What is Pet Insurance?

Pet insurance is like health insurance, but it is for your pet. Your pet can be insured
against things like injuries, illnesses, and other medical costs just like a human
health insurance policy. But in some other ways, it works a bit like property
insurance in that the owner of the pet is reimbursed after the pet has received care
and the owner has submitted a claim to the insurance company.
Previously, most pet insurance plans did not pay for preventative care such as
vaccinations or elective procedures such as neutering. Recently, however, some
companies in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States offer routine-care
coverage. These include dental care, prescription drugs, and even alternative
treatments like acupuncture.

How does pet insurance work?

Pet Insurance is one of the fastest growing insurance products in the United States.
For many households, pets are a special part of the family and receive the same
commitment to their care and well-being as other family members.
This commitment to your pet's health is becoming more expensive due to advances
in medical technology for pets and increasing costs of general veterinary care. As a
result, more people are choosing to protect themselves from expensive veterinary
care with a quality pet health insurance plan.
Most pet insurance plans have a few basics in common.

You
You
You
You
You

usually pay a monthly premium

select a deductible amount that is either per incident or annual
select a reimbursement level or co-pay percentage
can go to any licensed veterinarian
pay your veterinarian first and then are reimbursed after filing your claim

Categories of pet insurance policies

There are two categories of insurance policies for pets which are non-lifetime and
lifetime.

The first covers buyers for most conditions suffered by their pet during the
course of a policy year but, on renewal in a following year, a condition that
has been claimed for will be excluded. If that condition needs further
treatment the pet owner will have to pay for that him/herself.

The second category covers a pet for ongoing conditions throughout the pets
lifetime so that, if a condition is claimed for in the first year, it will not be
excluded in subsequent years. A lifetime policies also have limits. Some have
limits per condition, others have limits per condition, per year, and others
have limits per year, all of which have different implications for a pet owner
whose pet needs treatment year after year, so it is wise to be clear which
type of lifetime policy you are considering.

Coverage
1. Basic cover

Accident & Injury policies - Your pet will be covered against accidental
injuries which occur inside or outside the home.
Illness Coverage - Includes diagnostics, x-rays, hospitalization, surgery,
medicine and more.

Cover is normally limited to a set period after the accident or illness occurred
2. Extra Cover

Accidental death - pets are priceless but insurance can pay out if they go
missing, are stolen or are fatally hurt in an accident.
Third party liability insurance (dogs only) - pays towards compensation
and costs awarded against the owner by a court if your dog causes death
or injury to a person, or causes damage to someone else's property.
Theft or straying - pays towards advertising and often includes reward. If
your pet isn't found, then there is usually a set amount towards your pet's
purchase price.
Hospitalisation of owner - cost of boarding fees if you have to go into
hospital for emergency treatment.
Pays a set amount if you have to cancel or cut short your holiday or if your
pet goes missing or needs emergency life-saving treatment.
Veterinary fees paid in any country covered by the Pet Travel Scheme. It
also provides cover towards emergency expenses whilst abroad and the
loss of your pet's passport.

3. Not covered

Inhumane treatments - Our pet insurance doesn't cover elective

procedures opposed by The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
to Animals, such as tail docking, ear cropping and claw removal.
Pre-existing conditions - No pet insurance plan covers pre-existing
conditions. Pre-existing conditions are those that occur before coverage

begins or during a waiting period, even if they haven't been formally

diagnosed or treated by a veterinarian. A new incident of a pre-existing
condition may be covered in the future if it's been cured and treatmentfree for at least 180 days. Waiting periods apply for some types of
coverage: Illnesses (30 days), hereditary and congenital conditions (6
months), and knee and ligament injuries, such as Anterior Cruciate
Ligament (ACL), (12 months).
Fees exceeding usual and customary costs - We reimburse based on usual
and customary covered charges, which are costs considered typical in
areas similar to yours. We use available industry and proprietary data to
determine these costs.
Chronic and ongoing conditions for some pets - If a pet is not eligible for
Continuing Care at initial enrollment, chronic conditions and ongoing
conditions will not be covered. These are conditions that need treatment
across multiple policy periods. Dogs over age 9 and cats over age 11 at
initial enrollment are not eligible for Continuing Care. All pets enrolled in
Level 1 are eligible for Continuing Care. Without Continuing Care,
conditions that need care across multiple plan periods are only covered if
180 days pass after cure and last treatment.
Miscellaneous exclusions - The costs of breeding or pregnancy, boarding,
time or travel to a clinic, health certificates or vaccination tags, special
diets or food, grooming or supplies, experimental procedures, organ
transplants and holistic, homeopathic, or herbal supplies aren't covered.
Multiple foreign object surgeries - We don't cover multiple surgical
incidents of foreign object ingestion in a 12-month policy period.The
following conditions and items are not covered by pet insurance:

How are pet premiums calculated?

