Pet Insurance Discount

Thanks to ongoing advances in pet care, the range of treatments available to pets has extended widely. More conditions are now successfully treated via therapies such as acupuncture, hydrotherapy and physiotherapy which are increasingly being used in a complementary or alternative capacity.

Before you buy a pet insurance policy, it is important that you check which complementary treatments are covered and how much you can claim for.

Does my pet need to be covered for alternative therapies?

Being covered for alternative therapies gives you the option to choose the most adequate treatment for your pet and therefore increases the chances of a successful recovery. Hydrotherapy, for instance, is often used before an operation on older pets but also as a replacement should surgery be too risky. Every pet is different and some respond to certain treatments better than others, so having more choice makes great sense. There are numerous cases of pets that were considered doomed but incredibly recovered thanks to alternative treatments.

Which alternative therapies for pets?

Current alternative therapies available for pets include:

• Hydrotherapy
• Physiotherapy
• Acupuncture
• Herbal medicine
• Diet food
• Homeophatic medicine
• Osteopathy
• Chiropractic treatment
• Behavioural treatment

How do pet insurers compare?

All pet insurance providers don’t cover alternative and complementary treatments to the same extent. If they all insist such treatments are referred by your vet first, some insurers prove more restrictive than other as some impose referral to practitioners that belong to a specific association, so always read the terms and conditions. See below how they compare in terms of level of cover and number of treatments:

Provider	Type of cover	Complementary treatment	Number of treatments covered	Online discount	More info
	12-month, per condition and lifelong available	£7,500	6	-	get a quote
	12-month and per condition available	£6,000	7	10%	get a quote
	12-month and per condition available	£6,000	7	5%	get a quote
	per condition	£5,000	7	10%	get a quote
	Lifelong	£1,000	7	20%	get a quote

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. More on lifelong pet insurance and how different types of insurance compare

Marks and Spencer have reviewed their pet insurance offer, now giving a 20% discount when you buy online.

M&S specialises in lifelong pet cover meaning you can claim for the lifetime of a condition provided you renew your policy each year. With their Premier Policy, you will benefit from:

• Up to £7,000 in vet fees every year for as long as you stay with them
• Cover for cats and dogs with no upper age limit – insure your pet regardless of how old it is More about M&S pet insurance and their 20% discount

In the second part of the series on the various types of pet insurance, I’ll explain a bit more about what per condition policies are.

Unlike time limited policies that limit your cover to a time period (generally 12-month), per condition pet insurance will limit your cover up to a financial limit per condition, but without any time restriction. Effectively, you’ll be able to claim for a condition for as long as you want until you reach your vet fees limit. The use of an example will make it more explanatory. More about per condition pet insurance

I was on holidays in the south west of France for the past few days. It’s amazing how you can take things for granted when you live in London but where I stayed there was no internet connection whatsoever: small holiday village, old school style, at about 10 minutes drive from the town centre which limits to a single street. So, since there was no way of posting new messages on the blog I thought I’d start writing a series of articles so that I can give you loads of content when I come back.

I guess it’s the perfect time to have a chat about the different types of pet insurance policies that you can find in the UK. Roughly speaking there is:

• Time-limited pet insurance or 12-month capped cover
• Per condition pet insurance or condition-capped cover
• Lifelong pet insurance or lifetime cover

More on 12-month pet insurance

The summer is here and it’s the perfect time to treat your pet against flea. Actually it’s never been so easy nor cheap with Direct Line giving new customers up to £20 back on flea prevention costs and Zooplus.co.uk discounting anti flea products.

Does your pet suffer from flea infestation?

Fleas are the main source of itching for cats and dogs, so if your pet scratches itself often, it’s worth having a flea check. Read more to find out if your pet has fleas, the Direct Line offer and cheap anti-flea products

On Friday, I talked about travelling abroad with your pets and what’s important considering, like the Pet Travel Scheme (PETS).

It appears that the scheme isn’t really popular or well-known from Brits with only 6% of pet owning holidaymakers having requested an EU Pet Passport according to a survey conducted by Holidaylettings.co.uk.

58% of respondents prefer to leave their pets with a friend or dog/cat sitter. 28% of them use catteries and kennels instead. More about the Pet Travel Scheme

If you wish to take your pets abroad on holidays with you, there are a few things to consider.

The Pet Travel Scheme

The U.K. have historically been very protective over the re-entry of animals in the country as they’ve strived to eliminate rabies. This led to quarantine periods of up to 6 months for some animals and discouraged owners to take their pets on their overseas travel. Since 2000 however has been introduced the Pet Travel Scheme (PETS). More about travelling abroad with your pet and protecting it

Consulting firm Deloitte just conducted a survey in which 26% of respondents said they planned to rethink their insurance spending in the next 12 months, resulting in a £1.5 billion drop of revenues in the insurance industry.

Customers, worried by the credit crunch and rising costs of living “have less disposable income, so it is understandable that many will look at how they can reduce their spending” says David Rush from Deloitte. It appears that 8% of policyholders will aim to curb their pet insurance spending compared to 12% for travel insurance for instance. More on the credit crunch and pet insurance

I came across a very interesting article in The Times yesterday: “Vets cash in on Britain’s love affair with its pet”. According to a recent study from CCH, a rather unknown accountancy firm, vets are the most profitable small business category in the UK.

Vets achieve an impressive return on capital employed of 37%, on average. This means that for each £1 spent on capital, vets cash in £1.37. How do they manage to be so successful is simple: the rise of pet insurance has opened the door to more complex and more expensive treatments to be carried, including alternative therapies now increasingly used in a complementary capacity. Vets have more options to choose from when treating an injured pet and can opt for the best possible care without being constrained on costs or the owner’s budget. Read on and compare how vets perform against other professions like financial advisers and lawyers

Most pet insurers do not easily disclose how they calculate premiums and it’s often difficult to find the information, either online or in the terms and conditions. Firms are actually required by the FSA to explain how premiums are set to customers, but in reality they rarely do. So here’s how.

Premiums are calculated according to the risk (likelihood) of you having to make a claim for your pet, the average cost of that claim and your level of cover. The less cover you have, the smaller the premium, so always consider your desired level of cover first and compare price between providers last in order to avoid bad surprises when it comes to claim. Insurers estimate your risk on several factors, the most common being:

1. Average costs of veterinary care throughout the UK
2. Location or area of customer
3. Type of pet
4. Breed of pet
5. Age of pet
6. Personal circumstances

Read on for detailed explanations on pet insurance premium calculation

I’ve been back in the Britain gloom since yesterday, and more rain means less time out and more time in front of the PC. So, I managed to bring some good news: a whole new bunch of online discount for pet insurance is now available on our discount page.

Compare discounts between providers for a cheaper quote but remember to always check your level of cover and type of policy (lifelong, 12-month, condition capped) in order to make sure that your cover suits you and your pet. I’m gonna stress it again and again: read your terms and conditions before taking out any insurance, pet insurance in particular. Check out the new pet insurance discounts available

I’m back in France today, catching up with family, friends, and Zoé, our housecat. She wasn’t as excited as I was to be back home for a few days and after a shallow ‘meow’, she went to lie down on the couch and slept! How rude, and so typical!

Nevertheless, I saw a couple of adverts for pet insurance in France, which is quite surprising because when I left last year, I didn’t even know such thing existed. The market is relatively new here in France and only a small number of firms provide cover for pets (13 in total). There are several differences in pet insurance in France…

When I first heard about pet insurance, I was still in France looking for a job. I received that job offer for a pet insurance company and recall thinking:

What’s that? Pet… insurance??? Is this some sort of a joke?

The idea of insuring pets while we, humans, usually don’t have private healthcare just seemed strange. I decided though to come in to London, have the interview and eventually took the job. Since then, I learnt lots and just a few weeks ago launched this pet insurance blog: I know how vital pet insurance is for your pet’s wellbeing, but also how confusing the market is, so here’s some real insights. Do you really need pet insurance? Read on.

Imagine, your pet suffers a road traffic accident and you have to take it to the vet for emergency care. Treatments for an accident can run into thousands of pounds and surely it’s unpleasant to have to fork out that kind of money!

The whole point of pet insurance is to make sure your pet can access relevant veterinary care without having to worry about the bill. That’s why most pet insurers can pay claims directly to the vet. But read on to check that your insurer and your vet agree