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Six traps to avoid when taking out pet insurance
Which? research found less than a third of dog and cat policies cover pre-existing conditions
Pet insurance is notoriously complicated and it can be easy to purchase a new policy you thought ticked all the right boxes, only to find out that it lacks the cover you really need.
To help you find the right cover, Which? analysed 167 dog and 150 cat policies, naming the most comprehensive pet insurance policies as Best Buy pet insurance recommendations.
Our research showed, however, that levels of cover offered can vary considerably.
To make sure you don't end up paying more than you should when your furry friend is sick or injured, we reveal six elements of cover customers should check before taking out a pet insurance policy.
1. Pre-existing conditions
A pre-existing condition is a health concern that was present before you took out a policy. However, our research, found that only a small proportion of policies potentially cover them – 29% for dogs and 21% of cats.
Taking out a policy without this type of cover may be fine if you purchase it when your pet is healthy. But if you wait and your pet has illnesses to purchase cover, you might find the condition is then excluded or you have to pay more.
It also means customers wanting to switch providers – because their premiums have gone up, for instance – end up having to downgrade cover when they move to a new policy.
Of the few insurers that do consider covering a pet's pre-existing medical conditions is dog insurer K9 Cover. It has seven policies rated as Best Buys. K9 Cover uses an online medical screening process where you can declare any condition and be given an immediate quote.
K9 Cover told Which? that its system works on the logic that the more you know about the animal, the greater the chance of understanding the level of risk.
They believe that more insurers will begin to adopt a similar system and cover for pre-existing conditions will become the norm within five years.
2. Ongoing conditions
If your pet falls ill with the same condition more than once, you'll want to know that the policy will cover any treatment they need.
Lifetime pet insurance covers ongoing illnesses every year unless you cancel your policy. But that's not the case with other types of cover.
With a maximum benefit policy, you can only claim for each condition once, even if it reoccurs. Unlike lifetime pet insurance, the maximum amount per condition isn’t reset each year.
Time-limited policies also restrict you to claiming just once for each condition and there is also a time limit, typically 12 months, before the condition is excluded. With a time-limit policy, even if your cash limit for a particular condition wasn't reached, the condition would eventually be excluded after a year.
So while these other types of cover may be cheaper, you could find yourself paying more in the long-run if your pet ends up being prone to long-term illnesses.
- Find out more: best dog insurance policies • best cat insurance policies
3. Waiting period
When taking out pet insurance, you’ll likely want your coverage to start as soon as possible. But if you look carefully, you'll likely notice something called a 'waiting period'. This means you can't claim on the insurance until your coverage kicks in.
The reason insurers do this is because they want to make sure owners are taking out cover for healthy pets only and not purchasing the policy because they know something is wrong.
While all of the pet insurance policies we looked at included a waiting period as part of their coverage, the length varied. For the majority, it was 14 days before you could claim for illness. But a small number of policies offered 10 days – 7% for dogs and 7% for cats.
Some policies also impose a waiting period for accidents and injuries, but it's usually no more than 48 hours from when you start the policy.
4. Preventable diseases and pregnancy
Don't ignore those text and email reminders from the vet to get your dog or cat vaccinated.
If you haven't kept up to date with its annual jabs, you might find that your insurer will refuse to pay out when your furry friend falls ill with a disease that could have been prevented.
The only exception might be if your vet advises against vaccination for medical reasons.
Not taking measures to prevent your pet from getting pregnant is also not covered by most insurance providers. Although there are some that specialise in this for breeders. Agria and The Kennel Club, for example, both provider cover for this purpose.
5. Dental cover
Costs of dental treatment can vary depending on the work required, the type and size of pet and the vet you're using.
Most pet insurance policies we scrutinised include dental cover for injuries and accidents (for example, your dog fracturing a tooth while gnawing on a toy), but 12% of dog and cat policies won't cover dental treatment resulting from an illness.
Even if you have a policy that does, you're often expected to arrange and pay any 'routine' dental procedures (such as cleaning or a scale and polish) yourself. And where you need to make a dental claim, you'll need to be able to prove that your pet has been receiving annual check-ups.
The good news is that if you're looking for a policy that does cover dental treatment for both accident and illnesses, all our Best Buys include it.
6. Holiday cancellation
Pet insurance can also pay out if you have to cancel a holiday at the last minute because your four-legged friend gets critically ill at the point you're due to travel.
Thankfully, 78% of dog policies and 87% of policies covering cats offer holiday cancellation, although the amount paid out varies from £250 to £5,000.
The criteria for making claims on this cover are often restrictive – with it usually being necessary that the pet's illness is 'life threatening' – in order for the insurer to pay out.
Before buying holiday cancellation cover, check that you're not already covered under your travel insurance.
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