Monday, December 04, 2006

Pet Insurance - A Good Idea!

Article Title: Pet Insurance - A Good Idea!
Author: Michael Challiner

Ever thought about taking out insurance to guard against pet
theft? It is probably something you think most people have
never needed to worried about. But that is quickly starting to
change.

Statistics reveal that pet theft has overtaken mobile phone and
ipod robberies to become the most rapidly growing crime in the
UK. Each year, there are 50,000 dogs which are snatched from
their owners. Of those victims, 40,000 had pet insurance. This
sort of insurance can offer help in various ways.

First of all, the insurance pays for the costs of advertising.
It also pays for the costs of offering a reward. Then, when you
find your dog, it will provide the financial assistance to get
the animal back home. You can claim anything from £200 to £1000
depending on your insurance policy.

Then, in the unfortunate instance that your pet is never
recovered, the insurance company will pay anything from £500 to
£1500 for the value of your dog, provided that the animal has
been missing anything from 30 to 90 days.

You can take out claims with insurance companies like PetPlan,
E&L, Marks & Spencer and the Kennel Club is another. In fact,
many mainstream insurers also offer cover as well and you can
find out about quotes for different companies through the
internet. If you do pay for your policy online, it can be the
case that you can claim an online payment discount.

Some of the problems that cause pet theft in the case of dogs
is that the owners don't take enough care with respect to their
dog's security. Owners leave their dogs tied up loosely outside
shops and the advice from experts is that by doing this you are
making your pet easy prey for a criminal.

Pedigree pets in particular are targets. So are dogs owned by
celebrities. A criminal might not steal the pet because it is
high quality, but so they can make a ransom demand for the
animal to be returned.

Along with taking out insurance, there's also other things you
can do to guard against your dog's safety. This includes making
sure that your dog wears a collar and identification tag with
your contact details displayed on it. Dogs can also be
micro-chipped or tattooed so they can always be identified. The
Kennel Club Pet Reunification Service offers this service.

Keep all of your dog's documentation in a safe place. Also keep
a photo of your dog from the side so it can be easily
identified. But more importantly, don't let your dog out of
your site by not tying it up and leaving it. Keep the animal
secure in your back garden where it can be seen. Don't walk
your dog without a leash, leave it inside or lock it in a car
all alone.

If in the unlucky instance your dog does get stolen, report it
to the police. Then contact the local dog warden. If your dog
is micro-chipped, contact petlog or visit the organisation's
lost and found data base - http://www.doglost.co.uk


About The Author: Michael has worked in financial services for
over 15 years. He now writes for a number of UK based financial
web sites. Insurance bazar provides articles based around
insurance for uk residents. New and up to date articles from
insurance bazar http://www.insurance-bazar.co.uk

No comments: