Why an insurance age limit is necessary, why you need to know about them and why you need to get your pet (young or old) insured.
All insurers come with their own sets of rules – no two insurers are the same.
Whether it be premiums, annual limits, pre-existing conditions or hereditary illnesses, it’s so important to do your research to find out which insurer works best for you and your pet.
And that’s why we’re here today! At Oneplan, we want you to stay as informed and as up to date as possible. Transparency is key, and it makes this whole pet insurance journey easier for all of us.
Why does my pet need pet insurance?
Being a pet parent comes with a boatload of responsibilities.
It goes far beyond picking up after them, cleaning them, taking them for walks and feeding them nutritious food. When you bring a pet into your home, you are immediately solely responsible for their health and wellbeing. And whilst the basics are important, there are some things you just can’t do on your own.
You need the help of a qualified vet to make sure your pet maintains excellent health, and you need to be able to pay the bills when emergencies take place (because trust us, they do). Healthcare for pets is incredibly expensive and is often far more than the average household can afford.
Pet insurance takes away the stress of struggling to find the funds to nurse your pet back to health. It also takes away the pressure of having to finance their routine and day-to-day care.
What we’re here to tell you is that it is never too late to get pet insurance, but it’s always better to jump on board as quickly as you can. After this blog, you’ll understand why.
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So why is a pet insurance age limit necessary?
Insurance is a risk game, as you most probably know. Behind every insurer is a team of talented and highly skilled actuarial scientists whose job is to calculate risk. They decide what the company can reasonably cover and what they would rather not take on.
Once these risks are calculated, they are sent to the insurer to put into their policy outlines.
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If your pet is very old, that obviously makes them a riskier client. Pawesome, but still risky. The same goes for puppies that are very young. Yep, puppies may seem like they’re immune to anything bad happening, but their first few weeks are high risk, which is why most insurers will only accept them onto a policy once they’re a little older.
What are the age limits at Oneplan?
Our age limits at Oneplan are as follows:
- Pets must be older than 8 weeks
- Small Dogs younger than 11 years
- Medium Dogs younger than 10 years
- Big Dogs younger than 9 years
- Cats younger than 11 years
What if my pet is older than the pet insurance age limit?
It’s understandable that some people may not know about pet insurance, and that doesn’t make you a bad pet parent.
If you’re panicking a bit because you have a pet older than 11 years old, it isn’t too late. These age limits strictly apply to our Hospital Plan, Classic Plan and Super Plan. But we want to help out wherever we can, which is why we accept pets of ALL ages (except if they are younger than 8 weeks) on our Pet Accident Plan. Yup, you read that right. The pet insurance age limit for accident cover doesn’t exist with us!
Pet Accident Plan
Older pets are prone to accidents – their eyesight gets worse, their hearing isn’t so great and it becomes more likely that they will lose their footing every now and then.
If you have a senior dog that hasn’t had pet insurance before, we would seriously recommend getting them on our Accident Plan to save money on any wobbles they have. Our Accident Plan offers you hospital admission for accidents as well as cover for burial and cremation related to the accident admission events.
Why should I cover my pet from an early age?
Because once they’re covered, they’re covered for life! A pet insurance age limit only applies if you’re joining a policy, but once you’re on one we won’t stop your cover just because your pet gets older.
We want to see your pet have a healthy, happy life for as long as they live. That’s why it’s so important to get pet insurance from a young age – so we can get them covered from the beginning until the end.
To find out more about which plan is best for you, contact somebody from our team here.
Your Pet Insurance Family,
Oneplan
