With all household energy bills rocketing, it is not surprising to see so many people trying to find different ways to save money. Insurance policies are worth comparing but always seek more information than the simple monthly fee you have to pay. You must explore the policy, read the fine print and make sure the company has a good reputation in order to obtain a product that suits you best. There is no point in paying a monthly insurance fee if your insurance company is not going to pay out when you need them!

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Most pet insurance plans are 12 month contracts 

These then continually renew each year at a new cost. This new cost is negotiated based on how likely it will be that you will need to make a claim. Those pets who have already become ill, made claims or have been diagnosed with long-term illnesses will cost more to insure. Each year, you have the option to swap insurance companies. This is your opportunity to compare deals and see what changes you can make in order to reduce your costs. But also ensure you are purchasing a reliable product that will financially benefit you at a time when you need it the most.

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Every time you renew your insurance, you will need to give as much information about your pet as possible. 

This information will include your pet’s current health condition, previous health conditions, what you have claimed for, the cost of each claim, the number of times you have claimed, the age of your pet and its breed, amongst other things. Your insurance company needs as many details as possible. Failure to provide them may result in an invalid insurance policy; meaning you will be paying for something that you will get nothing in return for!

Many insurance companies will have in their small print that you can only claim so many times per medical condition. Some conditions may be lifelong, in which case it would be considered as one condition. But having been diagnosed with a lifelong, chronic condition, your monthly payments may increase unless you are on a fixed rate contract. Other medical conditions may recur. For example, your dog may suffer from a cruciate ligament injury and need cruciate surgery on their right hindlimb. This would be covered on your insurance policy. But then if 2 years later, your dog suffered the same injury on their other hindlimb, this surgery would no longer be covered. 

Small claims may lead to exclusions in your pet’s insurance cover if you can only claim for conditions once. 

It may be worth researching and communicating with your insurance company about whether your insurance will exclude the condition from your coverage anyway; regardless of whether they have had to pay out for the condition or not. Otherwise, you may pay for the surgery yourself, experience an increase in your monthly fee due to your pet having had surgery and also, not be able to claim if the medical condition occurred again. 

Each insurance claim submitted costs an additional fee in order to submit a claim due to the extra paperwork associated with making a claim. 

This fee is normally no more than £40 but should be considered if you are debating whether to claim for a smaller bill. This fee is non-refundable even if your insurance claim is rejected.

Every time you claim on your insurance, you will also need to pay the excess fee. 

Each insurance policy will have varying excess fees. The larger the excess fee you are willing to pay, the smaller your monthly payments will likely be. A larger excess fee limits the number of eligible claims. This is because every claim you make must be larger than your veterinary bill; plus the excess and the additional insurance claim fee from your veterinary practice.

So… is it worth claiming on your insurance for smaller bills?

You need to consider the overall cost and the knock on effect on your finances having made a claim. For bills that are only slightly over your excess, it will probably cost you more in the long-term. This is due to the increase in your monthly bills. If you are planning to cancel your insurance policy or you feel your pet is coming towards the end of their life, claiming for smaller bills may be worth it as you are less likely to face the increase in renewal fee. Remember that older animals are much more likely to need veterinary care. So we do not recommend cancelling your pet insurance just because your pet is getting older.

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