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Choosing the Right Pet Insurance Cover
Before making your decision about pet insurance, consider the following:
- Lifelong cover? Does cover stop when your agreed budget has been reached?
- Affordable insurance? Are you working on a tighter budget, yet still want a policy where the benefits don’t disappear at the end of 12months? If your pet became ill with a long term condition, you would want treatment to continue.
- Travel cover? Will you be covered when you take your pet abroad?
- Reputation? Check that they have good experience of pet insurance and are underwritten by a financially stable organisation.
- Additional benefits? Some policies only cover the most basic needs.
- Good Advice? Ensure that you're being well-advised, not just sold to, and that the provider knows about pets, not just insurance.
- Excess? A very high excess can make policies seem cheaper, however they undoubtedly cost you more when you need to claim.
With such a wide range of policies to choose from, consider the following:
Value for Money
Different insurers have different ways of setting the price depending on the type and quality of cover they provide. We have a wide selection of policies to cater for your every need. To see how Club Care compares to other insurers, get a quote for your cat or dog.
Be sure of the Excess
The excess is the amount that you have to pay each time you have to claim for a certain condition, so choosing a cheaper product with a higher excess could actually end up costing you more. We have no hidden excesses. Check them out here. (link to Cover details page)
How long is Lifelong?
You should check carefully what you are being offered and understand clearly what is meant by "lifelong cover". Here are some guidelines on the types of cover generally available.
1) Time capped
This is typically the cheapest type of insurance on the market however it also offers the least protection. When your pet is treated for an injury or is diagnosed with an illness, the clock starts ticking. You'll be given a limited fund of money to last your pet a set amount of time (usually one year) and once that time has passed your pet's condition will be excluded from the policy.
This is fine for one-off minor injuries, it is not so good if your pet has a chronic condition like diabetes or symptoms that persist beyond a year. TV and the press is full of examples of breed-specific conditions and even the general population of moggies is not immune. If your pet is unlucky enough to develop one of these illnesses, it is very likely that your existing policy will no longer cover you for that condition after 12 months of claiming, you will be unable to insure against it with another insurer as it will be a pre-existing condition.
2) Condition capped
This is often more expensive than Time Capped, yet still offers cover limited to an amount per condition. Typically you'll receive a budget for the lifetime of a condition beyond which it will not be covered.
Although adequate for a one-off injury or disease, the cover will cease once you reach the cover limit and you will not be able to get cover for the condition elsewhere as it will be pre-existing.
It is however, much better than time capped. Our PetPals policies are condition capped.
3) Lifelong
Lifelong cover is slightly more expensive than other policies, but it offers the best cover on the market. Our Pet Protect products offer true LIFELONG cover. This means we will cover ongoing and chronic conditions your pet may develop and pay these continually for the rest of their lives, as long as you continue to renew your policy. The maximum benefit of either £4,000 or £6,000 is replenished every time you renew your policy.
Additional Benefits
Although the veterinary fee cover is the key element of pet insurance, most insurers offer a range of additional benefits. These can include cover for:
- the cost of advertising and reward to help recover your pet should it go missing;
- the cost of looking after your pet if YOU have to stay in hospital; the purchase price of your pet if it is lost or passes away;
- the cost of your dog causing damage for which you are legally liable (Third Party Liability).
There are many more benefits available, so our advice is to read through the full list of benefits once you choose the product to suit you to make sure the cover you have is right for you and your pet.
Petpals Direct and Pet Protect pet insurance is administered by Pet Protect Limited. Pet Protect Limited is registered in England and Wales No. 1774371 and its registered office is: Furness House, 53 Brighton Road, Redhill, Surrey RH1 6RD.
QBE Insurance (Europe) Limited is registered in England and Wales number 1761561 underwrites all Pet Protect policies. QBE Insurance registered office is: Plantation Place, 30 Fenchurch Street, London, EC3M 3BD.
Pet Protect Limited (Firm reference number 311794) and QBE Insurance (Europe) Limited (Firm reference number 202842) are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. This can be checked by visiting the FSA's website at www.fsa.gov.uk/register or by telephoning the FSA on 0845 606 1234.
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