance, not to mention the amount of advertising that insurers aim at pet owners, there should be no excuse for pet owners not to be aware of the presence of pet insurance.

Finding the right policy, at the right price could require a little work however.

Would you know if the breed of your dog is the canine equivalent of an Escort XR3i owned by a nineteen year old speed garage DJ?

Are you aware that some dogs are higher risk than others because of their postcode? We?e teamed up with a selection of the UK? top insurers to bring you the K9 Magazine idiot? guide to pet insurance.

Getting the best from your pet insurance, as with all forms of insurance, relies on finding the right cover for your dog, your circumstances and your budget. You will also need to know where to find the right policy, how to manage your risk and what to do if you need to make a claim.

Doing Your Homework

You?e made a good start by reading this article, but the real graft starts with getting quotes. The majority of insurers boast that they can offer you a quote in seconds, but don? be fooled. If an online form asks you only three questions about your dog, how can they know whether he is prone to hip problems, is a racing Greyhound, or lives next to the motorway? They don?. They rely on people whose dogs pose minimal risk, to pay slightly over the odds to compensate for the high risk breeds getting a good deal. The first thing to remember is that, if you believe your dog to be the least likely dog around to cause you to make a claim, let the insurer know this and get a policy that reflects it. Do rigorous research to root out that deal that applies most to your circumstance.

Understanding How Pet Insurance Works.

Your pet and his situation are viewed by the industry as a liability. By insuring your pet, the insurer is taking a calculated risk. The insurer is betting on whether or not you will make a claim, the less likely he thinks you are to do so, the less he will require you to put down as your ?take? That is what determines the cost of your premium (in most cases). To understand how this works, think in terms of what could realistically happen to your dog today, that would result in an insurance claim. These are the things that you should insure against. This is called Managing Your Risk.

Do I live near a busy road where my dog could be hit by a car? If yes

Are my premises secure enough to make this risk minimal?

Is my dog a valuable, well known show dog that could be tempting to thieves? If yes

Do I have him microchipped? Do I leave him at home for long periods? Is my house secure?

Does my dog have any signs of illness that could require treatment in the future? If yes…

Has my dog been for a check up recently?

Before and whilst your policy is running, you need to consider these factors amongst many others to ensure that you know which policy gives you value for money. For example, if you have a Yorkshire Terrier that suffers from arthritis, ensure that veterinary care is covered as a priority over things such as public liability insurance, which would be more suitable for an owner of a Great Dane pup or a racing Greyhound.

The insurance company will asses your dog on certain criteria that will enable them to make a judgement on how likely you are to make a claim.

Those criteria usually include

Breed: Taking into account associated hereditary medical conditions.

Age/Sex: Taking into account potential likelihood of medical care.

Value: Taking into account whether you have a pedigree or cross breed, and it? purpose in life. (i.e. pet, show dog, guard dog)

Location: Taking into account likelihood of public liabilities and likelihood of accidents.

Lucy Edgington, of PDSA Pet Insurance explains the basic principals of the pet insurance ?roduct?

“There are two considerations: The type of product, and how the premium is calculated. There are numerous types of product out there ranging from Accident Only, to 12 Month, (this is where ongoing conditions are only covered for the first 12 months), Maximum benefit (where the benefit is paid on a per condition basis up to the original benefit level) and finally, Reinstatement, (this is where the benefit is reinstated at each renewal.)

Why Insure Your Pet?

Melanie Denny of RSPCA Pet Insurance explains why those who don? insure their pets are running a huge risk. ?aving good pet insurance cover brings peace of mind that, whatever the eventuality, pet owners will be able to afford the veterinary care their animal deserves. Too often, minor medical problems are allowed to escalate because people are worried about the cost of veterinary treatment. Their animals can suffer unnecessarily as a result.

The main benefit that pet insurance provides is that all emergency veterinary treatment is covered, so owners are never faced with an unexpected bill. There are a number of other benefits depending on the policy and level of cover chosen.

RSPCA pet insurance covers up to ?4,000 of veterinary treatment, for as long as the condition requires. The only thing policy holders need to pay for is the excess charge - ?55 for cats and ?65 for dogs.

