Pelushka Persians

The Importance of Pet Insurance

Every year 1 in 3 cats fall ill or are injured and will rely on their owners to pay for their treatment so they can be returned to their full health.  The cost of diagnosing and treating these injuries and illnesses can run into hundreds of pounds which any caring owner will be willing to pay, but may not always be able to afford.  When you first home your kitten it is young, healthy and playful, and in that situation it is easy to overlook  these future expenses.  However, accidents do happen and illnesses do occur and  finding the money for treatment is the last thing you would want to worry about at such a time, especially if it happened when there was no spare money in the bank!  Pet insurance offers peace of mind at a time when you need to make decisions regarding the best course of treatment, enabling you to make those decisions on the basis of need rather than cost. Don't wait until it's too late and something happens.

Most people think of a traumatic surgical event with broken bones as the main reason for pet insurance, but many more claims arre made for conditions such as lump removals, arthritis, diabetes, skin and ear infections to name a few.  Appropriate diagnosis and treatment of these conditions in the long term can often be quite expensive and insurance offers a welcome relief from the financial burden that the treatment may otherwise cause.

Not all insurance policies are the same, so it is important that you take the time to read the terms and conditions of the policy you are considering and ask the insurance company to clarify any terms that you don't fully understand.  Some policies are time dependant, i.e. there is a time period after which a particular condition is no longer covered by the policy, and you would then becaome responsible for the cost of any further treatment.  As a basic rule olicies cover accidents and illnesses but will not cover preventative healthcare such as vaccinations, worming or neutering.  Also initial claims are subject to an excess amount per condition which is paid by the owner, rather like as with car and home insurance, whilst the insurance company pay the rest.

When choosing the right policy for you and your cat, please remember that while the concept is the same for all Pet Insurance Companies, each has its own criteria, terms and conditions so, and take the following into consideration:

• Ensure that there is no limit on how long you can claim for each illness
• Check that the limit per illness is realistic
• Ensure that your cat will still be covered in later life
• Enquire about special discounts such as those offered to pensioners or multi cat households

N.B. If your cat is Microchipped the insurance will be cheaper.

Finally, if you consider yourself to be a caring and concientious cat owner but still don't have insurance, please become a responsible owner too, and take out Insurance very soon.

Useful Sites:

www.compare-pet-insurance.com

www.cat-insurance.net