I’m always trying to find what pet owners think of pet insurance and certainly what’s important in it for them. So, we continue the series with Mike. We’ve been in touch via Twitter when he was looking to insure his new puppy. A big thank you to him for taking the time to answer the few questions below.
If you too would like some expert advice, just get in touch with twitter. Speak soon!! >> Read the interview
Confused about pet insurance? Afraid to make the wrong choice? Don’t know what to do in case a claim is rejected? Why not ask for help?
Whether you’re researching pet health protection for you cat, dog or rabbit for the first time, looking to find a better deal at renewal or if you have a claim query, I’m here to help.
I have just created a new contact form, so it is easier for you to send questions. It’s really quick and simple. Shouldn’t take you more than 30 seconds, if so!
When you take out pet insurance, there is a period of time during which you are not fully covered for some benefits. You have to wait a very specific number of dates before these benefits become ‘active’. This is most commonly referred to as a waiting period and has been put in place by insurers to avoid fraudulent claims.
Insurers make the distinction between accidents and illnesses. Accidents are generally covered immediately, i.e. no waiting period. However, illness cover will usually only start after 14 days.
This means that should an illness occur during the first 14 days of your policy, it wouldn’t be covered and no claim would be accepted, leaving you to pay the vet bill. Worse, it would be classed as pre-existing and therefore you couldn’t claim for it later on either.
Direct Line pet insurance is now offering 8 weeks worth of free cover when you buy a cat or dog policy online before 31st October 2009.
The discout is calculated on your yearly premium and then deducted off it. If you choose to pay monthly, you will still pay 12 instalments.
For instance, if your yearly premium normally is £100, your discounted premium will be £84.61. The monthly amount will be £7. That’s a 15% OFF! Not bad! Visit Direct Line or read on.
With the recession, a lot of pet owners are considering insurance as an option to provide healthcare for their pets. The other option available is to self-insure, which is to put money in a savings account every month. Some argue that pet insurance never covers what they need and therefore it makes more sense to save for a rainy day.
What should you do then: buy pet insurance or self-insure? Is pet insurance really worth it? I’ll show you that pet insurance is your best option in just 3 simple points.
If you have an older pet, you may find it difficult to find affordable insurance. While some insurers do offer cover regardless of how old your pet is, premiums are often quite expensive, the excess is high and co-insurance is often introduced. Co-insurance is a percentage excess that applies on top of your normal fixed excess.
So, if you don’t want any of these, accident only policies can prove a cheaper option.
Still taking part in discussion on www.petforums.co.uk and a question that arises quite often is: is Argos pet insurance Platinum cover true lifetime pet insurance (also called lifelong)? Some people seem to think that it isn’t while actually it is – but only for the Platinum policy. It is really confusing. So I thought I’d do a bit of prevention and clear things out before you buy a product that isn’t exactly what you may need.
Argos Platinum offers cover for vet fees up to £7,000 each and every year. This means that you will have £7,000 to spend year on year, for as long as you keep renewing your policy. Silver and Gold policy options will cover a condition for 12 months only and up to £2,500 and £4,000 respectively . With Platinum, you just need to keep your cover in place and medical conditions will be covered long term.
UK pet insurance company, Animal Friends Insurance (AFI) has given part of its profits to SARA charity (Severn Area Rescue Association). The donation helped crew members of the charity to be trained on a mammal medic course in order to rescue dolpins in the Severn Estuary (South West England).
Despite the huge popularity of pet insurance, only a few insurers tried to advertise their pet cover on TV. Thanks to Youtube, we found some ads from Petplan, Direct Line and More Than.
The list is still in the making so if you find some more, please leave a comment. Enjoy!
Direct Line ‘£1,000 worth of pet food’ advert
More Than advert
Earlier this year ASDA pet insurance relaunched with a new brand, new policies and cheaper premiums. Pet health plans for cats and dogs now start from only £3.58 a month and customer buying online can benefit from a 10% discount + extra 10% when they insure a second pet.
For a limited amount of time only Direct Line are offering 20% off their pet insurance for cats and dogs when you buy online. The offer ends 30th July 2009, which means that you only have 15 days to take advantage of this great offer.
As the recession continues to bite pet owners, it’s always nice to see that some companies actually notice what’s going on and offer customers a helpful hand. Helpucover pet insurance offers a premium waiver benefit as part of their policy, meaning you don’t have to worry about paying the premiums in case you were made redundant.
>> Find out more about Helpucover pet insurance premium waiver benefit
I’ve been taking part in conversation about pet insurance on a few pet forums and have been really amazed at the confusion that reigns about lifetime pet insurance and who’s offering it.
So, I’ve put together a quick guide to identify which companies offer true lifetime cover (also known as lifelong).
Lifetime cover means that your vet fees maximum benefit amount is replenished every year at renewal. You have a pot of money to spend on vet fees, each year, regardless of the number of conditions you’re claiming for. When you renew your cover, you’ll get the your pot topped up to the original balance. What’s more, because the vet fees limit is per year rather than per condition, ongoing conditions are never excluded and you can carry on claiming year after year.
If you’re insured with Petplan, you may want to prepare yourself ahead of your policy renewal. The animal insurer has made significant changes to its policies, effective as of 1st April 2009, on a renewal basis. You may also see an increase in premiums.
Below you will find more details about these changes as well as advice on how to switch provider safely.
During tough economic times, every little helps. Cheap pet insurance is great but value for money is better. That’s why More Than pet insurance now include additional benefits when you join online.
More Than cat and dog insurance may start from only £4.79 a month for a £7,000 per condition cover but what’s more is all the nice extras you get when you join them:
• Vetfone: a FREE vet helpline open 24/7/365 should you need advice. For instance, if you think your pet shows symptoms of being sick, give them a call and they’ll be able to tell you whether you need to take your pet to the vet immediately, the following day or simply if you need to apply a couple of first aid tricks.
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