Such is the love that the UK population has for its pets that they actually have more pet insurance policies than health cover for themselves according to a new Tesco Finance study.
23 percent of pets in the UK had pet insurance cover bought for them last year said Tesco Finance, compared with just over 12 percent of people buying health cover. This means that nearly twice as many pets are covered than people and puts the UK in at number two in the table for the best pet care.
To further appeal to pet owners Tesco Finance pet insurance is being discounted by 20 percent for online purchases, with another 5 percent discount if more than one animal is covered.
Churchill Insurance are asking all pet owners to make sure they have suitable pet insurance in place to ensure the animal can receive the best care should it be needed.
As a Churchill Insurance spokesman pointed out, the cost of the premium will be insignificant compared with the cost of a vet bill, never mind the emotional costs if there is no pet insurance in place and the vet then proves too expensive. Even though all pet owners think their own animal will remain healthy the fact is that a third of pet owners claim on their insurance each year, pretty much all of whom would never have thought they would need to.
With the cost of veterinary treatment going up by about 12 percent each year it is imperative that pet insurance is in place continued the Churchill Insurance spokesman.
Having looked at the situation for pet owners in the UK Sainsburys Bank has found that over a million owners do not have any insurance cover in place for their pets.
The answers provided by respondents to the Sainsburys Bank study shows that around half of pet owners do not think they need pet insurance. Of these most thought it was not necessary no matter what whilst a smaller percentage said they felt it unnecessary because their pet was in good health.
As a Sainsburys Bank spokesman explained, cats and dogs get ill just like people do, but there is no NHS for pets, hence the need for pet insurance.