Insurance World

According to a report published by research group Mintel, one in three pets needs an unforeseen visit to the vet each year. This implies you’re more likely to make a claim on your pet insurance than on your car insurance or even your home & contents policy.

The word “unforeseen” is key here. If you’re looking for pet insurance to provide cover for routine treatments such as teeth cleaning, vaccinations or nail trimming, forget it – policies which provide that are as rare as hens’ teeth! Neither will you find cover for elective treatments, such as neutering and identity chipping. This means that the most common grounds for visit the vet are uninsurable.

But it’s those unexpected visits that tend to be the high-priced ones! Developments in vet nary care mean that new and more complex conditions can be effectively treated. But the cost of emergency care can be horrendous. A cat that failed to cross the road could easily cost Ј700, even more, to treat. After all, a series of X-rays could cost Ј400 complete with anaesthetic, and you’ll have no change from Ј1,000 for a MRI scan. If Lassie the Labrador tore a ligament that can now be treated – but the cost? Wait for it – around Ј1,500! This is serious money!

Having appreciated that most reasons for an appointment at the vet are uninsurable, what do we get for our premiums?

Pet insurance policies basically fall into three categories. The first limits the value of the claim for each condition or event; the second places a maximum value on the total annual payout and the third and cheapest option, limits the payout per condition and ends cover after 12 months of treatment. And with all policies you will have to pay an excess on any claim, usually between Ј50 and Ј100. The majority of these plans payout a fixed sum if you pet dies.

And the cost? Well, that depends on which type of policy you select, the excess you want to pay, the kind of pet you have, its breed, its age and even your post-code (apparently vets are more expensive in Kensington!). But as a guide, an industry expert estimates costs between Ј50 to Ј500 for Lassie and Ј30 and Ј200 per year for puss.

The best advice is take out a policy when your pet is young. Most pets can be insured after they’re 8 weeks old and then you keep the insurance in place for the rest of its life. If you’re looking for a policy for a pet that’s in it’s middle age, say eight or nine for a dog, then it may be difficult to get worthwhile cover. That’s because starting a new policy in your pet’s middle age will be expensive and in any case you’ll be unable to claim for treatments for any existing health conditions.

So how can you reduce the premiums? Sometime you can get a discount if you pet has been identity chipped and quantity discounts are usually available for second and subsequent pets. Beyond that you simply have to shop around. Thank goodness for the Internet!

The Internet is taking an increasing share of the insurance market and no wonder – it makes shopping simple, quick and easy. What’s more it’s probably the cheapest starting place for all your insurance whether it be for your car, home, or pet. Let your keyboard take the strain.

I don’t usually get mad about something that should be simple. I’ve found that life is way too short to waste time and get mad about things that are beyond your control.. And for good reason. Simple things should be, well, simple. But when the simple becomes complex, I get frustrated, which isn’t good for anyone involved.

I found myself at the end of my rope a few years ago, trying to get new a car insurance quote for my 1998 Honda Accord. This was before I found out about getting online auto insurance quotes, and how easy, and quick it was. I was standing in a car insurance agent’s parking lot, on a cold California morning (yes, there IS such a thing), waiting for a woman to take pictures of my car.

Unfortunately, I remembered my appointment, but the woman taking pictures obviously didn’t. She hadn’t arrived at the office yet. Her assistant, a rather large, dour Hispanic lady, had opened the offices, and was the first one there. Her expression was anything but eager and happy. Just my great luck.

“Could you wait just a few minutes?”, the opening lady asked. “Our girl is stuck in traffic, and running late. She’ll be here in just a few minutes.”

What choice did I have? It was a little after 8:00 in the morning. I couldn’t speak badly about her attitude, because that morning, I had a attitude myself. I was hungry. I needed my morning ham and cheese croissant and chocolate milk, but rushed to get to the insurer’s office. And now, I was stuck, wasting time, and getting hungrier by the minute.

I thought about going somewhere else, but the place I could get another quote was a good 5 miles away, which was about 30 minutes away in morning rush hour traffic. I had set up a quick one-two schedule that morning. I was going to finish up my insurance, then rush down to a 8:30 DMV appointment down the street with my new insurance paper, so I could register my car. I’m just a creature of habit that way. I’m also usually very calm. But my calm was slowly leaving me.

The simple had become complex. Arrrrgh.

It was now 8:10. I was calculating that I had mere minutes before I had to leave for the DMV. But without the car insurance papers, though, I wasn’t going to get anything done.

“Can’t we just get all the other paperwork out of the way, and take the photos last?”, I asked the lady.

“I’m sorry, we can’t,” the co-conspirator replied. “She be here in just a few minutes.”

I think that I would have been OK with that standard, dry reply, if not for the semi-rude demeanor of this obviously inconvenienced lady, a mix of “keep-your shirt-on”, and “take-it-or-leave-it.”

Whatever happened to “the customer is always right?”

It was now 8:15. My DMV appointment had officially been blown. “ I have to go,” I said. “Just forget it all,” I said, trying to cover up my anger.

“All right sir. Have a nice day.”

That’s all I got. No apologies. No “sorry for the inconvenience”. Not even, “thanks for trying”.

As I was walking out the door, the phone rang. I stopped, just in case it was the camera girl, saying that she be there in seconds. Miss Sunshine picked up the phone.

“Hello?…where are you?…what?…well, get here when you can…bye.”

She hung up the phone and turned to me. “She was in a car accident on the way here.”

I just stared blankly at her for about 3 seconds. How ironic. I shook my head, and walked out the door.

Now, knowing what I know about the convenience and speed of the Internet, I wouldn’t have done it that way.

Do yourself a favor, save some time, and get a free online car insurance quote from insurance-info-center.com. It only takes a few minutes, there’s no obligation, and the smiling lady on the front page is WAY nicer looking than the grump I had to deal with that day. Take a few minutes and fast and free online auto insurance quote. It could save you $450 or more on your auto insurance.