The Best Pet Insurance & Benefits
Mini Balakrishnan
Pets are precious to the majority of us and they give us companionship, warmth, and comfort with their unconditional love. India is developing into a country like other parts of the world into one having the highest number of pet owners who love and treat them as family. Won’t you ensure safety for your family? Well, it is the same when it comes to the safety of pets too. The best part is pet insurance for dogs and pet insurance for cats, etc are all available separately to meet different pet needs.
Why Pet Needs Insurance Cover?
A home is not fully a home these days without a pet in it. It is the pet owner’s responsibility to protect these amazing creatures when they need help due to sickness or injury. Pet Insurance plans are those types of safeguard options for your pet’s life. The insurance cover protects the pets in terms of health and their well-being when they need medical or other treatment help. Just like we pay our insurance premiums their insurance covers also have particular terms of payment.
Just as much as we love pets, we are certainly responsible for overall well-being and good health. We safeguard our lives and take care of our finances by buying ourselves insurance for various needs. Same way pets also need this type of care and protection if they suddenly get ill. The treatment expenses when your pet is taken to a veterinary doctor are high nowadays and quite unavoidable.
So either way, nothing is free if your pet needs medical assistance and quality treatment. Pet insurance will assist in all these circumstances that will make your and your pet’s life peaceful and easier. It prevents the financial drain that might be caused during the process of safeguarding your pet. Hence it is important to get pet insurance right in the beginning if you are planning to buy a pet. Get to know more about pet insurance in India in this article.
What Is Included In Pet Insurance Cover?
The pet insurance cover provides financial assistance for:
- Vaccination
- Treatment for Ticks and Lies
- Grooming
- Cover for surgery expenses
- Cover for death due to accidents or illness
- Cover for hospitalisation
- Loss of pets especially dogs
- Cover for OPD
Benefits Of Buying Pet Insurance
People spend around Rs 80,000 annually for their pet’s needs including health, personal care, etc. Just like in countries abroad, India is no less giving importance to these things now and it is very good to see the evolution affecting the country positively among people. Having a pet is awesome and keeping them healthy and safe is always possible through pet insurance.
The main benefits of pet insurance are:
- Best health for pets
- Saves your finances from draining unnecessarily.
- Accident covers available that provide safety for them
- Benefits are available if pets get stolen
- Third-Party damages are covered by some insurers.
2 Types Of Pet Insurances In India
The insurance companies in India have always offered cattle insurance as well as livestock insurance for the past many years now due to the high demand for the same. The insurance companies offer protection against death and also a huge range of expenses like third-party liabilities, transit of pets worldwide, or any kind of loss or theft. Some insurance companies also offer entry fees for public shows like dog shows, etc.
1. Pet Insurance For Dogs
Dog insurance is the most common pet insurance cover available in India. As per reports, in an estimated 29 million pets found in India, dogs certainly make up for the huge number. It was found that people have bought more pet dogs in the Covid-19 outbreak as dogs are great comforters for humans when they feel lonely or down.
Depending on your choice of insurance company you can always get a cover for pets aged between 2 months old to 10 years old. There are various types of dog insurance available for indigenous dogs, cross-bred ones and also exotic breeds. The premium will vary according to the age, size, and breed of the dog.
2. Pet Insurance For Cats
Apart from dog insurance which covers the majority of pet insurance offered in India, cats have also started becoming a part of the human family with a lot of imported or feline cats kept indoors as pets. The cats are a lot more adventurous and might create lots of havoc inside the house or to themselves. A lot of pet insurance plans provide a wide variety of cat insurances too nowadays and that is indeed a great relief for cat owners too to keep their little paw friends safe and healthy.
What Are The Exclusions in Pet Insurance?
Pet insurance in general provides a lot of benefits for the pet parents and it is certainly an important part of your pet’s life. However, there are a few things that are excluded from pet insurance plans. Some of them are mentioned below.
- Surgeries that are not accident or illness related.
- Surgeries opted to cure congenital diseases or any other deformities.
- Pregnancy-related surgeries or Whelping-related surgeries.
- Grooming related surgery
- Cosmetic or elective surgery that is not related to any accidents or injuries
- Dental surgery unless caused by accidents or injury
Best Pet Insurance Companies In India
Depending on the type of insurance cover you need for your pet and depending on what kind of pet you own there are various types of policy covers available in the pet insurance market.
