Pet Insurance Discount

Marks and Spencer pet insurance have warned against the increasing danger of pet poisoning it has been reported.

Reported cases increased by 34% this year says M&S according to statistics from Vetphone, their 24-hour vet helpline dedicated to their insurance customers. The free service allows policyholders to phone experienced veterinary nurses in case of a pet emergency, which is especially useful during the non-opening hours of vet practices.

Lethal nicotine

Nicotine can be fatal to your pet. Read more about pet poisoning and nicotine

Are you looking to insure your pet with lifelong insurance? Then you may want to consider Marks and Spencer pet insurance.

Not so many companies offer lifelong cover anymore these days. Helpucover and Petplan are some of the reputable companies providing such type of policy, and so is M&S. Lifelong/lifetime cover means that conditions are covered year on year, without exclusion, provided you keep renewing your policy. Plus, your vet fee benefits are fully replenished on renewal, giving you £4,000 to spend per year with the M&S Standard option and £7,000/year with M&S Premier.

Read more and get 15% off M&S pet insurance

According to the Missing Pets Bureau, more than 2,500 dogs and 3,200 cats go missing every week in the UK. Worse, 38% of these dogs are actually thought to be stolen, usually for ransom, resale or breeding purposes. Read more and find out how pet insurance can help

Two weeks ago, I found myself in a meeting with representatives of pet insurance companies, discussing the trends in and challenges of the pet insurance market. It was quite an open discussion but companies of course didn’t reveal too much of their analysis, as this will help them take an edge over their competitors. Nevertheless, a few interesting themes came up.

Credit crunch

Is the credit crunch affecting customers’ perception of pet insurance and have insurers seen any change in policy sales?

Most insurers said they haven’t yet seen any big impact on sales but reckon that customers tend to shop around more come renewal time. In a recession period, every penny counts and if I had insurance I would shop around at renewal. People are used to look for a better deal every year on their car insurance. Why not for their pet cover?

Read more on the credit crunch and pet insurance

During a credit crunch period, every penny counts. So it’s only good news to hear that Direct Line pet insurance have increased their online discount to 30% when you buy a policy before the 30th October 2008.

Even better, they also offer an additional 15% multipet discount when you insure a second pet.

Remember that Direct Line offer 2 type of policies:

1. Essential covers veterinary fees up to £4,000 on a 12-month basis for each condition (illness or injury).
2. Advanced provides £6,000 in vet fees per condition: you can claim as many times as you want until your £6,000 limit per condition is reached.

>> Buy pet insurance online now and benefit from this great offer from DL.

According to Tesco, Britons are nearly twice as likely to insure their pets rather than taking out private health insurance for themselves.

In 2007, 23% of pets were insured in the UK whereas only 12% of humans actually had private medical cover. Allan Burns from Tesco said: “I’m not surprised by this finding. We have known for a long time that us Brits are pet mad. Tesco Pet Insurance continually finds ways to make pet cover more affordable for our customers, helping them through tougher times. This is why we are the second largest pet insurer in the UK.”

Britain is indeed a nation of pet lovers and it is believed a great proportion of pet owners put the needs of their cats and dogs before their own: pet insurance, food, grooming and exercise accessories now represent some of the essential spendings of the household.

Luckily, pet supplies are often cheaper on the Internet, especially for food and medicine, which are up to 70% cheaper than from the vet’s. All major pet insurers also offer a discount when you take out pet insurance online. So make the most of it and start saving now!

As from 1st November 2008, vets will have the possibility to charge a fee for writing a prescription following a change in law.

This marks the end of a three-year ban during which vets were not allowed to incur any fees for producing a prescription: the ban was introduced to break the monopoly vets were holding on medicine supply. Since then, vets have been forced to lower the price of medicine due to an increasing competition of online pharmacies that offer the exact same products at a discounted rate. As a result they have been clawing back on lost revenues but increasing other charges like consultation fees, treatment costs and possibly, from 1st November 2008, prescription fees too. Read on

It’s official: September’s here and possibly the most frustrating month of the year! Back to work, heavy rains and low temperatures… So here’s something to cheer you up: new discount codes for buying pet supplies and medication online this month.

