Pet owners are at serious risk of underestimating the time and expense that having a sick or injured pet can have on their lives as fees for vets are expected to continue to rise by 20 per cent over the next three years.
It has been estimated that 40 per cent of the cost of owning a dog goes towards unexpected vet’s visits and that only 12 per cent of the UK’s 13 million dog owners insure their pets.
According to financial research company Defaqto, pet insurance can be a minefield for owners and its complexity is deterring consumers from taking out cover.
It says, that because different insurers pay claims per year or per condition and place some limits on particular claims, consumers are confused as to which policies are best to take out.
A cat typically lives for 14 to 15 years and its care can cost as much as £9,500 in its lifetime. A dog lives for around 13 years and costs between £500 to £1,000 a year on average.
But, owners who are already paying a small fortune to look after their cat may be reluctant to purchase insurance, especially when annual premiums can be as high as £200 for those living in London.
And while pet insurance can save you a fortune should your cat or dog become seriously ill, it can also be massively restrictive.
Pet insurance should cover vets fees, treatment for long-term conditions, death by illness benefits, death by accident benefits, rewards and expenses for stolen or lost pets, and dental treatment.
But many policies are not as good as they can be. For example, some will allow you to claim for the same condition repeatedly, but there will be a limit on the total amount you can claim for each year.
Others will only allow you to claim once for each condition. Make sure the limit per claim is more than £5,000.
Buying pet insurance is much the same as buying home or motor insurance. You need to check what the excess is – that is the amount you will have to fork out for each claim.
Remember that the cheapest may not necessarily be the best since it may not cover claims likely to arise for your pet’s particular circumstances. The study warns that choosing the cheapest insurance may require the buyer to pay as much as 35 per cent of expensive treatments.
The best policy is one that covers your pet for its lifetime. Contracts renewed annually can exclude any condition experienced the year before and could also exclude your pet when it gets older. Also, some firms will not begin cover until the animal is six or eight weeks old.
In addition to ensuring that vets’ bills don’t send an owner into financial difficulty, pet insurance can provide other useful cover. For example, if a motorist crashes his car into a wall to avoid running over your cat, you could be covered for the expensive repair bill for the car – and the wall.
Also, if your dog attacks the postman and you find yourself in court, many policies offer useful legal advice and cover for legal fees. Legal liability for damage to anyone or their property caused by your pet is actually required by law if your dog is covered by the Dangerous Dogs Act.
Some policies offer to pay for kennels or boarding if you have to go into hospital, which could be a good idea for an elderly person living on their own. A few top-of-the-range schemes will also pay for holiday cancellation if your pet is sick or injured.
Most will pay for costs for advertising and a reward if your animal is lost, to varying degrees. Some will pay the purchase price of your pet if it dies or is stolen.
Pet insurance is to cover you for the unexpected. That means vaccinations, boosters, wormers, nail clipping, spraying and neutering will not be covered.
There is a wide range of pet insurance providers and polices will differ widely. Decide what level of cover you need and what you can afford due to your and your pets circumstances. The excess on your policy can range from £25 to £65.
Keep in mind dogs cost more than cats to insure, and you sometimes pay extra for pedigree pets and bigger dogs. More delicate breeds may cost more to insure with some companies. Premiums may vary according to where you live because vets’ bills tend to be higher in cities especially London.
Some insurers will have a maximum figure they are prepared to pay out in a year, others will pay out a maximum per claim for illness or accident. Think about your cover carefully, it could make a big difference.
Michael Challiner
http://www.articlesbase.com/insurance-articles/do-i-really-need-pet-insurance-51598.html
#1 by MillMatt on February 21, 2010 - 3:21 am
Do I really need AFLAC or other supplemental Insurance?
For years I’ve seen these goofy commercials with the squaking duck, Yogi Berra and other scatter-brained males. A friend finally told me about AFLAC insurance that he has and how it pays for preventative medical tests, etc and for costly situations like cancer, etc.
But, I thought all of that was covered by Blue Cross/Blue Shield? Do I really need insurance beyond my standard employee health insurance?
AFLAC must be pretty successful to pay for all those TV commercials. But, I only know one person (a hypochondriac, in my mind) who has this insurance. Are there competitors to AFLAC? Other options?
Thanks.
#2 by momfor2 on February 21, 2010 - 8:23 am
My family had AFLAC before my husband changed jobs. While it isn’t a must, it did come in handy when my son broke his arm. The money we got from them helped to pay our part of the bill that wasn’t covered by traditional health insurance.
References :
We had AFLAC
#3 by Bills on February 21, 2010 - 8:25 am
As an AFLAC agent I would say no you dont NEED it, but it is very helpful. While Major Medical is great and does pay for your medical bills in time of injury or sickness, you are still left with rent, mortgage, car payment, and all the other bills that continue to come in after you get injured or unable to work. Thats where AFLAC steps in, we pay you cash directly to you, so you can chose where to direct those funds. There are several policies that AFLAC offers, and a range of different things that are covered and the pay outs also vary. For instance the lady whos son broke her arm, if say he had our accident policy, he would have gotten 120.00 immediatly for going into the hospital, 35.00 for each follow up visit, 125.00 for any brace, and the list goes on. AFLAC pay on top of you major medical and all the sums keep building.
As far as competetion we are the biggest and best at what we do. The company itself has been around since 1952 but we received out recognition with the duck in 2000. American Family, Colonial are some competitors but if you do some research AFLAC pay out .70 of every $1.00 we take in while others may pay out .30-.40 cents.
If you would like more information I would be happy to send you some information, or contact a local rep in your area to better serve you.
References :
#4 by Debbie W on February 21, 2010 - 8:27 am
AFLAC is a good thing to have deducted every month to supplement your health care coverage…if you can afford the added deduction from your paycheck. It will cover lost time from work which can be used to pay your monthly rent and bill while you are off work…blue cross/shield does not do that. If you do not use it during any given year, a check will be sent to you, so in a way, it can also be way to get a cuppla extra dollars that you can use as "fun money".
References :
#5 by Rick on February 21, 2010 - 8:29 am
As an owner of an Employee Benefits Brokerage firm – the only supplemental insurance that you should buy through the employer would be:
1) Short Term Disability (STD) – 90% of disabilitys the injured person is back to work with in 90 days.
2) For the other 10% of disabilitys the person would need Long Term Disability (LTD) – Make sure you look at the definition of disability and the occupation clause.
AFLAC does not sell LTD. Other insurance from AFLAC?? Hmmmm – definately not Life insurance – buy that outside of work.
Cancer insurance – there is a hidden cost of cancer – travel – missed work – but for 99% of the medical – this is covered by your medical insurance.
I am just not a huge advocate of a bunch of different AFLAC policys and I hear complaints of high pressure sales tactics from employers who provide these types of insurance programs.
References :
http://www.KnoxAssociates.net