Why Waiting To Get Pet Insurance Could Cost You Thousands In Vet Fees

Although you do your best to care for your pet, if they get sick or injured it can be a very expensive business. Vets bills are notoriously high - pet insurance can help you manage that cost, by ensuring that you are covered if anything goes wrong.

Policies

Pet policies vary greatly. Some will cover accidents for example, while others will cover a range of illnesses as well. Some also offer coverage for routine care such as vaccinations and check-ups, and some even cover the costs of looking for a lost pet. They will also often have many exclusions too, as well as payout limits and waiting periods.

What to look for

You should therefore shop around, and check the overall level of cover and whether the vet’s fees are payable per year, or per condition. Some times policies place limits for the treatment of certain illnesses in each year, and sometimes conditions can be treated year after year without limits, so you should read the fine print. A good policy should also cover any congenital conditions that your pet has had since birth, but some may not.

Theft, illness, accident and death of your pet should also be covered and sometimes there are ad-on options for behavioral treatment, limited kennel fees if you’re hospitalized, emergency treatment while abroad and alternative therapies. Liability cover for dogs should also be included.

Start early

The earlier you take out pet insurance the cheaper it’s likely to be. Some insurers won’t accept a new policy if your pet is older than 8 or 9 years, or even younger in some cases.

Deductibles

You will normally have to pay an initial sum deducted from each payout, so look for a policy that has a reasonable fixed sum, rather than a deductible that increases each year as your pet ages.