Types of pet insurance and what coverage they have

More and more people share their lives with a pet. Although the most common are dogs and cats, exotic animals such as lizards, birds and snakes are on a rise as well. Each one of them due to its characteristics, has different needs and peculiarities. For this reason, it is important to have a pet insurance policy suitable for the type of animal, covering both veterinary assistance and possible damages to third parties.

What is a pet insurance?

It is a policy, similar to a health insurance, intended to cover damages to third parties and veterinary assistance for pets.

The main benefit of this type of policy is the medical insurance for the animals, but it will also be useful if your dog, for example, causes some kind of personal or material damage to someone.

When is pet insurance mandatory?

Despite being voluntary policies, there are some exceptions in which dogs must be insured:

When the dog belongs to a potentially dangerous breed.
In some states and counties, it is mandatory to take out a Civil Liability policy for the dog, regardless of the breed or size of the dog.

What types of pet insurance can you find and their coverage?

We can include this type of policies in two groups, depending on whether they are specific to provide coverage for animals or are integrated in the home insurance.

Home insurance policies that provide protection for pets

More and more home insurance policies offer the possibility of including pet liability coverage. In this case, the policy protects for the damages that the animal could cause to third parties, but does not cover the possible damages that our pet could suffer.

There are also Family Liability insurances in which we can find this type of coverage.

Specific pet insurance

If we are looking for a broader protection and, above all, focused on the health of our furry friend, the best pet insurance is the specific one with a higher coverage.

The coverage of this type of policy starts with basic coverage and can be extended with other guarantees:

Accident coverage for the animal and/or compensation in case of death.
Veterinary assistance
Slaughter/incineration
Stay in a kennel, in cases where the owner is hospitalized.
Civil liability insurance