Choosing pet insurance: what questions to ask

Pet insurance has been called the most confusing of all types of insurance. And this is not without good reason! There are a vast number of different providers of pet insurance out there, and most of these offer several different types of policy.

So if you are a newcomer to the scene, where on earth do you start?

One place to start is with your vet. Your vet may have experience of different types of pet insurance policy and be able to advise you. In particular, he or she may know which companies are better at paying out! But you can’t take this for granted. Many vets know surprisingly little about different Pet insurance companies. And some vets also receive commission for recommending a company. This isn’t necessarily a slur on the vet’s integrity – he or she will probably genuinely believe the company is good, but won’t have researched the others in any detail.

So if you don’t have anyone to advise you, how do you know what to look for?

Here are some questions to ask – for some of them you may need to look deep into the small print. These are questions that need a “yes” answer:
• Does the pet insurance policy provide genuine lifetime cover?
• Does the provider continue to cover your pet when he gets old, rather than abandoning you when he reaches 8 or 10 years?
• Do they give you a discount for more than one pet?
• Do they keep your premiums the same even if you make a claim, rather than putting them up?
• Are the premiums capped, rather than going up automatically each year?
• Can you make your payments by interest-free monthly instalments?

Here are some questions that need a “No” answer:
• Will there be a large excess fee for any treatment?
• Is the level of the premium based on where you live?
• Does the pet insurance policy carry a lot of unreasonable exclusions, such as “investigative treatment”?

It may require a bit of “homework”. But if you can find the right answers to these questions, you should find a policy that meeds your needs.