For those who treat their pets as members of their family and shower love and affection on them, pet insurance is an essential investment in their care for the animals. Pet owners are increasingly willing to spend enormous amounts of money intending to their pet’s health or providing them luxurious standards of living.

Pet insurance, like insurance for people, pays partly or fully:

• for the treatment of sick or wounded pet animals
• upon the death of pets
• if the pet gets lost or is stolen.

Originally started in the year 1890 for the care of livestock and horses, it has extended to include almost every kind of pet animal, even the exotic ones. Essentially, owners make payments for their pets’ treatment and then claim reimbursement from the insurance company against the policy they have taken.

The lifetime and non-lifetime insurance policies for pets are the two kinds that owners of pets can opt for. While a lifetime insurance covers the cost of treating a pet for a health condition for its entire lifetime, a non-lifetime insurance covers the costs only for the period of the insurance. When the policy term ends, the condition that the insurance was claimed for will be excluded from coverage. This means that owners will have to pay for the treatment of that particular condition out of their pockets.

Lifetime insurance policies too have riders – they can be taken exclusively for a condition, or for a condition for a year, or a policy for just a year without mentioning any condition. They all have their own merits and demerits, so it is up to the pet owners to decide which policy is best suited for the pet in question, based on its species, age, and health condition.

Pet owners can choose from accident cover, accident and illness cover and comprehensive insurance policies. Comprehensive insurance pays for vaccinations, neutering, dental care and for alternative treatments like acupuncture and physiotherapy in addition to accident and illnesses.

Pet insurance is a growing sector and there are unique insurance policies on offer. Explore your options thoroughly.