Dog insurance can help you with unexpected vet bills

Insuring your dog can be the difference between being able to afford to properly look after your pet if they get sick or injured, and not. Vet fees can mount up if your dog develops a serious condition, so dog insurance helps you to pay for treatment or medication which could otherwise leave you considerably out of pocket.

It can also help with mishaps, such as your dog accidentally eating something it shouldn’t such as chocolate or a dangerous item. These sorts of emergencies can require an immediate vet appointment to deal with the incident and keep your dog safe, so having dog insurance in place can give you the reassurance that an emergency trip to the vets won’t leave you to deal with a large bill on your own.

Is it worth insuring an old dog?

Older dogs can be more likely to develop certain age related health conditions which can need ongoing treatment or medication. Some dog insurance policies can help you cover those ongoing costs if your dog develops that condition while it’s covered.

Typically, if you own an older dog, it might mean that your four-legged friend has been in your life for quite some time, so insuring your dog can go beyond financial assistance for vet bills, it may also help with things such as bereavement counselling or pet funeral cremation costs. Keeping your canine companion in the best health possible means you can enjoy as much time with them as possible without worrying about unforeseen costs.

How much does it cost to insure a dog?

It’s difficult to provide an average cost for dog insurance – this is down to the fact that the price you’ll pay for your policy is dependent on a range of factors, such as your dog’s breed for example, or its age, or even where you live in the UK. As such, different people with different dogs may get very different prices to pay for their insurance. 

Not only does it mean that you’ll receive help in paying unexpected vet bills, having dog insurance can also go towards helping to pay for other things such as accidental property damage for third parties and the replacement of a lost pet passport. The full list of what’s covered by dog insurance will be found in your policy documents, but it often goes beyond just vet fees and can come in handy in a lot of unexpected ways.

A quick ‘paws’ for thought…

With pet insurance, as part of the cost, your premium will increase each year at renewal as your pet gets older. We’ll limit the amount it goes up by, but your renewal price will also be impacted by:

• Any claims you make – this could significantly increase your premium
• Rising vet fees
• Insurance Premium Tax increasing
• Changes you make to your policy
• Changes we make to our pricing

You can, of course, shop around at renewal. Just bear in mind that any existing conditions your pet’s developed, whether diagnosed or not, may not be covered elsewhere.