The policy covers kennel or cattery costs if the owner is taken into hospital unexpectedly, and third party liability for dogs. Owners can claim up to ?500 towards advertising costs and a reward for finding pets that are stolen or lost. Policyholders also receive the benefit of a 24-hour emergency veterinary helpline, legal advice helpline and pet bereavement counselling line. There is even cover for holiday cancellation or curtailment due to pet illness, something that most travel insurance policies would not cover. ”

Finding The Right Policy.

The key to extracting value for money on your pet insurance policy lies in identifying what you need to cover.

Melanie explained the importance of finding a policy that suits your pet and its situation. ?olicies do vary, and it? important to check exactly what is covered, but broadly speaking policies fall into two categories annual or cover for life. Annual policies tend to be cheaper, but owners should bear in mind that these types of policies only pay out for any one condition for up to 12 months.

Cover-for-life policies do not have the 12 month limit on claims, which means that insured pets that develop long-term illnesses can claim for treatment for as long as is necessary to treat the condition. RSPCA pet insurance offers both a standard 12-month policy and an advanced cover for life policy, enabling pet owners to choose the best level for them.

Many insurers offer pet insurance to buy online and some offer discounted rates for online purchase. It? a convenient way for owners to shop around at their leisure for the best quote. RSPCA pet insurance offers a discount of 5% for online purchase.”

Lucy Edgington explained how to find the best value for money cover. ?he PDSA 1000, 2000 & 5000 products fall under the Maximum benefit category which is considered to be the best value for money concept in the market as it provides the customer with ongoing cover (subject to continued payment of premium) whilst not exposing the insurer to unlimited payouts as the ‘per condition limit’ applies, thus ensuring that the premium is competitive.

Needless to say the budget insurers go for the 12 month product as they are cheap and easy to sell, but many customers don’t really know what they’ve let themselves in for before it’s too late! Conversely, the reinstatement product provides a high level of cover (too much in many cases) however the insurer is exposed to high and unknown claims costs therefore making rates expensive.

There are still a number of insurers who have just a fixed, one price suits all, product. This means that no matter what breed, age and location, ALL customers pay the same price resulting in the lower risk pets/policyholders subsidising the higher risk pets, which simply isn’t fair.

PDSA Petsurance is risk rated just like car insurance so we consider the breed, age, post code, sex, value and a few other things when calculating the premium. This means that everybody pays the premium they represent as an insurance risk which is a much fairer system.

Customers who buy online or otherwise should research the various product concepts on offer and select the one that suits them, their pet and their pocket the best. This would invariably be either the Max benefit or Reinstatement products as these provide on-going protection.”

Hugh Worsfold of NFU Mutual, offered his advice on getting the deal that suits you. ?etting the right policy would depend on the cover required. When it comes to Vets fees, customers should be aware that their cover would be subject to an excess that could be anything from ?40 to ?75 or more depending on the insurer. Some companies have an excess or a % amount of the claim whichever is the greater.”

What to watch out for

When buying a car, you can ask a friend for advice, in fact you may know a thing or two yourself if you have owned a few cars in the past. Insurance though, is an industry where all the experts seem to be in the industry, which is why it is important to be aware of the potential problems and worries you could encounter when shopping for pet insurance. Going through an independent broker could be a good option when looking for a good deal. Melanie Denny explained what you should watch out for when looking for pet cover.

“Most pet insurers have an age limit on new policies, but will continue to renew cover throughout the animal? life as long as the policy isn? allowed to lapse. Because of this, it? important to insure the pet from a young age to ensure that cover will extend into their twilight years. After all, accidents can happen at any age, and vet? bills for common problems such as broken bones and road traffic accidents can run into thousands. Despite this, only 17 per cent of dogs and 11 per cent of cats are currently insured in the UK.

RSPCA pet insurance covers pets from eight weeks to 9 years old, and pets re-homed from an RSPCA rescue centre are exempt from the age restrictions on policies, providing cover is taken out within 30 days of the pet being rehomed. Premiums start from just ?5 a month.

