If you own a pet, you should consider pet insurance lifetime cover. In this article, we will look at some of the advantages of taking out a lifetime insurance policy for your pet in comparison with an annual policy. We will also look at some of the potential pitfalls that you should be aware of when insuring your pet.
Pet Insurance
Owning a pet brings many benefits to the lucky owner. Few things in life are more special than the companionship and friendship that can only come from a loving and devoted pet. It is also well known that owning a pet can have a beneficial effect on the health of the owner. Pet ownership can help in reducing stress levels and blood pressure and can also help to ward off many other potentially harmful ailments. However, with pet ownership comes certain responsibilities. Pet insurance is a very important consideration because it is up to to you to care for your pet and to make sure that it stays healthy and in good condition. If your pet has the misfortune to becomes ill or get injured, you will find that veterinary bills can mount up very quickly, especially if your pet has to undergo an operation or requires a long course of treatment. If you are covered by a good insurance policy, however, you can relieve yourself of a lot of the financial pressure, especially if your pet develops an ongoing illness. Pet insurance lifetime cover will insure your pet for its entire life and will go a long way towards helping with expensive veterinary bills.
Lifetime cover or annual policy?
So, what are the advantages of a lifetime insurance policy over an annual insurance policy for your pet? Of course many people prefer to renew their pet insurance policy on an annual basis. This is fine up to a point, but we feel that you should be aware of some of the disadvantages of this kind of cover. What would happen if you had taken out an annual insurance policy and then found that your pet was unfortunate enough to develop an illness or long term condition? Yes, it’s true that your pet would be covered for that particular year and that you would be able to claim back your veterinary costs as expected. However, when the time comes to renew the policy, your pet’s illness will now be regarded by the insurance company as a pre-existing condition. This means that it will no longer be covered! As is normal with any type of insurance policy, a pre-existing illness, chronic condition or injury will not be covered and you will not be able to claim costs for it. If only we had realized sooner! The best way to avoid this unfortunate situation from arising is to consider taking out lifetime cover for your pet in the first place.
Sometimes, insurance providers may label a policy as “lifetime cover”, when in fact there is a financial limit to the amount that may be claimed. This type of policy is only “lifetime” provided that you do not exceed the financial limit set by the provider for the amount you can claim! Once you have passed the limit, you will become liable to foot the bill for any further treatment required for the rest of your pet’s life. It is important to make sure that the policy you take out pays for treatment up to a certain amount, every year, for as long as your pet needs the treatment.
Many people are put off from purchasing a lifetime insurance policy because it is not cheap in comparison to the standard model of insurance on a year by year or short term basis. However, if your pet were to develop a chronic condition that required an ongoing course of treatment, then you are likely to find that the savings in veterinary bills would more than compensate for the additional expenditure on lifetime cover premiums.
Insurance providers will often offer you the option of spreading the cost of of your premium over a period of twelve months. This will certainly help to ease the burden of payment, but please be aware that providers often charge interest for this service. It is quite likely that you will be able to save money by paying your insurance premium over the internet, as many providers offer substantial online discounts for their services.
Read the small print!
All reputable insurance companies will offer different levels of pet insurance, including lifetime cover, cheap cat insurance and even dog walking insurance. There are a few points to look out for when choosing which pet insurance lifetime cover policy is right for you and your pet. Take care that the policy you choose will continue to treat any chronic condition that may develop for as long as is required. The insurance company may offer a limited amount per year per condition that may develop, or they may offer an overall annual limit. Some pet insurance lifetime cover policies may impose a lifetime limit per condition, and when that limit is reached, then you would become responsible for any further veterinary bills with respect to that condition.
There are likely to be many pet insurance policy exclusion loopholes to watch out for. For example, dental treatment, worming treatment, spaying or neutering and special diet foods are not routinely covered. You should also ascertain whether your policy includes treatments for any behavioural problems or hereditary conditions, advertising costs if your pet is lost or stolen, death from injury or illness and cancellation of holidays. Some pets may require third party cover in case they cause damage to property or injury to other people. Costs for this type of claim can be substantial, so you should have an adequate level of cover if you have a big dog for example.
Look carefully at all the pet insurance lifetime cover plans that are on offer and do a comparison to find the best health policy for your pet.
