Pets in General - Pet Insurance
All pleasures cost money
and pet owning is no exception. It’s not difficult
to work out for yourself the cost of feeding a dog.
But throughout life the unexpected happens –
and surprises us. Things go wrong and cost money at
inconvenient times.
Pet Health Insurance
is one way of ‘being prepared’. It involves
paying something each year – around £180
– in exchange for the peace of mind that results
from knowing that if your pet needs a major operation
or prolonged treatment, the cost won’t have
to b e a factor in the calculations. All costs after
the first few (about £50.00) will be paid by
the insurance company. What’s the best for Freckles,
Tiddles or Marmaduke will be the only thing that matters.
Veterinary treatments
and expertise have advanced spectacularly during the
past twenty years. Pets are living longer because
many of the infectious diseases that killed puppies
and kittens at an early age – or left them less
than fully fit to live a shortened life – are
now preventable and things of the almost past - unless
you neglect vaccination and boosters. Canine and feline
geriatric medicine is a reality and dogs and cats
can be helped to enjoy life into their late teens.
When disasters occur – if the dog meets a motor
car, or a cat sitting on a third storey balcony tries
to catch a passing swallow – modern orthopaedic
surgery means that multiple fractures can usually
be repaired so that the legs are as good as new.
These sophisticated treatments
cost money. Major surgery and its after treatment
can cost more than a thousand pounds.
But that’s nothing
compared to the potential third party liabilities
that can involve pet owners. There’s a case
on record when a St Bernards, notorious for running
into the road, met a Mercedes. Both were damaged,
but the cost of panel beating and re-spraying was
very much more than the veterinary costs. And the
dog owner was held responsible for both. A cat owner
was held responsible for damage to the paintwork of
a Rolls Royce scratched while the cat was sleeping
on the sun-warned metal. If Van Gogh had done the
re-spray the bill could not have been larger. A one
in a million mischance, might involve any dog, bumping
into a passer-by, causing a fall, and a claim against
the owner for damages. And dogs worry sheep.
Pets must be in good
health when the insurance starts, although it’s
sometimes possible to exclude the cost of treatment
of an existing trouble. For example, a dog with hip
dysplasia might be covered for any treatment other
than hip lameness. But insurance cannot start in the
middle of an illness – and you can’t insure
your house when the flames are showing through the
roof tiles.
Pet Health Insurance
can be a useful present for the animal loving elderly
relative with a small budget. Being able to take her
much loved pet to the surgery with no worry abut the
cost adds a lot to life.
There are other fringe
benefits included in many of the Pet Insurance policies.
The expenses of advertising to find a lost pet, and
replacement if it’s never found. Like every
other insurance policy there’s a certain amount
of small print and the conditions do vary from one
company to another. Your vet will have details and
perhaps proposal forms. Ask him, or his nurse, about
insurance. Now – when everything is fit and
well.
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