Pet Insurance. Is it a cure all?

We welcomed a new family member on Friday. I made a promise during a weak moment late on New years eve last year that I would buy the girls a puppy this year. Figured 'this year' is long and maybe they'll cool on the idea as the months went on. No luck, I had to bow and keep the promise. Lily a cocker spaniel x poodle entered our lives and honestly it's like having a 3rd child. Sleep?? Whats that! Crying?? Too much of that!!

Our pets are an important part of our family. It doesn't matter what age you are I'm sure you can remember your childhood pet. Lily will be the girls memory later in life.

I remember when first starting in Insurance with GIO we 'upsold' a Pet cover extension. It basically covered an animal for accidental injury up to $500 and nothing more. This was a time when Pet Insurance was in it's infancy and the take up was minimal. Nowadays you can source pet insurance for just about any contingency, but be careful, like any Insurance policy you've got to know what you are paying for and what benefits are applicable.

We provide you with very broad Accidental Damage based Home & Contents Policy wordings. Yet even though they are broad for you and your belongings there is only a limited cover for pet's. Again 11 years ago you had to purchase it by endorsement, nowadays you get cover automatically on many policy wordings.

Under Additional Benefit 15 (Taken from VERO Insurance Superior Home & Contents wording) -

Veterinary expenses for pets, the insurer will pay the reasonable veterinary expenses incurred by you, if your pet is injured during the period of insurance as a result of fire, lightning, earthquake or a road accident, up to a maximum of $1,000 per policy term. This cover is only available if you have selected Contents cover.

It's a great sleep easy knowing that having this policy gives you some cover for your pet automatically. (There is also no written exclusion on Liability arising from a Pet) But even though this is the policy we access, I know there are much broader Pet Policies in the market.
 
As previously noted you can go as far to insure your pet for Chronic, reoccurring and ongoing illness. There is a company called Petplan who work closely with breeders and pet retailers who have flexible policies for illness, down to purely road accident. Aside from Illness you can select Death by injury cover, or illness. Some of the additional benefits include cover for advertising fees if your pet is lost or stolen, holiday cancellation fees if your pet is hospitalised and you have to cancel a holiday, and even boarding kennel and home care costs.

This is only one example of a comprehensive pet insurance policy which works similar to a Personal Accident or Health Insurance product you would buy for yourself or family. Searching on the Internet will find you many options. The one we selected for example purposes through Petplan varies from $44.95 to $59.95 per month on a $125 excess. In all honesty for peace of mind and protection of your family pet, that's pretty good. Naturally though, please be aware of what you are purchasing. Whilst the benefits are broad ALL policies have exclusions and sub limits.

For example, don't expect your Pet insurance to cover routine vet visits, desexing, micro chipping and any preventative consultations. It's also fair to say if you don't have your Pet's vaccinations up to date and they become ill from a disease that would have been prevented by said vaccinations you may also not get a claim paid.

Like any Insurance policy it is not there to be used as a Panacea. Insurers require you under the contract to do all you can to reduce the chance of loss. If after all else fails, your insurance policy can respond if you have complied by the terms and conditions. Pet Insurance will be no different.

My sister once spent thousands on vet fee's for her poor Ruby. She was such a part of her family that taking the easy option and having the dog put down was never on the table. If you feel the same way about your family pet consider pet insurance. For a sleep easy injury from defined events cover at no additional cost we can place it on our AIMS Home Contents policy. However we recommend you take a look around as broader policies are available if you are happy to pay the premium.