Recent pet health insurance research by the halifax has found that people in the UK have spent more than £2.6 billion pounds on dogs & cats in the last five years.
Consider the normal costs you have whilst owning a pet, you have to buy the animal, then you have to pay for the pet food, vet treatments, kennels, animal toys, etc. these can build up fairly quickly, which is highlighted when you look at the average cost for a dog during its life time, this amount is currently £20,000 according to churchill and from this you can expect to pay an average of £790 for vet treatment.
Pet health insurance policies cover a range of health needs for your pet which might include;
Treatments for accidents, cancer & other illnesses
Protection against worms, fleas & other vaccinations.
Hospitalisation, X rays, MRI & CAT scans.
And basics such as check ups, prescriptions & having your pets spayed / neutered.
Pet health insurance is designed to cover a wide range of animals from cats & dogs from most UK insurers to birds, rabbits & horses from E&L and pet plan insurance.
It is wise to take out dog insurance as certain dog breeds are predisposed to medical conditions such as, skin conditions which require long term treatment at great cost also an over weight dog is more likely to get medical conditions such as circulatory conditions, diabetes, thyroid problems & joint problems.
It is also wise to take out cat insurance as they are just as popular a pet in the UK, cats also have the tendency to get run over by cars a lot which costs the pet owner a lot of money in vets fees, costs which are mostly likely for fracture repair, blood testing & hospitalisation.
Cats could live upto their late teens and this is a long time to go without any pet health insurance in place to cover a lifetime of eventualities.
If you consider the costs of the average cat or dog in the UK and take into account all the risks involved, especially with overweight pets then you can’t really afford not to have good pet health insurance.