Pet insurance will give you the reassurance that should your pet need treatment the cost of taking them to the vet will be covered, but is there any way to reduce how much you pay in premiums? We discuss our top 10 ways to insure your pets for less.
Seen as an essential purchase by some pet-owners and an unnecessary extravagance by others, the subject of pet insurance can be a surprisingly controversial one in the animal world. However, there’s no doubt that if your pet falls ill or has an accident and you don’t have pet insurance in place, you’ll invariably find yourself having to pay out to cover huge vet bills.
The cost of treating your pet can be extremely high – often running into thousands of pounds if your dog has a broken foot, for example. Yet paying out regularly to keep up insurance premiums can be a drain on your finances, and when many of us are looking to tighten our belts any way we can, it’s something you’re likely to want to cut down on as much as possible.
So how can you reduce your pet insurance premiums? We give you our top 10 tips.
1. Shop around
When buying insurance shopping around is an absolute must to ensure you aren’t paying out more than you have to. Instead of accepting your renewal or the first pet insurance quote you are given make sure you do your homework and research all the alternatives on the market.
There is a huge variety of different pet insurance policies available, giving cover for dogs, cats, horses, rabbits, and more ‘exotic’ pets such as lizards and tarantulas. This vast amount of choice means that you should be able to find exactly what you want from pet cover at a price that suits your budget. If you’re looking for a cost-cutting approach to insuring your pet then comparing a number of policies is a good place to start.
It’s a good idea to figure out what you want from a policy before you start looking, so that you can be confident your pet has the cover he or she needs in order to get the care you want to give them should you need to make a claim.
2. Buy online
As with the majority of insurance policies nowadays, the internet can be a valuable tool for reducing the cost of premiums. Not only can you use the internet to search and compare policies until you find one that provides suitable cover at a suitable price, you can also benefit from discounts on your premium if you buy online.
Many pet insurance companies offer a discount to customers if they purchase their policies online because it costs less to arrange and therefore cuts their overheads, meaning they can pass on the savings to you. That said, there’s no guarantee that policies that offer online discounts are going to provide you with cheaper, or better cover.
So when conducting your pet insurance search it’s important to compare policies that offer online discounts with those that do not offer them, to see how policies differ both in terms of cover and in terms of price.
3. Insure all your pets under the same policy
If you have more than one pet, it can make sense to insure them all at the same time with the same insurer. Doing so can often mean multi-pet discounts, where your insurer will offer you money off your cover if you are willing to insure two or more of your pets together.
Having all your pets covered under the same policy can be more convenient than buying several separate policies, as well as meaning savings for you. If your pets fall ill or have an accident, the claim process should be easier if you have only one insurer to deal with. So if you want to insure your faithful Collie under one policy, it could be a good idea to insure your cat, hamster, horse, and any other pets you own with the same insurer too.
4. Increase your excess
If you increase the amount you are willing to pay in the event of a claim, your premiums may be reduced accordingly. This is because the insurer will then have to pay less towards the cost of a claim and so can afford to charge you less to keep up your cover.
However this cost-cutting tactic should only be used if you can afford to pay out more in the event of a claim – if you think you won’t be able to meet potential costs, keep your excess low.
5. Find the balance between unlimited and limited cover
All pet insurance policies will cover vet fees to some extent, but while some insurers will give you unlimited cover for vet bills, others will limit the amount you can claim per year. Cover is also usually limited to a certain amount per condition, and may not cover any pre-existing conditions.
While an unlimited policy will provide you with the most comprehensive cover, it will cost more to keep up because the insurer will have to pay out more. Opting for cover that is limited to pay out a specific amount for any claim may therefore be more cost-effective, as long as it is providing you with the cover you need.
6. Choose between ongoing and short-term
When it comes to taking out a pet insurance policy you tend to have two options; those that will pay out for treatment of any one condition (up to the policy maximum) on an ongoing basis and those that will pay out for treatment for a limited time only (usually 12 months).
If you’re looking to cut the cost of pet insurance, policies that are designed to cover the cost of treatment for a limited term are an option that’s definitely worth considering. This is because policies that provide insurance for a 12 months are likely to be more than adequate for those who are concerned about covering the cost of treatment following a sudden illness, injury or accident and tend to be the cheaper alternative.
Life of condition pet insurance policies on the other hand will provide you with reassurance that should your pet suffer from an ailment that is going to require treatment for a prolonged period then you will be able to afford to give this to them. That said, they do tend to be more expensive than those that provide cover for a limited term so you will need to weigh the benefits with the costs.
7. Leave nothing unsaid
When arranging your pet insurance policy remember to always give a full disclosure of your pet’s health – past and present. If your pet has pre-existing or hereditary medical conditions don’t omit these important details at the point of buying cover.
Although insuring a pet with pre-existing conditions may cost more than insuring a pet in good health, it will save you money in the long run. It’s worth noting that many insurers will not provide cover for the treatment of pre-existing conditions so you’ll need to check before committing yourself.
An insurer is very unlikely to pay out in the event of a claim if they suspect your pet was already at risk of becoming ill, so it is always worth being completely honest at the outset.
8. Go for a mongrel
If you are at the stage where you are looking to add a new canine friend to your family, think about how much the animal will cost to insure before you buy. As a general rule a mongrel will be much cheaper to insure than a pedigree dog, as pedigrees tend to be more at risk of becoming ill and may require specialist treatment.
9. Cover them while they’re young
It’s best to buy insurance for your pet while they are still young, as the older your pet is, the more it will cost to insure them. This is because as your pet advances in years they are more likely to fall ill or need a visit to the vet.
If you leave buying insurance till your pet is looking a little worse for wear and may need to make a trip to the vet in the near future, your cover is likely to cost much more than if you had insured a healthy young pup. So it pays to insure your pet early on in their life.
That said, it is still worth insuring older pets too, because the cost of cover is likely to be far less than paying out for vets’ bills.
10. Look after your pet
Keeping your pet happy, healthy, and fit will reduce the likelihood of having to make a trip to the vet and in turn reduce the cost of pet insurance. A pet that is of good health and neither underweight nor overweight will cost less to insure simply because they are less likely to need treatment.
Make sure your pet gets plenty of exercise, has a good diet, and is given plenty of care and attention – as well as giving your pet a long and happy life, this also means you won’t have to shell out as much to keep up their insurance cover.
