Pet Insurance

When welcoming a dog into your home it is your responsibility to cover the cost of healthcare. It is important to make sure you can afford the cost of any treatment they may need throughout their lifetime.

There is no doubt the cost of veterinary care has increased dramatically over recent years. This reflects the increased overheads for veterinary surgeries (day to day energy costs have spiralled, for example) but is also due to the major advances in veterinary medicine and surgery. For example, twenty years ago using a CT scan as a diagnostic tool was relatively uncommon, but now it is frequently incorporated. Another example is the replacement of heart valves - this is a very advanced and costly surgery now available at some referral clinics.

Pet insurance supports you should you need to pay for vet bills. Most policies can be taken out in puppies from as young as 6 weeks, but many companies have an upper age limit for taking on older dogs (usually around 8 years old).Most companies offer 2 types of policy - lifetime cover or annual and time limited cover.

Lifetime cover is recommended by most vets however they are the more expensive policies. Lifetime cover means that your dog will be covered for any illness for the entirety of their lifespan- providing you renew the policy annually. Most companies will charge a yearly excess per condition and may put an upper limit on what you can claim in a 12-month period.

A time limited or annual policy will only cover a new condition for a 12-month period then that illness (and often any related to it) will be subsequently excluded. Some policies may also have a maximum amount that can be claimed per condition. These policies are often cheaper than lifetime policies and are great for covering short term illnesses or accidents but fall short if your dog develops a lifelong illness such as a heart condition. Monthly cost can also vary according to breed, size and age of dog. Younger and smaller breeds have cheaper premiums.

Insurance does not cover routine vaccinations, worming and flea treatments and neutering. Many veterinary surgeries offer monthly payment plans to spread the cost of these.

Insurance will not cover pre-existing conditions; this is any condition/injury that your dog has suffered from prior to taking out the policy. This is important if you are considering changing insurance policies as well as taking out new ones. Most insurance policies will have 3rd party liability cover in the event your dog causes an accident- it is advisable that this is a minimum insurance requirement even if you decide not to take insurance out for your dog’s healthcare.