The development of more sophisticated veterinary technology and techniques is reflected in the price of treatment, and vets bills are currently rising by between 10 and 12 per cent a year. This is why it is important for people to take out pet insurance, to help meet the cost of all eventualities”

Wendy Halling has been insuring her pets for fourteen years. In that time she has amassed a wealth of experience on what to look out for and how to make sure you have the right policy.

“We took out pet insurance with Pet Healthcare Services in 1991 for our old dog Jessie. I think we were offered a ?5 voucher so that is why we took this particular insurance. In those days the maximum claim was ?2000 per illness, Jessie had arthritis and needed long term medication, so the ?2000 didn’t actually last very long.

Our next dog, Morph was insured with the same company and his insurance was ?3000 per illness, unfortunately he had a lifetime of ill health including allergies to many common things and gastric dilations which in the end we couldn’t cure, and he had to be put to sleep. His vets fees totalled nearly ?12000 in his lifetime and the insurance only covered a small portion of this.

When we got Yassko, who was born in March 2002, Pet Healthcare Services were offering lifetime unlimited insurance for about ?300 annually. We were delighted, knowing how much vets fees can be for a dog with long-term illness. Yassko is a very bouncy, big German Shepherd and was fit and well until he was about one year old. He then started to be sick, and there was obviously something wrong. We took him for blood tests and x-rays. These didn’t show anything.

He was then referred to a local specialist vets centre, who repeated the same style tests. After a few months we saw the specialist again, who thought that Yassko might have a problem with his back. An MRI scan showed he had slipped a disc. By this time, he had been in pain for nearly a year and on medication. He then had the disc removed and was making a steady recovery. After six months he deteriorated again and had to be referred back to the specialist. He then had a myleogram and another MRI scan. Somehow, the myleogram, by adding or removing the fluid in his spine has fixed his problem. The specialist and our vet were puzzled, but we are thankful he is now fit and well.

The costs of his veterinary treatment have been: ?1100 investigation, ?244 for x-rays, ?176 for endoscopy, ?725 for the MRI scans, ?76 for treatment, ?1582 for the operation, ?295 for more X-rays, ?616 for more treatment, ?2094 for the myleogram and the second MRI, ?200 for yet more x-rays, with another ?600 for further treatment. All this totalled to ?7708!

As you can see from these figures we were very grateful to have lifetime unlimited insurance, however, we then got a letter that said the insurance company were changing each illness to ?7000. We were horrified. Our vet advised us that as Yassko may need further treatment for his spinal problems, and to write to the insurance company saying how shocked we were and asking why they could change the policy half way through.

The insurance company told us that they were quite within their rights to change the terms of the policy but as Yassko’s spinal problems had started while the policy was lifetime unlimited this illness/problem would remain under the lifetime unlimited policy, what a relief!

People need to be aware of exactly what their policy is covering. Policies offering a small figure e.g. ?2000 per illness, or ones that stop covering after a year, are no good if your dog gets a long-term illness. Even ?7000 per illness will soon be eaten up if the animal needs expensive treatment. As far as I am aware, only Pet Plan are still doing the lifetime unlimited policy.

Our insurance company has always been very prompt at paying out, and has never quibbled over payment. However our vet says some companies quibble over everything, and are very reluctant to pay out. We have to pay ?70 excess which most one-off illnesses needing anti-biotics or a bandage for example would not reach this figure. Yassko? insurance premium is now ?450 annually, which is a lot of money!

What is it likely to cost?

Insurance policies do range hugely depending on the type of cover required and the subject of the policy. Hugh Worsfold explains what the average dog owner can expect to pay.

“Most people would want to insure for Vet’s fees as these bills can obviously mount up. Whether someone insures their dog for ‘loss of animal’ will largely depend on the value of the dog and whether it is a pedigree or cross breed. If someone has obtained a dog from a rescue centre
and paid a nominal ‘donation’ of say ?25 or ?40 then it is unlikely they would insure for loss of animal, where as they would if they had paid ?450 for a pedigree black Labrador puppy.

