Different types of dog insurance

What is the difference?

If you have a pet dog that you love then any measure taken for his or her safety wouldn’t seem enough. If you have a pup, an adult or a fully mature dog, you are always hoping that they never fall ill and remain in the best of health. However, bad times do not give a warning before coming, which is why you must choose the safer way out, get dog insurance!

There are 3 basic kinds of insurance for dogs. They are as follows -

• Life Time Cover

• Condition based Cover

• Annual Cover

Each of these insurance policies has their own relevance to the life stage your dog is in. When you select an insurance cover for your pet dog, ensure that it covers everything right from the basic wellbeing of your dog to the travel insurance if required. Look out for those policies that you offer you maximum benefits at the lowest premium.

The Life Time Cover

If we look at the Life Time coverage type of insurance for dogs, it is the most expensive kind of insurance for your pet, but the benefits are huge. It covers your pet dog for the ongoing illnesses that may arise year after year. This means it is actually a good coverage policy as it can save you a lot of the veterinary treatment costs. Thus, even though it charges a high premium, having it would mean that you can be rest assured about the health of your pet dog.

The Condition based Cover

The other type of dog insurance, which is the condition based cover as the name suggests is for specific health conditions that your dog may face. Unlike the others, they are not time bound. This means that you can claim the condition for as long as it would take until you reach the monetary limit. However, there are some insurance providers that have specific terms and conditions with regards to certain breeds of dogs.

The Annual Cover

The annual cover on the other hand, is considered the cheapest form of the insurance for dogs as it involves a monthly premium that can be claimed after maturity of the insurance. The claim amount is quite less as well, which is the main reason why this kind of insurance is comparatively cheaper. The annual cover is highly beneficial when you need to make claims that occur in unexpected situations you may face with regards to your dogs health.

Whichever policy you select ensure that ‘cheap’ does not spell ‘good’, if you choose an insurance that is cheap, it is not necessary that you get the best out of it, worse, you might end up spending way more than you ever expected owing to the hidden charges etc. Always go for a reputed insurance provider and make comparisons between the policies to finally settle on the best.

You will find a host of dog insurance providers on the net that will try to grab your attention by quoting their various offers and discounts, the exclusions in terms and conditions etc. However, only a trusted online comparison site will help you sail through this dilemma.

Within the various types of the insurance for dogs, you will also find the types of offered coverage. They too are easily categorized into 3 types as under –

• Accident

• Illness

• Routine Care

The Accident coverage

The coverage for accidents constitutes to be the most affordable and primary type of insurance for your pet. Almost all the dogs usually qualify for this cover irrespective of their age, breed or health issues. Most of the accidental insurance covers lacerations, poison ingestion, insect bites, injuries from car accidents or falls, broken bones etc. All the veterinary expenses along with the prescribed medication, hospitalization, X-rays too are covered that emerge after the accident occurs.

The Illness Coverage

A lot of the concerned pet owners insure their pet dogs against both the accidents as well as specific illnesses that a dog is prone to. While most of the dogs qualify for this cover, a few do not owning to their breed or their age. Different insurance companies have different terms and conditions with regards to any particular breed.

The commonly seen illnesses that dogs are prone to include asthma, allergies, arthritis, joint and bone issues, canine epilepsy, cancer, knee injury, eye disorders, ear infections, heart diseases, gastro intestinal issues, thyroid disease, skin problems and the likes.

However, if the disease that your dog catches was preventable with necessary vaccinations then you could be denied the claim, again this differs from company to company. Veterinary expenses covered typically include the diagnostic tests, treatments, hospitalization, prescribed medication etc.

The Routine Care Coverage

The routine care coverage which is also known as the wellness coverage is a much more comprehensive cover. This type of cover normally includes the annual checkups, heartworm tests, vaccinations, neutering and spaying, dental care etc. However, not all the insurance providers have routine care coverage in their policies.

Your dog is your best friend, thus, depending upon the suitability choose the best dog insurance policy for your pets wellbeing.

One of the most imporant thing you can do when buying or aquiring a dog is to safeguard against the un-expected.  I run a pet insurance website; http://www-petinsurance.com so pay us a visit if you need the best pet insurance. We write about a all aspects of pet insurance, part of our business is also running a kennel where we experience animal issues at first hand.