You may have heard the terrible way that Lloyds and Halifax are treating their 50,000 pet insurance policy holders, but Big Walkies do not want this news to deter pet owners from insuring their pets.
As a member or somebody who partakes in our walks you are agreeing to our Terms and Conditions.
In regards to insurance they state:
“It must be accepted that any injury or accidents caused to yourself or your animal during the walks, will not be covered by Big Walkies Ltd insurance and it will be down to your own personal 3rd party insurance, your animals insurance or your own personal cost. Also if there is any injury caused to other animals it is down to the parties involved to sort out any problems.”
Therefore if you choose not to insure your dog and it is injured during a group walk, it will be at your own personal cost if your dog is not insured.
Big Walkies strongly support responsible dog ownership and always encourage dog owners to be responsible. We are also keen to work with local authorities in Cambridgeshire to aid them to provide for the needs of their dog owning community and to aid them encourage responsible dog ownership.
Responsible Dog Ownership
Big Walkies consider the following to be “Responsible Dog Ownership”:
**Pet cover can be broken down into three different types, so you need to think about the amount of cover you want for vet fees.
These are ‘basically’
Basic annual cover: Per Condition, with time limit
This tends to be the cheapest cover but offers the least insurance as it puts a time bar on how long you can claim for a particular condition or ailment - usually 12 months once diagnosed and treatment started - and a cap on how much in vets' fees you can reclaim.
After the time or limit has been exceeded most insurers will refuse to let you claim for the same condition again once it's been treated - it will count as a pre-existing condition.
Mid level cover: Per Condition, no time limit
Like the basic cover, this policy limits vets fees for any one illness but doesn't apply any time limit on how long the treatment lasts. Here, a £3,000 vet fees policy could pay for treatment over any number of years until the point when you exhaust the financial limit.
Again, in most cases, once treated, most of these policy types won't then allow you to claim again for the same condition.
High-level cover: Lifetime policies
These offer the most comprehensive cover. They insure your pet for illness or injury up to a maximum amount each year - or to an overall high sum, throughout its life.
Despite being 'lifetime' policies, they offer different types of cover limits (i.e., the maximum you can claim) depending on the insurer, so it's vital you know which yours is.
Per condition per year limit
Not every lifetime policy has this. A £3,000-a-year cover limit means each individual condition or illness your pet developed would be covered, every year of its life, up to £3,000 in bills.
As long as you renew your policy annually, the £3,000 cover is rolled over, so if your pet pooch were to suffer severe arthritis, for instance, that cost £2,750 a year to treat and he lived for 10 years, you wouldn't have to pay a penny (except the excess) of the £27,500 in vet fees - just the annual cost of your premium.
Lifetime limit
Others instead offer an overall 'lifetime' sum per condition - £10,000, say - during the animal's life to cover treatment for it. This means that if you reach the limit before your pet died, you'd then have to start paying the bills out of your own pocket.
Annual catch-all limit
This is the maximum amount of money you can claim from the policy in any one year - though not many insurers have one of these. For example, if a lifetime policy offered £7,000 'catch-all' per year, you would have £7,000 for all the conditions your pet may suffer from inside 12 months, the following year, the 'catch-all' starts again for all conditions.
Ensure that you know exactly what you're paying for - pet policies can exclude all sorts of claims, impose plenty of limits and even leave you exposed unless you add extra bits on.
**Information from The Pet Nurse.
As a member or somebody who partakes in our walks you are agreeing to our Terms and Conditions.
In regards to insurance they state:
“It must be accepted that any injury or accidents caused to yourself or your animal during the walks, will not be covered by Big Walkies Ltd insurance and it will be down to your own personal 3rd party insurance, your animals insurance or your own personal cost. Also if there is any injury caused to other animals it is down to the parties involved to sort out any problems.”
Therefore if you choose not to insure your dog and it is injured during a group walk, it will be at your own personal cost if your dog is not insured.
Big Walkies strongly support responsible dog ownership and always encourage dog owners to be responsible. We are also keen to work with local authorities in Cambridgeshire to aid them to provide for the needs of their dog owning community and to aid them encourage responsible dog ownership.
Responsible Dog Ownership
Big Walkies consider the following to be “Responsible Dog Ownership”:
- Being able to afford your dog - more about affording a dog.
- Insure your dog (it can save a lot of money) – Compare pet insurance.
- Pick Up Their Poop – why not purchase a stylish Dicky Bag?
- Having the time for a dog – if you do work, you could employ a pet sitter / walker.
- Ensure that your dog is identifiable by microchip and name tag (by law all dogs must wear a collar with the owners name and address on it) – click here for reasonably priced name tags.
- Neutering your dog if you are not breeding from your dog – click here for more information
- Don’t cook your dog (Never leave your dog unattended in a car) – check out the campaign here.
- Know your breed – click here for more information about dog breeds that may suit you.
**Pet cover can be broken down into three different types, so you need to think about the amount of cover you want for vet fees.
These are ‘basically’
Basic annual cover: Per Condition, with time limit
This tends to be the cheapest cover but offers the least insurance as it puts a time bar on how long you can claim for a particular condition or ailment - usually 12 months once diagnosed and treatment started - and a cap on how much in vets' fees you can reclaim.
After the time or limit has been exceeded most insurers will refuse to let you claim for the same condition again once it's been treated - it will count as a pre-existing condition.
Mid level cover: Per Condition, no time limit
Like the basic cover, this policy limits vets fees for any one illness but doesn't apply any time limit on how long the treatment lasts. Here, a £3,000 vet fees policy could pay for treatment over any number of years until the point when you exhaust the financial limit.
Again, in most cases, once treated, most of these policy types won't then allow you to claim again for the same condition.
High-level cover: Lifetime policies
These offer the most comprehensive cover. They insure your pet for illness or injury up to a maximum amount each year - or to an overall high sum, throughout its life.
Despite being 'lifetime' policies, they offer different types of cover limits (i.e., the maximum you can claim) depending on the insurer, so it's vital you know which yours is.
Per condition per year limit
Not every lifetime policy has this. A £3,000-a-year cover limit means each individual condition or illness your pet developed would be covered, every year of its life, up to £3,000 in bills.
As long as you renew your policy annually, the £3,000 cover is rolled over, so if your pet pooch were to suffer severe arthritis, for instance, that cost £2,750 a year to treat and he lived for 10 years, you wouldn't have to pay a penny (except the excess) of the £27,500 in vet fees - just the annual cost of your premium.
Lifetime limit
Others instead offer an overall 'lifetime' sum per condition - £10,000, say - during the animal's life to cover treatment for it. This means that if you reach the limit before your pet died, you'd then have to start paying the bills out of your own pocket.
Annual catch-all limit
This is the maximum amount of money you can claim from the policy in any one year - though not many insurers have one of these. For example, if a lifetime policy offered £7,000 'catch-all' per year, you would have £7,000 for all the conditions your pet may suffer from inside 12 months, the following year, the 'catch-all' starts again for all conditions.
Ensure that you know exactly what you're paying for - pet policies can exclude all sorts of claims, impose plenty of limits and even leave you exposed unless you add extra bits on.
**Information from The Pet Nurse.
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