If you go on the Internet there is page after page of web sites for different companies and brokers offering quotations. In the papers everyday there are usually three or four adverts for pet insurance. When you queue up at the checkout at Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s there are leaflets for pet insurance and at the post office, so there are numerous sources. There are also a number of websites that do price/cover comparisons.

From our claims experience the average claim value is ?222 (which is the amount paid out, after the ?50 excess has been met). Settled claims (all net of the ?50 excess) range from ?7.72 (dental disease), through ?70.30 (gastritis) to ?2,930.49 (fractured neck).

Making a Claim

Frances Dunford, a housewife from Glastonbury, was very glad she? taken out RSPCA pet insurance when her German Shepherd puppy, Taz, started limping badly in February.

Taz was given an x-ray, which revealed a small piece of bone trapped in his hip joint socket. He was referred to a specialist, who found that Taz? ligament was snapped and the cartilage had worn away. Taz was given an operation to clean out the socket and wire it back together again. Three months later, a post-op check showed all was still not well with Taz? hip.

The end of the femur had come out of place and was rubbing on the top of Taz? pelvis. Taz was given a course of hydrotherapy, costing ?300, and referred to a vet in Exeter, who was an expert in hip replacement.

Taz went in for his hip replacement operation in June, but upon opening up the hip the vet discovered Taz had a bone infection, so the top of the femur had to be removed.

Now Taz is much better, and although his hip joint is ?loppy as his owner put it, he is no longer in any pain, and is looking forward to his first birthday! Altogether, Taz? treatment would have cost Frances over ?1,000, but luckily RSPCA pet insurance covered all her veterinary costs.

Frances said, ? am so glad I had insurance. There is a tendency for owners to think if pets are young they will be OK, but Taz is under a year old and has already run up a bill of over ?1,000. If the hip replacement had gone ahead, this alone would have cost ?2,500. I would recommend pet insurance to anyone and everyone, because you just don? know what? around the corner.?br>
Many people are reluctant to claim on their insurance, for fear of increasing their premiums. In reality, there is very little that you will have insured for, that can be covered by simply dealing with it personally. If there is any uncertainty, perhaps your dog has caused damage to property, simply weigh up the cost of repair against the cost of the excess or the premium increase. Your insurer should be able to advise on this either way.

Most insurers have online claim forms that you can fill out, but make sure that check your policy details before doing so, to ensure that you are not claiming for something that you are not entitled to. When you are making a claim, you will usually have a choice of claim form. These range from veterinary costs, boarding costs or liability claims. Again, make sure you are using the right form.

Getting pet insurance should be fairly easy provided that you know what you are looking for and you know where to find it. Do your research, get plenty of quotes and make sure that you choose suitable cover.

Pet Insurance doesn? just cover an accident or injury to your pet. In many cases, you are covered as a pet owner. Here are just some of the benefits that pet insurance could bring to you personally.

Holiday Cancellation Cover. - If your pet falls ill, causing you to cancel your holiday, certain policies will have you covered and will be able to ensure that you don? miss out financially as well as missing your holiday.

Advertising A Lost Pet. - If your pet goes missing, the cost of advertising can quickly add up. Many policies will pay out up to ?400 to cover costs such as newspaper adverts as well as posters and flyers.

Third Party Liability. - Being a dog owner sometimes comes with its own risks. Should your pet cause damage to property or injury to a person, there is cover available for this should you be found liable for the costs.

Bereavement Counselling. - Losing a pet can be a traumatic and depressing time, some people need time off work, others just need professional advice and help. Many insurers offer a bereavement service to pet owners.

24 Hour Medical Advice. - If you find yourself having to deal with a sick dog on New Years Eve, it can be hard to find a vet. In non emergency situations, it would be ideal to have an expert on the end of a phone to give advice and reassurance. Many insurers offer this service as it is becoming more common due to the competitive nature of the insurance industry.

Illness Or Injury To You. - Should you require hospital treatment, it is possible to find a policy that will cover boarding costs for your dog, if they need to be looked after professionally.