Petsupermarket

Buy supplies for dogs, cats, fish, small pets, birds. Offer: £20 off on orders over £100 – Code: psbig20 Offer: 5% off all purchases – Code: intro5

Get more discount codes

According to Petplan (source: 2008), 97% of vets witnessed pet owners forced to put their pets to sleep because they couldn’t afford to pay for veterinary treatment. It’s ever more the case in times of economic uncertainty and Sainsbury’s Pet Insurance to confirm that 80% of vets can’t always dispense necessary care because customers are financially strapped.

Vet fees inflation has been rising high above the inflation rate for years, +15% solely last year, and pet owners now struggle to pay what proves to be an expensive bill each time they walk into a vet practice. To top it all up, pets are increasingly suffering from obesity (36% of dogs and 29% of cats) and behavioural problems due to a shift in lifestyles, especially in urban areas. Read more

According to Petplan (source: Datamonitor 2008), 98% of pet insurance claims are for vet fees. The remaining 2% are for non-core benefits such as advertising and reward costs, boarding fees and 3rd party liability.

When you consider buying pet insurance, it is essential that you look at vet fees into details before even considering extra benefits. The first thing you need to do is choose between the 3 types of pet insurance available, then determine the amount of vet fees you need to be covered for and then, lastly, additional benefits.

Choose between 3 types of policy

1. 12-month capped: a condition is covered for a period of 12-month and up to your vet fees level. After the 12-month period or when you’ve claimed up to your limit, the condition is excluded.
2. Per condition: a condition is covered up to your vet fees amount, without time limit. Once the amount is reached, the condition is excluded from the policy.
3. Lifelong: claims for a condition are paid up to your vet fees limit, each and every year, as benefits are replenished when you renew. Conditions are not excluded provided you keep your policy renewed.

In pet insurance, you really pay for what you get, so the more comprehensive the cover the more expensive. That’s why lifelong policies are generally more expensive than per condition ones, because they basically cover more. Read more about things to consider when buying pet insurance

Petplan remains the number 1 pet insurance in the UK with 40.2% market share according to the latest industry reports.

Petplan has been established since 1976 and provides cover for dogs, cats, rabbits and horses but also small mammals, birds and reptile via subsidiary Exotic Direct. More on Petplan

In pet insurance, the excess can take different forms: it can be numerical amount, expressed in pounds – £70, a percentage of the claim – 15%, or even both – £70 + 15% of the claim once the fixed excess has been deducted from the original amount.

The percentage excess, commonly known as mandatory co-insurance or vet fees contribution, is often applied to older pet policies. As they get older, they become more likely to claim and for bigger amounts. Therefore, some companies insist you pay part of the claim yourself. More on Co-Insurance

Pet insurance specialist Petplan has issued a guide for pet owners looking to buy a puppy. Finding the right puppy is not only time consuming but also very competitive as puppies with the ‘it’ factor prove rare. As a result, prices have inflated (sometimes running into thousands of pounds) and pet owners are now advised to adopt a few simple rules in order to avoid ‘gazumping’. Read more

What would you do with your pets should you have to go into hospital for a long period of time? You only know too well it’s not always possible to have someone come to your home, feed your dogs and cats and spend quality time with them, like taking them out for a walk. That’s why most pet insurance companies now cover boarding kennel and cattery fees.

Basically speaking, the insurer will pay for your pet to stay in a kennel or a cattery if you were to fall ill or be injured and had to stay into hospital over a certain period of time. Most companies will not insure against a short-term stay, so they will only pay the boarding fees after a few days. See how different insurers compare for this benefit

Online pet insurance provider Petguard anticipates a strong increase in pet alternative therapies for the years to come. According to their latest study (2008), 25% of UK dogs have been treated at least once with untraditional methods such as hydrotherapy, acupuncture and homeopathy.

Really widespread in the US, where $112m are expected to be spent by 2010, alternative treatments are becoming increasingly popular amongst UK pet owners as information spreads quickly. Vets, however, have reportedly been struggling to keep up with the demand as only 20% of them currently dispense care like hydrotherapy, homeopathy and acupuncture. Read more on alternative treatments