A new report estimates that 91 percent of pet owners are uninsured. Using data from the Financial Conduct Authority and the Office for National Statistics; Compare pet insurance It calculated that the number of policies in force equates to just 9% of all pet owners in the UK.
This means many are unprotected, which could kill thousands in an emergency. Go.Compare asked the nation’s uninsured homeowners the main reasons why they didn’t take out coverage, and more than a fifth (22.4%) said they didn’t think the money was worth it. Meanwhile, more than one in 10 (16%) said they simply could not afford the premium.
An additional 14% said they planned to use savings or a credit card to cover any emergency expenses, while 11.5% felt they did not need a policy. A small percentage of owners simply forget to take out insurance, with 0.9% citing this as a reason for not having insurance.
Affordability appears to be a more prominent issue for dog owners. More than a quarter (28.6%) of uninsured dog owners and 19% of uninsured cat owners said they could not afford a policy. This may be because cover for dogs is more expensive than for cats, with dogs costing £19.68 per month, compared to an average of £10.84 for cats.
Young animal lovers have a harder time paying for insurance than their older friends. A quarter (23.2%) of uninsured 18- to 34-year-olds said they would not be able to afford a policy. In comparison, only 19.5% of 35- to 54-year-olds and 12.3% of over-55s cited this as a key reason.
More than a fifth (21%) of uninsured pet owners said they couldn’t afford one because they didn’t have a policy. This is almost double that of men (11.2%) who gave the same answer.
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Ceri McMillan, pet insurance expert at Go.Compare, said: “It’s worrying to see so few owners have a policy for their precious pets. Of particular concern is that many owners can’t afford to cover it or simply feel it’s not worth the money, even though it could save them thousands in the long run.
“Times are tight, but skipping insurance can be a costly misstep, so we recommend all pet owners have a policy for their fluffy friends. Otherwise, you’ll have to shell out for emergency expenses like your own vet bills.
“Additionally, pet insurance can cover the cost of printing lost and found posters for things you may not be aware of, such as lost and found posters if your pet goes missing. So, it’s important to have a policy because things can go wrong more often than you think.”
“If you need to lower your insurance costs, be sure to compare policies to make sure you’re getting the best deal for your needs. You can also lower your premiums by having your pet wrecked or removed and opting for higher deductibles, although you should only do this if you can afford to pay when a claim is made.”