Specialists in finding you cheap pet insurance

There is a well known campaign slogan that goes something along the lines of ‘a dog is for life – not just for Christmas'. To the responsible pet buyer, there are no truer words. In most cases, the faithful family dog starts out as the mischievous family puppy. It soon becomes an indispensable member of the family and life without it is unimaginable. However, a puppy is a living, breathing, accident prone, vulnerable creature that requires as much care as a human and unlike a human member of your family is not covered by a National Health Service that will provide instant and free care in the event of the puppy becoming sick or suffering an injury.
Statically the facts are:

• Every year about one third of all puppies develop an illness or suffer an injury that requires medical treatment.
• Veterinary bills for even relatively routine treatment regularly exceed £300. To treat a puppy with a broken leg can cost more than £1000 and when you include the additional aftercare treatment, this cost can escalate even further.
• Some reports estimate that the inflation on vets' bills is running at around 10 per cent per annum, so care can be an expensive business.
• On top of this, puppies have been known to cause accidents and damage. As the owner, you may be held liable for the cost of repair or compensation for injury.

Don't let these sobering facts deter you from owning a puppy. For a few pounds a week, puppy insurance is easily obtained. A policy may even be obtained from the local supermarket. Puppy insurance – like any other form of insurance is only useful when you need it. But can you afford those vet's fees and those few pounds may literally make the difference between life and death for your pet. Policies and their conditions vary from insurer to insurer and it is important to thoroughly check the level of cover.

Routine treatments and existing conditions will not be covered. There will be exclusion clauses and there will almost certainly be a capped limit on costs covered. Premiums will increase with the age of the pet and of course, different breeds will attract differing insurance costs. Some policies even cover the cost of replacing an expensive breed, so naturally you will expect to pay more for a pedigree Saluki or Airedale puppy bred from a Cruft's supreme champion. Similarly, certain breeds with adverse medical histories will of course be more expensive.

Your chosen policy may also insure you against the potentially heavy legal costs in the event of you defending a claim against you for injury as a result of the actions of your pet and even the cost of caring for your pet if you are incapacitated. Puppy insurance is of course not compulsory, but are you prepared to gamble on the health and care of a loved pet as well as the running the risk of heavy and unnecessary expense for the sake of a small weekly sum. Do read the ‘small print' and do a little research before taking out a policy and remember - cheapest is not always best.