Generally speaking, most accidents and illnesses will be covered by your policy and some may include dental treatments

It’s important you read the policy terms and conditions before deciding which policy and level of cover is right for you and your pet. Preventative treatment (such as vaccinations & flea and worm treatment) is not covered by insurance companies.

Preventative health care is an important part of ensuring your pet is as healthy as they can be.  Being a member of our Health Plan AND having a separate, appropriate insurance policy will mean that your pet receives the very best possible veterinary care both routinely and in times of emergency.

As a veterinary practice, we recommend that you have pet insurance but are unable to recommend any one individual insurance company. However, we can advise on the best type of policies to look out for.

The benefits of pet insurance

Pet insurance mainly provides cover for veterinary fees if your pet is injured or becomes ill. However, other benefits may include:

+ Third party liability cover if your pet injures someone or damages someone else’s property.

+ Paying you the price you paid for your pet if they become lost, stolen, or die as a result of injury or illness.

+ Paying the costs of looking after your pet if you have to go into hospital for emergency medical treatment.

+ Paying the cost of your holiday if it’s cancelled due to your pet needing emergency surgery close to the date you were due to leave.

+ Paying the cost of emergency veterinary treatment for your pet if you take them abroad under the Pet Travel Scheme.

Common types of policies

12 month/Annual Policies

These will cover a condition for 12 months from the point when it started.  After that time, the condition will be excluded - even if no treatment has been given. Financial limits will also apply.

Maximum Benefit Policies (Individual Condition Cover)

This means that a maximum amount per condition can be claimed without a time limit. After the maximum has been reached, the condition will be excluded.

Lifelong Cover

This type of policy provides ongoing cover for long-term conditions (i.e. arthritis, heart/kidney problems, skin disease etc.) which ‘recharges’ each time the policy renews. Benefit limits can be ‘per condition’ or an annual amount for all conditions.

It is very important to read the terms and conditions for each policy carefully and make sure you understand what is and isn’t included before making your choice.

Things to consider

In most cases, insurance companies will not cover pre-existing conditions. A pre-existing condition is something that has been noted by you or your veterinary surgeon to be of concern with your pet before the insurance policy was taken out, whether or not treatment was required.  Some insurance policies will add automatic exclusions for specific breed-associated conditions.  

It’s also important to find an insurance company that you wish to stay with throughout your pet’s life.  A new provider will normally exclude any conditions which have been previously claimed for as well as any previously noted conditions from your new policy.  

There is usually a policy excess which is payable by you directly to your veterinarian. A policy excess is the amount you pay towards each condition per policy year.

Some insurance companies will also deduct a co-payment which will be a percentage of the treatment claimed.

Please check the policy terms & conditions to see if a co-payment is added or increased as your pet ages.