Information at your fingertips

Insurance articles and essays

Pet Insurance

 After buying my first puppy, I was torn between the idea of insuring him or not insuring him. The cost was the problem for me, at £22 a month I thought it was a bit much.

When we picked him up and signed the necessary forms, the breeder handed over a 6 week free insurance policy under his mums insurance policy.

I took my puppy to the vet for his second lot of vaccinations and a check up. The vet listened to his heart, stopped, then listened again. He then went on to tell me that my puppy had a heart murmur. The vet explained that it could be a condition that he would grow out of at 16 weeks of age. At that point I knew that I should have taken him back to the breeder for a refund but, me being me, I couldn't do it to the children.

I went home, numb and shocked, got the pet insurance policy out and called the claims department number. The lady on the other end was very helpful and told me that my puppy was insured for the condition, and that all his fees would be paid for apart from a small excess of £40.

After the 6 weeks preliminary free insurance cover was up, I didn't hesitate in renewing the policy and jumped at the chance of paying the £22 a month fee. The premium entitled me to unlimited vets fees, cash on death, accident insurance etc etc.

Five months passed and the vets fees had mounted up to over £800. My puppy died from the heart condition, aortic stenosis, at seven months old.

As any dog lover can imagine this was very heartbreaking and the refunding of the vets fees didn't matter but, I was able to give my dog a happy, loving short life with the added knowledge of knowing that I wasn't going to be out of pocket thanks to having pet insurance.

Article written by Tracey Aldous