Paws for thought

24/05/17 If there’s one subject that people are the most passionate about, it’s pets.

Over the years, We’ve helped sort out problems with depressed chameleons, wonky labradors and even a sheep with a skin condition. But it never ceases to amaze us how varied and unusual pet complaints can be. And one thing is for sure; in Britain, we really love our pets. And if they get ill, then we’ll do all we can to help them.

This can lead to some quite wacky scenarios. We once spoke to a man whose pedigree dog was diagnosed with depression. It went away to a training course and treatment centre for two weeks that cost more than his last two years’ worth of my holidays combined! We also once spoke to a man who proudly showed us the photographs of his ‘animal hydrotherapy centre’ that he’d set up in his back garden. It was a shed with a jacuzzi in it. £600 a pop apparently. Needless to say, some of his customers weren’t thrilled to discover his entrepreneurial flair when they claimed on their pet insurance and found his treatment method wasn’t covered as it was ‘unofficial’.

Given the costs that can arise for treating a sick or injured pet, We’d have to say that pet insurance is pretty much essential.

Pet insurance is a really big business – insurers know you’ll want to avoid the terrifyingly high vet’s fees that can sometimes arise. But in recent years lots of insurers have pulled out of the pet insurance market because people are more likely to make a claim than on say, home insurance.

Don’t worry, there are still lots of policies out there, but here’s a few things to bear in mind:

The best policy you can buy is a ‘lifetime’ policy, which covers your pet for treatment for life, though only for a set amount each year. These are the priciest policies, but make the most sense for pet lovers.

You can also buy ‘maximum benefit’ policies that will pay a set amount for each illness. Finally, there are ‘time limited’ policies (only cover your pet for a set period) and ‘accident only’ policies. If you’re on a budget, an accident only policy is worth considering. As the name suggests, the policies will only cover you for genuine accidents, not illnesses. But if money is tight, they can really help out if your pet is injured. Take time to read the policy though so understand what is being defined as an accident – and get the insurer to explain anything that isn’t clear.

A lot of the people we speak to don’t want to think about their pet getting ill, so leaving aside some basic injections and treatments, many people dodge speaking to a vet until something bad happens. We’d really encourage anyone with a pet to get to know their vet. The security of knowing that the surgery is there, its opening hours and where to go if you need emergency treatment is priceless – though we hope you never need to use it.

Speak to your vet before signing up to see if their fees are likely to be covered. There’s quite a lot of variation with vet’s fees – and if yours is pricey, check with the insurer how much they’d be willing to cover.

And finally, if you need to make a claim, speak to the insurer and tell them about the costs asap. Some vets may recommend ‘experimental’ treatments that aren’t recognised and might not be covered.