The top insurance companies offering pet insurance plans in India are
- The New India Assurance Company Limited
- Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Limited
- The Oriental Insurance Company Limited
Let us look at each of them according to their benefits and the eligibility criteria for pets:
| Pet Insurance Company | Sum Insured | Eligibility Criteria of the Pet | Main Benefits offered |
| Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Limited | For Surgery – Rs.50,000For Hospitalisation- Rs. 10,000For Third Party liabilities you can choose between Rs.5 Lakh to Rs.10 Lakhs. It all depends on the size and breed of the dog and is subject to changes. | Cover for pets starting from the age of 3 months to 7 years(Depending on the size) and cover valid up to only 6 years to 10 years | Death benefitsSurgery coverThird party liability coverStraying cover/ theft or loss cover |
| The New India Assurance Company Limited | Depends on which type of plan you choose to cover your dog. Blue/Yellow/Red plans. Sum insured is determined by the size and breed of the dog and sometimes even the gender. The insurance company can give the apt details. Premiums are fixed at 5% of the Sum Insured. | Starting from 8 weeks upto a maximum of 8 years | Death covers due to accident or diseasesLoss or theft coverPersonal injury cover and personal property damage cover |
| Oriental Insurance Company Limited | Premium is 6% of the sum insured. The sum insured depends on the various parameters of the pet and is determined by the insurance company. | Starting from 8 weeks to 8 years | Death due to accident while in transit coverLoss or theft coverLoss of value as a result of an accident. |
How Does A Pet Insurance Work In General
We all might get curious about how a pet insurance company works in favor of the pets even though we know the inclusions, exclusions, and general information. Let us look at how Bajaj Allianz Pet Insurance works.
Bajaj Allianz’s pet insurance covers your dog for a lifetime starting from 3 weeks to the age of 10 years. It provides cover for treatments of any surgery or injury resulting from any accidents without any waiting period right from the day of the policy issuance. Moreover, if your dog has got a microchip attached to it you will get an extra 5% discount on the premium to be paid under Bajaj Allianz pet insurance.
Apart from these, there are some additional inclusions or benefits offered and they are:
- Bajaj Allianz is sure of your pet dog’s vaccinations while the policy duration is active. If there is a failure of vaccination the insurance company covers that as well. They take care of the dog’s vaccination throughout the tenure of the policy.
- A maximum of Rs.50,000 is allowed to claim under the surgery expenses for treatment of your dog by a qualified vet. There is also protection against the treatment of a fractured leg of the dog and the limit is up to Rs.5000.
- Hospitalisation expenses are subjected to a maximum of Rs.2,500 per day for the insured dog for a maximum of 4 days.
- If your dog passes away unfortunately you are eligible for a death benefit up to the sum insured you have chosen for the insurance cover. It also pays for the burial of your beloved pet by offering you Rs.3,000.
- Terminal diseases like cancer, kidney failure, cardiac dysfunctions etc are covered as per the company policy wordings with a provision of a lump sum amount of Rs.30,000.
- There is also long-term care coverage for your dog if there is a long-term illness that needs on and off treatment and cares like thyroid dysfunction. Glaucoma, Inflammatory bowel syndrome, diabetes, epilepsy, pancreatitis, etc.
- Bajaj Allianz offers an OPD cover for your dog due to an accident, or if it contracts any of the diseases mentioned in the policy wordings under the particular list like pneumonia, vestibular disorder, hepatitis, meningitis, etc. the maximum amount offered is Rs.30,000.
- A third-party liability cover is offered by the insurance company if your dog causes injury or damage to a third party or his property. The sum insured can be opted by you up to Rs.5 lakhs or Rs. 10 lakhs for third-party liability cover.
- The theft or loss cover is optional but very important though and it allows you to provide a reward to the people who can help find your lost pet. This is applicable only if you report the loss to the police and the concerned authorities of your pet insurance companies soon after the incident.
This is just a general idea of how pet insurance works and of course it has its exclusions that has to be carefully noted before buying the policy to see if those criteria meet your needs. All exact details can only be provided by the actual insurance company that you are approaching as the terms and conditions can be changed as decided by the company at various intervals.
Common FAQs
- Do all vets accept my dog’s pet insurance?
Yes absolutely. With pet insurance, any authorized and licensed vet will accept the pet insurance while you pay the vet for his services and claim the amount with the insurance company. If you are eligible for any reimbursement as per the particular policy terms, then you will get paid directly by the insurer.
- What does a congenital condition mean when it comes to my pet?
The congenital condition is not linked to genetics, instead, it is related to the changes or illnesses that happened while your pet was in the womb of its mother. This includes heart defects, any other organ or limb defects, cleft palate, etc.
- Wouldn’t my pet insurance cover any pre-existing conditions?
This is due to obvious reasons and very simple as people might take insurance for pre-existing illnesses for their pets and once they recover the insurance cover will be canceled by the pet owners naturally.
The insurance company will not be able to afford such business with people if they all start doing it. But if the pet gets any medical conditions after they bought the policy cover then certainly it will be covered if the conditions are mentioned under the inclusions of the policy.