As with any form of insurance, this will vary between providers and there are a
variety of factors that affect premiums. Veterinary fees in your postcode are also
likely to play a part, and these are generally considered to be pricier in urban areas
than rural ones.
Unlike with insurance products for humans, it's possible that gender could also be
used as a factor in calculating your pet's premium

Why do you need pet insurance?

It allows you to pick your veterinarian. Unlike human health insurance policies
that may require you to use a specific health care provider, pet insurance
policies allow you to obtain care from the veterinarian of your choosing. You

simply provide the veterinary bill to the insurance company for

reimbursement of qualified expenses.
Does not discriminate against any breed or age of pet. While it is advisable to
obtain pet insurance as soon as you adopt your pet to obtain lower
premiums, you can also insure your pet years later.
Delivers peace of mind. Having pet insurance allows you to choose
treatments for your ailing or injured pet based on the best medical option
available and not restricted based on family finances. Most pet insurance
policies reimburse up to 80% of costs after deductibles.
Provides an easy way to budget pet care costs. Pet insurance policies can be
paid monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or annually. You decide which
payment plan works best for you. Most plans offer discounts for additional
pets in the household.
Prevents dipping into the familys emergency fund. True, you can set up a pet
savings account, but it can be tough to discipline ones self from dipping into
this designated account when you face pricey car repairs, household
renovations or other major unexpected expenses.
Pet insurance coverage could save and extend the life of your pet by enabling
you to authorize the medical treatment your pet needs.
If your dog injures a third party or damages their property, as its owner you
could be held responsible and liable for any resultant costs. Third party
liability cover may or may not include accidental damage cover, so it pays to
check this. This cover is available for dogs only as cats are considered 'free
spirits' by the courts and therefore their owners are not legally responsible for
their actions.
Accidental damage pet insurance can offer valuable cover if your animal
causes damage in another person's home or to their property, but watch out
for exclusions and note that it's very unlikely you'll find a policy covering your
own home or property.

Growing in pet insurance industry

The Pet Insurance Industry is expected to grow 6.8% annually for the next 5 years,
driven by increasing veterinary costs, number of pets, and American home
ownership. The number of cats and dogs is expected to grow 2.1% annually for the
next five years, providing opportunities for industry businesses.
Dog accident and illness policies bring in an overwhelming 81% of industry revenue,
while cat and other pet policies and wellness programs bring in a much smaller
portion. Furthermore, annual premiums for accident and illness policies for dogs
cost $167 more, on average, than cats.

Still, only 1% of American pets are insured, compared to 30% of pets in Sweden and
23% of pets in the United Kingdom.
According to IBISWorld Industry Analyst Stephen Hoopes, Pet insurers largely face
the same regulatory trends as their broader property and casualty counterparts,
given that pets are considered property in the view of government regulators.
However, pet insurance risks and trends tend to be more similar to the health
insurance market. For example, the cost of obtaining treatment in both markets
has consistently increased at a faster pace than inflation. For veterinary costs in
particular, expenditures have risen due to both advancements in medicine and
increased utilization of care.

Pet Care Insurance is better than human medical insurance

Pet Care insurance is quite similar to human medical insurance. In fact, it could be
better in certain ways. Pet Care insurance covers outpatient treatment and comes
with accidental death, bereavement allowance and public liability. Human medical
insurance doesnt usually cover visits to GP unless it is for pre-hospitalisation
treatment. Human medical insurance also do not cover accidental death ie, if death
occurs without incurring any medical expenses, there will be nothing payable from
the policy.
Public liability cover within the Pet Care insurance is mainly to protect pet owners
from liability claims resulting from the actions of their pets. A victim of a dog bite
may sue the pet owner for injury and suffering inflicted. As for human medical
insurance, there is no such cover. Of course I dont mean humans have a high
tendency to bite other people, but it is still relevant. Usually for humans, this refers
to Personal Liability insurance. For example, if a clumsy person accidentally
damages the gas pipe of a shopping mall resulting in a huge explosion, he will be

