Our pet cats and dogs are precious members of the family that we love unconditionally, so it’s no surprise that we want to protect them from the pain and suffering of old age, illness and accidents.
It’s quite a pity then, that when it comes to pet insurance, dog and cat owners in Singapore aren’t exactly spoiled for choice. Here are four best pet insurance plans you should consider to protect your favourite pet.
A note on co-insurance and deductibles
As you go through the article, you’ll notice that some plans have co-insurance and deductibles attached to them. Here’s a quick explanation.
Co-insurance refers to the portion you have to pay when making a claim. For example, you make a claim for a vet surgery session that came up to $5,000 in total. Your pet insurance plan offers a 20% co-insurance on vet surgeries.
This means that you will only be reimbursed 80% of the bill = $4,000. The remaining $1,000 (or 20%) will have to be borne by you.
Similarly, deductibles are also borne by you, the policyholder. The difference is that deductibles are first applied on the amount being claimed, before the claim is processed. So for example, let’s say your dog escaped and dug up your neighbour’s garden. She is now claiming damages from you amounting to $2,000.
Your insurer offers a deductible of $500 on all third-party liability claims, such as the one your neighbour has slapped you with. Therefore, your insurer will only pay $1,500 on your claim, instead of the full $2,000.
Why such a roundabout way of doing things? Well, co-insurance and deductibles help insurers bring down premiums, by making sure that only policyholders who need to make a claim pay their share. Otherwise, the costs will be passed on to everyone in the pool, making all policyholders pay higher premiums.
It is important to take note of deductibles and co-insurance, as they affect how much out-of-pocket costs you have to bear, and therefore the value you’re getting out of your pet insurance plan.