Pet Insurance

As any pet owner will attest, it's amazing what kind of scrapes our faithful friends will get themselves into. I've been to the vet countless times for a variety of reasons, but the most bizarre has to be a couple of years ago involving our young Labrador dog ZsaZsa. She had managed to get a napkin-ring shaped marrow bone wedged around her lower jaw and releasing her from this extraordinary predicament involved a general anaesthetic, bolt cutters and a lot of swearing from the vet. Oh – and quite a large bill too. If only we'd had pet insurance… I know better now!

Anyway, here's my guide to some of the best pet insurance policies around. Just click on the link after each one to find out more.

Petplan

One of the first companies to enter the pet insurance business, Petplan from Allianz Insurance is still the UK market leader, covering more pets in the UK than any other provider. They are a company that practise what they preach, they have set up their own Petplan Charitable Trust funded by an optional donation from everyone taking out a policy, plus their own annual donation. A recent survey among vets conducted for Petplan showed that on average over 90% were satisfied with the level of cover and the way the company handle claims.

What kinds of pets are covered?
As well as covering the UK top three: cats, dogs and rabbits, they also have exotic pet insurance cover. For horses look at Petplan Equine. They provide a range of policies depending on the pet you want to cover and your budget.

Special offer : you get 10% discount for buying online.

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Churchill Pet Insurance

From one of the UKs leading insurance companies (you know, with the cute dog that likes to say ‘yes’) comes a very affordable pet policy starting from just £5.50 a month for cats and £8.50 a month for dogs. To put it another way, costs start from less than price of petfood per day, which can’t be bad, can it?

What kinds of pets are covered?
Churchill covers puppies and kittens, dogs and cats. You can take out a new policy for your dog from age eight weeks to eight years and for your cat from eight weeks to ten years. Once the policy is taken out and paid for it covers you for the rest of your pet’s life, with no upper age limit. Vets bills of up to £3000 are covered up to 12 months from the first treatment date. You also get 15% discount for applying online.line.

There is also up to £1000 to cover advertising if your pet is lost or stolen and £500 if your pet dies from illness or accident .

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Animal Friends

The largest independent pet insurance provider in the UK, this ethical company is the only one of our list that is a not-for-profit, the profits go to animal charities worldwide. They have a list of the organisations they have helped on their impressive website.

Animal Friends was the idea of businesswoman and long term animal lover Elaine Fairfax. Although she had worked with many animal charities in her business life Elaine felt she could do more, so decided to use her business expertise to raise funds for animal charities through something people need anyway - pet insurance - rather than competing with others for charitable donations. Thus the unique concept of Animal Friends Insurance was born...

What kind of pets are covered?
Cats, dogs and they also have a new equine policy for horses and donkeys. They will take on a new pet at any age. The premiums are the same wherever in the country you live (UK only) and whatever breed of animal you have. Instalment plans are available and the insurance premium doesn't go up if you make a claim, which is a pleasant surprise. The other great surprise is that they claim to be one of the cheapest pet insurance providers in the UK.

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Direct Line Pet Insurance

They also offer £20 towards the cost of vaccinations, valid until 30 June 2008.

What kind of pets are covered?
They cover cats and dogs and insure per condition so there's no restriction on the number of times you can claim per pet. Age of pet is between 8 weeks and nine years and does not cover working or dangerous dogs. Also, if you have to go to hospital yourself for any reason they will pay up to £1000 towards your pet's boarding costs. There is an Essential and an Advanced policy, the Essential covers vets fees up to £4000 per condition for 12 months and the Advanced covers vets fees for up to £6000 per condition for an unlimited period. Both policies have three helplines: Find a Vet Helpline, Pet Bereavement Counselling and a Legal Advice Line.

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More Th>n

This is a part of Royal and Sun Alliance Insurance and they claim to offer "more than" most other pet health insurance companies. Taking out a pet insurance policy with More Th>n and you get your own Personal Customer Manager which means you always deal with the same person. Testimonials on their site show appreciation of their speedy and sympathetic service. Good in an emergency situation when you might be feeling stressed. There's a 15% online discount too and cover starts from just £6.79 a month.

What kind of pets are covered?
Cats and dogs with no upper age limits on elderly pets. You get cover of up to £7,000 ongoing vet fees cover for each and every new injury or illness should your pet require medical attention. The pet insurance will also cover you over the course of the treatment – there is no 12 month limit. Interestingly the cover includes some alternative therapies including homeopathy and acupuncture. Cover includes access to serious illness and bereavement counselling lines as well as travel cover, kennel fees, third party cover and help towards advertising costs if a pet goes missing. A year's free membership of their Missing Pet Service provided by Keepsafe is included.

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M&S Pet Insurance

From the household favourite M&S comes a policy from the AXA insurance group. It has no upper age limit, good to know if, like me, you have pets on the elderly side. Their pet insurance policies include travel insurance, holiday cancellation, illness, theft, third party liability and accidental death.

What kinds of pets are covered?
They cover puppies and kittens, dogs and cats. Vets bills of up to £7000 a year are covered. You get 5% discount for applying online and additional discounts if you choose to pay the excess which is from £25. You also get 5% discount for additional pets but need to apply on the phone for that. You can also use their 24 hour Vetfone advice line.

If you are an M& S cardholder then taking out a policy gets you 250 M&S Reward Points.

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