Pet Insurance Discount

With lifelong pet insurance, also known as lifetime cover, your pet is protected for its life for as long as you renew your cover, meaning that you can claim for ongoing conditions that require long-term treatment. Policy limits apply generally per year though: you will receive an allowance in vet fees per year (let’s say £6,000 for instance) but the big difference is this allowance will be fully replenished at renewal, therefore giving you £6,000 to spend in vet fees each year and every year.

This pot of £6,000 is for the whole year, regardless of the number of conditions or claims. As seen in previous posts, per condition pet insurance will give you a certain amount to spend per condition, with no time limit until the set amount is reached. Lifelong pet insurance will provide you with a yearly pot for all your claims.

Conditions not excluded with lifelong pet insurance policies

The great advantage of lifelong pet insurance is that you can claim for a condition year on year for as long as you renew your policy. As long as you stay with the same insurer, no condition will be excluded once you’ve started to claim (conditions pre-existing the policy will remain uncovered though). Your pet is indeed covered for life. In comparison, 12-month or time-limit pet insurance excludes conditions after 12 months or when the financial limit is reached (whichever the sooner), while per condition policies exclude conditions after you’ve claimed a certain amount.

Insightful example

Doggie the dog suffers from diabetes, an illness that will require treatment the rest of his life. Doggie’s owner chose a lifelong pet insurance with up to £6,000 covered in vet fees each year.

To treat diabetes, a very serious disease, Doggie needs ongoing medication and regular injections at the vet’s. The total cost of treatment per year is £3,500. Since Doggie’s owner opted for a lifetime cover, the insurance will pay £3,500 each and every year for the rest of Doggie’s life. Had his owner chosen a per condition policy with up to £7,000 in vet fees, Doggie would have been covered for only the first 2 years of treatment (£3,500 x 2 = £7,000 limit). His owner would have to self-pay for the rest of Doggie’s life after the first 2 years. See below how different insurers would pay.

Cost of treatment: £3,500 per year

12-month policy with £3,000 in vet fees: in this case, the insurance would pay £3,000 (less than a year’s treatment) after which the condition would be excluded and no further claim could be made for Doggie’s diabetes.

Per condition policy with £7,000 in vet fees: in this instance, Doggie’s condition would be covered for the first 2 years (£3,500 x 2), but then again it would be excluded, leaving the owner to pay for vet bills afterwards.

Lifelong policy with £6,000 in vet fees: here, the insurance would pay £3,500 per year, providing ongoing cover for as long as needed, without any exclusion. The owner would also have £2,500 left each year to spend on other vet bills.

Some insurers offering lifelong cover: Petplan, Pet Protect, M&S

I do hope these 3 articles have helped you understand the differences between 12-month, per condition and lifelong pet insurance, because it can makes such a big difference for your pet health.