Pet Insurance Explained
Read about the common features of pet insurance policies
Missing Pets
Most pet owners will experience the worry of a missing pet at some point, and while thankfully most turn up safely after a short while, some pets can go missing for longer. Insurance policies can help in a number of ways in this stressful situation.
-- Advertising
Many missing pets are found and 'taken in' by other people, usually because they have somehow lost their collars and identification tags, so the finders don't know where the animal came from. Advertising, either in a local paper, in shop windows, or with posters around the neighbourhood can often lead to someone returning your pet. Insurance policies will usually cover a certain amount of your advertising costs.
-- Reward money
You may also have luck in finding your pet by offering a reward for its safe return and a decent policy will contribute towards the cost of this.
Emergency kennels or cattery costs
Pet insurance policies commonly cover emergency kennel or cattery fees to pay the costs of caring for your pet if you have to go into hospital for a few days or longer, or in some other types of emergency which leave you unavailable. The costs of a kennel or cattery stay while you go on holiday won't be covered under this though.
3rd party / liability cover
This feature mainly concerns dog owners or others with pets that could cause an injury to someone, and if this unlikely event happens, you'll be covered for the medical and legal costs that may result.
Maximum age of your pet
A final thing to look out for is whether there's a maximum age of pet that a policy covers. It is especially common with cheaper policies to exclude animals over the age of, say, 8 years. As it is in later years that your pet is most likely to need more treatment, then this can be a very important point to look out for if your pet is more than a few years old.
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