liable for the damages done. If he does not have Personal Liability insurance, he will
have to pay for all the costs of damages if found guilty.
Pet Care insurance covers basic treatments such as flu and fever, and there is no
need for the pet to be hospitalised in order to be claimable. However, there is an
excess of RM100 which we need to be aware of. An excess of RM100 means that the
first RM100 of the treatment expenses will have to be borne by the pet owner. For
example, if the total treatment bill for a bite wound is RM1000, the insurer will pay
RM900. In general, the excess clause is used by insurance companies to help
reduce the number of small claims which may not justify the huge administration
costs of processing the claim which may indirectly increase the premium.
Insurance claims require the causes to be known before any expenses can be
reimbursed. Expenses incurred on treatment or relief of the symptoms rightfully is
not claimable until the cause is conclusively diagnosed and is one of the covered
events stated in the insurance policy. This is because the insurance company needs
to know whether the cause is a covered condition as stated in the policy. Just to
illustrate, vomiting is a symptom and poisoning is the cause. If a dog has been
found to be vomiting, the treatment expenses incurred for vomiting is not claimable
until the cause of the vomiting is found and confirmed by the vet. If the cause is
found to be poisoning, and poisoning is a covered event stated in the policy, then all
the treatment costs including those for the vomiting will be reimbursed by the
insurer. Sometimes, the diagnostic process may take weeks. Blood samples may be
taken to lab for detailed examination and sometimes the reports take days to come
back and if found to be non-conclusive another test will be carried out and so on.
Some of the common items in veterinary bills include clinical consultation fees,
medication, surgical procedures, room & board, x-ray and other laboratory tests,
anaesthesia, and euthanasia.

What is accidental injury in Pet Insurance?

When it comes to accidental injury for pets, most people will think about pets being
knocked down by cars. They think that it cant happen to their pets as they are kept
indoors and never let out alone in the streets. Actually accidental coverage doesnt
just cover injuries from road accidents in fact road accidents may not even be the
most common accidental injuries among pets. Most dog and pedigree cat owners
nowadays dont let their pets roam around the neighbourhood for some obvious
reasons.
The common types of accidents are cuts during grooming sessions, poisoning from
eating the wrong food, foreign body ingestions (swallowed stuff like small balls and
socks), a fall with broken bones, leg sprain, bites from other dogs, scratch from

other cats, burns and scalding, insect bites and stings, suffocation and drowning,
and injuries due to badly designed kennels and fences.
In insurance term, accident shall mean sudden and unexpected event which
happened during the period of insurance which results in death or injury to the pet.
Injury shall mean bodily injury, caused by an accident. Treatment cost claimable
will include any examination, consultation, advice, tests, x-rays, medication, surgery
provided by a vet.

Pet Insurance In Malaysia

Pet Insurance is already a norm in most developed countries. Since our country is
developing towards a developed country, an insurance company is working together
with a private company to offer an insurance coverage for pets. A package offered
by Evolutis Sdn Bhd includes a pet medical protection provided by Kurnia Insurance
(M) Berhad. There are currently two types of premiums which cost RM248 and
RM328 per annum respectively. They are also required to pay RM60 of member
fees. The insurance scheme covers veterinary fees for accident, illnesses, accidental
death, kennel fees, cattery fees, burial, cremation and even third party liability.
Although they thought that the plan might receive good responses when it was
launched in November 2009, Hanson Lye, owner of Kuala Lumpur-based Evolutis
Sdn Bhd, told Guang Ming Daily that not more than 30 pet owners have insured
their pets. Malaysia has two insurance companies tried to provide pet insurance
coverage before but the plans ended up as a failure. Maybe it's because not many
people knew about it or used it enough for it to be profitable for the insurance
company. The need to microchip their pets was another factor that deterred owners
from insuring the animals. Many owners dont believe in putting things into their
pets bodies or that they believe the process is very painful and may cause longterm irritations.

REFERENCE
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http://www.mysinchew.com/node/40511
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http://www.insuranceonline.my/products/pet-care-insurance/choose-your-petcare-insurance-plan.html
5. http://www.neamb.com/insurance/why-buy-pet-insurance.htm
6. http://www.gocompare.com/pet-insurance/pet-insurance-explained/
7. https://www.aspcapetinsurance.com/research-and-compare/pet-insurancebasics/whats-covered/

8. http://www.healthypawspetinsurance.com/faq/how-does-pet-insurancework.aspx
9. https://www.petinsurancequotes.com/petinsurance/100-facts-about-petinsurance.html
10.http://media.ibisworld.com/2015/04/22/pet-insurance-revenue-grow-6-8annually/