So it makes sense to ensure that your pet is fully covered by insurance should the unexpected arise.

At Heronden we deal with insurance companies and claims daily and know that getting insurance for your pet can be a bit of a minefield so wanted to highlight these common mistakes that are often made when choosing your pet’s insurance plan.

1) Don’t look for the cheapest cover

In our experience it is cheaper for a reason and usually ends up meaning that you won’t have enough cover for your pet’s treatments.

2) Don’t purchase an ‘annual policy’, get a ‘lifetime policy’ with a high annual limit.

This sounds a bit confusing but a lifetime policy means that the annual vet fee cover amount renews every year, rather than being one amount spread over the policy. This means that rhe amount re-sets every year and you are able to claim for the same condition for your pet’s lifetime.

3) Don’t go for a policy with set ‘inner limits’

This means that you don’t want a policy that stipulates limits for particular treatments eg: £2,000 max for a cruciate operation, which in reality usually costs closer to £5,000.

4) Make sure that you don’t wait too long to take out insurance

Don’t put off getting insurance for your pet , if you take too long to get cover then any conditions that may appear in their history will be stipulated as pre-existing and you won’t be covered.

5) Excess and Co-payments

You need to beware of these charges as they will affect how much and how often you will end up paying. Every insurance company will have an excess amount you will have to pay but not every company will have a co-payment (an additional percentage payment of each claim you will have to pay after the excess has been settled). Some companies may not have a co-payment intially for young pets, but look out for this as your pets get older.

*ABI 2022