How to find cheaper pet insurance
Top 5 tips to finding cheaper pet insurance
Whether you’re a cat lover or a dog lover (or you prefer rabbits, rodents or rattlesnakes) your veterinary bill could be a very painful pill to swallow if your pet ever takes ill or is involved in an accident.
Fortunately pet insurance is a relative cost effective way to offset some or all of those bills – and if you follow our five top tips you could find an even better deal on your pet insurance.
Consider taking out lifetime pet insurance – particularly if your pet is still young
Provided your pet doesn’t have any pre-existing medical conditions when you first take out lifetime pet insurance, and provided you renew with your existing provider each year, your pet will usually be covered for most types of illnesses and chronic medical conditions under this policy, up to a maximum annual pay-out amount.
Since the list of excluded medical conditions can grow to become fairly extensive if you opt for annual pet insurance, lifetime cover can prove much more cost effective in the long run – particularly if you first sign up when your pet is young and healthy, with no pre-existing conditions.
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Compare quotes from a wide range of providers
If you have decided not to take out lifetime pet insurance (because your pet is older and already has a lot of pre-existing medical conditions, for instance) you should use our pet insurance comparison system to compare quotes from a wide range of providers each time your annual pet cover is due for renewal, which should make it much more likely that you’ll find a suitable policy at a great price.
Keep your cat or dog indoors
Since house cats and house dogs are less likely to be stolen, less inclined to run away from home and have less chance of being hit by a car or attacked by another animal some pet insurance companies will offer pet owners cheaper insurance if they keep their cat or dog indoors.
Consider having your pet spayed or castrated
Most pet insurance providers in the UK won’t insist that you have your pet spayed or castrated, but some of them will offer cheaper pet insurance quotes if you do so.
The reason for that is that spaying reduces the risk of pregnancy-related medical conditions for female pets, while castration reduces the risk of aggression-related injuries for male pets.
If you’re a cat owner consider having your cat microchipped
Unlike dog owners, cat owners in the UK aren’t legally obliged to have their cats microchipped, but some pet insurance companies will offer pet owners cheaper insurance quotes if a cat is microchipped because it can significantly reduce the risk of the pet being lost or stolen.