Pet Owners 'Confused About Insurance'

Animal owners are often unaware that there are three different types of pet insurance available, it has been claimed.

A veterinary practitioner has said there is a lot of confusion surrounding the cover available. He stated: "Ringing around isn't always the best way to find the cheapest policy and clients very often don't understand which policy they have taken out."

He added speaking to a professional, such as a vet, before actually buying an animal would be the best option.

The three basic types of pet insurance are ‘life cover’, ‘individual condition cover’ and ‘annual cover’.

Life cover policies are normally just that; where everything is covered. This type of policy is for those who worry that their pet will develop a long term and possibly incurable disease such as arthritis or eczema, and will need extensive ongoing treatment from a vet.

Individual condition cover the policy will pay out a maximum amount for each condition and there is no time limit over which it can be claimed. Once the maximum amount has been claimed that specific condition will be excluded from cover.

Annual cover will cover a condition for twelve months from the onset of the condition or sometimes until the renew date of the policy. The policy will pay out a maximum for each condition and after twelve months any condition claimed for will be excluded from the insurance cover.

It is important to check at what age your pet can be insured. Most insurers will start cover from about 6-8 weeks but if your pet is older some companies stipulate that if you want a covered for life policy the pet must be insured before a certain birthday.

Often if pets, particularly dogs, are of a select or rare breed insurance companies may have separate policies for this type of animal. This could be because they often require more care and sometimes have genetic conditions which require constant lifelong vet supervision.

Be careful if your pet has been ill before make sure any pre-existing conditions are covered in the policy.

If you would like to know more about pet insurance why not ask AnswerBank Insurance.