An Overview of Pet Insurance Policies
It is possible to get cat insurance from as little as 3.53 per month and to get dog insurance for as little as 3.66 per month. Pet insurance is important because it ensures that you do not have to make life or death decisions once your pet falls ill or is injured, and you get compensated when your pet dies, gets lost or is stolen. An insurance cover will also give you peace of mind. It is important that you know everything there is to know about these policies so that you make an informed decision.
The first insurance policy for pets was written by Claes Virgin, the founder of Länsförsäkrings Alliance, in 1890. Sweden led in pet insurance levels as of 2009, followed by Britain at 23% coverage. Most people believe that pet insurance covers are variations of human insurance covers, but they are actually variations of property insurance covers. This means that the insurance company will reimburse the pet owner only after the pet has been treated. In British, the insurance policies usually pay 100% of veterinary fees. Commonly used terms in the industry are benefit schedule, which is a document from the insurer listing allowances paid for diagnosis and treatment, deductible, which is the fixed amount payable by the policy holder, exclusion, which is a condition that will not be covered and policy limit, which is a figure above which the insurer will not pay.
These insurance policies are either non-lifetime or lifetime. Non-lifetime policies cover most of the conditions suffered by pets and they are renewable every year, with conditions that have already been claimed being excluded. Lifetime policies cover pets for ongoing conditions throughout their lifetime and there are no exclusions. Lifetime policies however have some limits, the most common being ‘per condition’, and ‘per year’. Some pet insurance policies cover congenital and hereditary conditions while others do not. Costing is based on such factors as whether there are caps or limits and the reimbursement calculation method.