HAVING pet insurance is a lot like health insurance for people, protecting your finances from the unknowns and ensuring access to quality care and treatment.
This is according to Candice Hobday, a director of ARCO360, a company that owns Genric Pet Insurance, as the recent analysis of pet insurance claims by her company shows that the average claim costs for veterinary treatment are on the rise while mega-pet claims for bills upwards of R15 000 are increasingly common.
Also read: How much does it cost to own a pet?
However, she warns that not all pet insurance benefits are the same, and there are many important terms and conditions that an owner needs to consider and understand before they take up the cover.
Candice shares important factors that pet owners need to consider when evaluating their insurance options. The four things you need to check when evaluating your pet insurance options are:
- Check for payment caps and limits: Check if the policy places a cap on what they will pay for in respect of specific treatments and what the total cap is that they’ll pay in a year, per pet.
- Check if the policy allows you to choose to take your pet to any registered veterinarian to ensure you can take your pet to your usual trusted vet, or if necessary, any specialist or emergency after- hours practice if needed.
- Check if you get discounted premium rates for multiple pets which really helps with those many vet visits, vaccinations and any unexpected treatment costs.
- Check for age limits on the policies.
The recent breakdown of claims paid by Genric Pet illustrates just how onerous some of the veterinary treatment costs can be:
- Claim: R43 400 for a Tibial Plateau Levelling Osteotomy surgery (American bulldog).
- Claim: R15 600 to treat hepatopathy and liver disease (Pomeranian).
- Claim: R16 725 to treat a severe ear infection which eventually required surgery (bulldog).
- Claim: R39 440 to treat a joint injury (Pekinese).
- Claim: R39 200 for shoulder surgery (pit bull).
- Claim: R37 866 for cruciate ligament surgery (Dachshund).
- Claim: R40 682 for joint-related surgery (bulldog).
- Claim: R35 821 to treat a cat for a dog attack.
- Claim: R35 000 for back surgery (bulldog).
- Claim: R39 000 for IVDD back surgery (Dachshund).
- Claim: R33 119 for surgery to remove an ingested foreign body (pit bull).
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