Insurance World

The Chinese year of the dog started last January. And according to Chinese tradition, anyone born in the following year, will be honest and loyal. They also aren’t much concerned about wealth. This could help to explain why there are 5.2 million homes owning dogs without pet insurance cover. As many will have discovered to their cost, they’re leaving themselves exposed to enormous veterinary bills.

The average cost of treating a dog following a road accident is Ј379 and the cost of just a scan could exceed Ј1,000. And as Veterinary science becomes more advanced with breakthroughs in medicine and surgery, the cost of owning an dog can potentially increase.

There is no National Health Service pets and if your dog is ill, detailed diagnostic tests, surgery, medication and care can mean an unexpected shock to your pocket. Studies have shown that on average, an insured pet owner makes a claim every three years.

But do take care. Pet insurance policies vary widely in terms of their cover, the excess you have to pay, the maximum costs that can be reclaimed each year and various exclusions.

So when you’re on the net shopping for pet insurance, it’s important to swot up on the small print. Don’t automatically fall for the cheapest. Cheap premiums customarily reflect limited cover. For example, not all insurers will cover your pet for life. This means that if your dog’s problem requires ongoing treatment, then cover ceases at the twelve-month stage.

Take Sheila Follows’ spaniel, Bonny. Seven years ago Sheila wisely took out insurance cover for Bonny as soon as Bonny joined the family as a pup. All was well until the first spring. Then, Bonny developed a skin allergy and later that year a hip problem. Treatment has been ongoing ever since requiring regular visits to the local vet.

Sheila says,” Bonny has to have a special diet and regular injections to control her allergies. The bill from my vet is usually between Ј375 and Ј450 per month so my decision seven years ago to take out insurance, proved to be one of my best investments. My insurance premium is just Ј15 per month and I’m not sure what we’d do if we weren’t insured!”

Sheila’s policy is a Budget policy issued by Pet Plan and covers lifetime conditions for up to Ј4,000 each year. Pet Plan also have two other pet schemes – their Standard Policy will pay out up to Ј6,000 per year and their Supreme Plan provides unlimited cover. So you can see that even within the same insurance provider, you can be faced with several policies to choose from.

So there’s lots of choice. Some policies even provide protection for kennel fees, or boarding fees if you become ill or even pay your cancellation fee for your holiday if your pet becomes ill before you travel.

Our advice is to look at several pet insurance web sites. Better still, print off their schedule of benefits and terms and conditions. Then spend forty minutes comparing their premiums and look closely at what you’ll get for your money. We know it’ll be a bore but a little extra effort now will be rewarded with a great deal and your peace of mind.

And if your dog could talk, he’d say thanks too. But perhaps a big lick will do!

Postscript

If you receive either Council Tax benefit or Housing Benefit, the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) will provide veterinary treatment free of charge.

At the moment there are some 5.8 million households that fulfil these eligibility conditions with just over 7 out of ten of homes served by either a PDSA PetAid practice or a PetAid Hospital.

There are 328 PetAid practices and 4 PetAid branches plus 43 PetAid Hospitals.

Whole life insurance, also known as “cash-value” insurance is a basic and consistent type of permanent life insurance which remains in effect your entire life at a level premium. This life insurance is a good choice got you if you do not expect your life insurance needs to diminish over time. A portion of your premium goes into a reserve fund called ‘cash value’ that builds up over the years your policy is in affect. Your reserve fund is tax-deferred and you can borrow against it, until you withdraw it.

The premiums must generally remain constant over the life of the policy and must be paid periodically according to the amount indicated in the policy. You may also have the option of a single premium —– paying all of the premiums at once with a single lump sum. Your cash values will grow to equal the amount of the death benefit when you turn to age 100.

Although, whole life insurance is very expensive, and if you’re on a limited budget, you may not be able to afford all the insurance coverage you actually need. But the plus point is that the death benefit is guaranteed as long as premiums are met. Also death benefit will never decrease if you don’t borrow against it.

Whole life insurance policy’s returns will fluctuate with the markets and will usually follow returns available from other investments like equity mutual funds. However, if you decide to quit your policy, your cash value can be paid in cash or paid-up insurance.

Whole life insurance is most suitable for you, if you want to:

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use it as a tax and estate planning vehicle,
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accumulate cash value for a child’s education or retirement,
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pay final expenses,
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provide money for a favorite charity,
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fund a business buy/sell agreement,
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provide key person protection.

Before buying the whole life insurance, you need to think carefully about choosing your level of coverage. Too often people make the mistake of insufficiently covering or even worse, financially overextending themselves. This would be a tragic error with whole life insurance policy because defaulting on premium payments can mean policy cancellation and the loss of your entire investment. So be careful and make sure you:

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pick a life insurance policy that has a guaranteed cash value starting at the very first year,
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choose the one with the highest cash value in the very first year,
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consider “participating” insurance policies which can pay dividends, increasing your policy’s value by boosting both the total cash value and the death benefits,
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beware of any insurance policy that levies “surrender charges” when you cancel.
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if you ever need to stop paying premiums, your policy lets you use the accumulated cash value of the life insurance policy to pay the premiums, thus keeping your coverage current.

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