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Pet Insurance

Here at My Pets Vets we strongly advise you consider insuring your pet against accident and illness, as well as having 3rd party insurance if you have a dog.

Pet insurance can provide you with a financial safety blanket if the worst should happen to your beloved pet, although we often find the biggest benefit owners report is that it takes away their concerns about finances if their pet gets sick – so they can just concentrate on getting them better.

We understand just how confusing pet insurance can be though, so I thought I would try to help answer some questions here.

Basically pet insurance is a contract between you and the insurance company.

Due to the Due to the law governing the selling of financial products, we cannot recommend specific insurance companies.

Different policy types

We recommend lifelong insurance for your pet – which covers your pet for an ongoing illness or injury throughout its life.  Some insurance policies only cover your pet for a year before excluding that illness or injury for the rest of its life (which means they will no longer pay for any treatment for that condition).  Some policies only cover your pet for certain conditions, and for a total sum of money throughout its life.

It is important to realise that pet insurance policies are not all similar, so you really need to read the small print carefully, and ask questions before taking out a policy.

Pre-existing conditions

If your pet has been seen for a problem before you take the insurance policy out, then this will be classed as a pre-existing condition, and will not be covered by your insurance policy.  This is also true if you choose to change insurance company after your pet has received treatment for a condition – even if you have not made a claim on your pet insurance.

Excesses

The majority of insurance policies ask you to pay an excess – the value of this excess varies from insurance company to insurance company, and sometimes policy to policy, so you really need to read the small print.  Most policies ask you to pay one excess, per condition you claim for, per year.  This means that if you have an insurance excess of £70, and your pet is unlucky enough to need treatment for a broken leg, a skin condition, and an eye injury in one year, which are all unrelated then you will have to pay 3 x £70 in excesses before your insurance company will start to make payments.

Some insurance companies ask you to pay an excess, and also a co-payment excess which is usually a percentage of the total bill.  The insurance company will then pay the difference, depending on their terms and conditions.

Preventative health care

Insurance companies do not pay for routine preventative health care for your pets such as flea prevention and worming treatments, or neutering procedures unless they are done for medical reasons.  The majority also require your pet to be fully vaccinated and up to date with its vaccinations, and to have had regular health checks with vets, which are documented.

3rd party pet insurance

Most owners worry about the cost of vets bills and look to pet insurance for this reason – but it is really important to remember 3rd party insurance too, this provides financial insurance should your dog cause damage to a vehicle, or injure a person or property etc, (but doesn’t protect you from the law).  We strongly recommend that even if you choose not to insurance your pet to cover vets bills, you get 3rd party pet insurance.  This can be obtained by joining the Dogs Trust – that way you can also help benefit a brilliant charity that do so much to help dogs in trouble in the UK.

How My Pets Vets work with Pet Insurance companies

If your pet is insured, and requires treatment above your policy excess then we will ask you to bring in your pet insurance documents, along with a completed and signed claims form at the time of treatment.

If you are able to provide these documents, with a stamped addressed envelope to your insurance company, and pay your policy excess then we will fill out and submit an insurance claim form on your behalf if you accept our terms and conditions which will be made available to you by our reception team.  We reserve the right to charge an administration charge for the completion of all insurance claims forms.

It is important to remember that it is your responsibility to settle your account if your insurance company does not settle the account within 60 days, for any reason.
I hope this has helped answer your questions but if you have any others regarding pet insurance please feel free to ask any member of our team, who will do their best to answer them for you.  Our phone number is 01942 677979, or you can pop into our surgery for a chat.

My Pets Vets is an Appointed Representative of Pet Plan Limited. Go here for frequently asked questions and to sign up for your 4 weeks free insurance cover!

Pet Insurance - FAQ
Each year 1 in 3 pets is injured or becomes ill* and needs urgent veterinary treatment. Insurance can help you cover the cost of these unexpected bills leaving you free to concentrate on helping an important member of your family recover. My Pets Vets recommend having your pet insured, please refer to below frequently asked questions or talk to our Reception team.
Why should I insure my pet?
In recent years, veterinary medicine has become increasingly more advanced. We are able to diagnose and treat conditions that in the past would have been left undetected, sometimes with fatal consequences. But this more advanced treatment can be costly. One of the hardest positions we find ourselves in, is when a client is unable to afford the treatment cost and the owner has to opt for a less effective treatment option, or a less effective treatment option. That’s where pet insurance can provide that peace of mind that you do not have to make these difficult decisions, allowing you to focus on caring for your pet.
Why is it important to choose the right insurance?
As with all insurance, premiums vary significantly and depend on a number of different factors. It is important to select an insurance policy that provides a long term commitment to the health and happiness of your pet, but is also convenient for you. It’s extremely important to get this right from the outset as in our experience, if you don’t purchase the right policy early on you may struggle to switch to a better policy at a later date. This is because changing insurer could result in a break in cover and may mean conditions you have claimed for previously become pre-existing.
Which plan and insurance is right for you?
Our practice promotes Petplan insurance for your pet as they are the UK’s favourite pet insurance provider. They offer a true lifetime policy and cover more things like dental and hereditary conditions as standard, making it no surprise that they are the UK’s No.1 pet insurance provider. There are two main plans which Petplan provide, one being a 12 month plan called Essential, and the other being their signature lifetime plan called Covered For Life®. Take a look at Petplan’s full range of insurance plans here. Our practice recommends Petplan’s Covered For Life® policies as you don’t have to worry about your cover reducing when you claim, as veterinary fees cover renews each year no matter how often you claim, as long as you renew your policy each year with no break in cover. By insuring with Petplan, your premium will not increase based on your claim history alone and you will also receive exclusive discounts on a number of pet related products and services.
Need more information?
For more information about Petplan insurance please give us a call or pop into the practice and speak to one of our trained insurance advisors. You can also take a look at Petplan’s website, which can be found here. Petplan is a trading name of Pet Plan Limited and Allianz Insurance plc. My Pets Vets is an Appointed Representative of Pet Plan Limited and is not part of the Allianz (UK) Group.