WHY DO YOU NEED

PET INSURANCE?

Owning a cat or dog can be costly, especially if they get ill or injured. Around one in three pet insurance customers need to make a claim on their policy each year for unexpected vets’ bills. This means that you’re more likely to make a claim on pet insurance than you are to make a claim on your house or car insurance.

Having pet insurance makes sure that, if anything happens, you could get help with the vet’s bill. It also covers things like lost pet advertising, cattery and kennel bills if you need to go into hospital, theft or straying, holiday cancellation and pet travel abroad.

MOST COMMON CLAIMS

HOW MUCH COULD A VISIT TO THE VETS COST?

We like to think our cats and dogs will only need treatment if they’re in an accident, but the most common vet visits are actually due to illness. Here’s a list of some typical pet insurance claims and how much treatment could cost you.

Dogs

A rupture of the cruciate ligament in the leg £2,370

Accidentally swallowing an object £1,097

Skin disease or irritation £619

Back or spinal condition £1,050

Diarrhoea claim £346

Cats

Broken bones £1,507

Lymphoma £1,826

Vomiting £443

Difficulty breathing £635

Sudden weight loss £462

An expert opinion

As a vet, if a client asks me about the importance of appropriately insuring their beloved pet, I ask myself if I would risk not insuring my own animals. I once made the decision to not insure one of my pets and learned the hard way what it means to not have the safety net of insurance. Even being a vet, I was not able to provide the best tailored care for my own pet and since then I have all my pets insured.

Professor Holger Volk, Clinical Director of the Queen
Mother Hospital for Animals at the
Royal Veterinary College

rvc

The Royal Veterinary College in no way endorses Argos Pet Insurance or any of its products.
The RVC is ranked 3rd in the world as an institution for academic veterinary studies.
For more information on the RVC, please click here.

SELF-INSURANCE

HOW DOES SAVING UP COMPARE TO PET INSURANCE?

Many pet owners wonder if it would be better to build up a piggy bank fund to pay for
vet treatment rather than paying pet insurance premiums year after year. The answer
really does depend on your pet and your dedication to saving, so we’ve summarised
the pros and cons for you.

Self-Insurance

Pet Insurance

Self-Insurance

If your pet doesn’t get ill, it doesn’t cost you anything

You can pay for any treatment you want, not just what the insurer approves

Your pet doesn’t miss out on treatment for pre-existing conditions

You don’t have to spend time searching for the right policy for your pet

Pet Insurance

Treatment may cost more than you’ve saved, especially if you’ve only just started self-insuring. See the most common claims above

Vet bills are on the rise and your savings may not grow at the same rate, which may mean you’re not able to cover the costs of treatment in the future

Road accidents and lengthy stays at the vets can soon rocket to thousands of pounds

If you’re not good at saving regularly, you could only build a small fund

If your pet injures someone or damages someone’s property, you will not be covered

DIFFERENT POLICY TYPES

WHICH PET INSURANCE IS BEST FOR YOUR PET?

There are four types of policy on the market. Once you’ve chosen one, make sure you compare pet insurance policies properly before buying. Take the time to double check the terms, read the small print and make sure all your pet’s needs are covered.

Accident only

The clue is in the name – these policies only cover accidents, NOT illness. Some insurers will cover illnesses developed after an accident but it’s best checking before choosing. It’s worth noting that a recent Which? survey found 70% of claims were for illness, not accidents.

Before you choose an Accident only policy, first think how likely your pet is to get ill. How old are they? Is their breed prone to hereditary illnesses? Do they get lots of clean air and exercise?

Time limited/12 month

Time limited or 12 month policies give you a maximum amount to spend on vet fees for each condition. You’ll be covered for this specific condition for a set time – usually 12 months from the diagnosis date or first treatment.

But the catch is that when this ends, that condition will be classed as pre-existing and no longer covered. Most insurers won’t accept pre-existing conditions, so if you move your pet’s policy, you’d be left to pay the vet’s bill for that condition for the rest of their life.

timelimited

Maximum beneﬁt

Maximum benefit policies give you a fixed amount of money to use to claim for individual conditions. Once the limit is reached, the condition will be treated as pre-existing and not covered anymore – just like time limited/12 month policies.

The difference is that there’s no time limit, so you have as long as it takes to reach your pay-out limit before claim payments stop. You will need to renew the policy each year to have access to the cover.

Again, it’s worth noting that most insurers won’t accept pre-existing conditions, so if you move your pet’s policy, you’d be left to pay the vet’s bill for that condition for the rest of their life.

maximumbenefit

Lifetime

Lifetime pet insurance gives you a set amount of money to spend on care each year and, as long as that policy is renewed, it will cover your cat or dog for the rest of their life for conditions developed after you took the policy out.

This is really helpful when it comes to long-term problems such as diabetes, which can cost around £100 a month to care for. It’s also great pet insurance for older dogs and cats, because they tend to have more health problems.

Despite the name ‘lifetime’, these policies still need to be renewed each year. Most insurers won’t accept pre-existing conditions, so if you move your pet’s policy, you’d be left to pay the vet’s bill for that condition for the rest of their life.

lifetime

10% MULTI-PET DISCOUNT

PUT ALL YOUR PETS IN ONE BASKET

A multi-pet policy keeps all your pets’ cover neatly together on one policy, meaning less paperwork. You have the flexibility to to add more pets at any time if you decide to grow your family and you can choose different cover levels for each of them. You’re able to make individual claims for different pets at the same time and take a pet off your policy at any point, should you need to.

TIPS TO AVOID VET VISITS

No one wants to see their pet ill or to have to pay for vet treatment – with or without pet insurance. Luckily, there are a few things you can do to keep your pet healthy and happy.

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