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All You Need to Know about Pet Insurance

Dog with a stethoscope. A dogter.

Falling sick and going to see a doctor is a costly thing, so is the same as our pets falling sick and furthermore these things are out of our control. Pets are like humans, they may fall sick, get injured or meet with an accident. We have medical insurance while there is pet insurance for them.

Do you know that when the pet is stolen or lost, the costs involved in search & retrieval of our pet, having a pet insurance can help with the costs involved? You didn’t know? Neither did I prior to doing research. Like most people, I thought pet insurance would just be like ours, able to claim medical bills whenever I fall sick and is hospitalised and that’s it. 

The insurance is quite limited and is covering dogs or cats only.

AIA Paw SafeCIMB My Paw PalLiberty Insurance PetCareAON Happy Tails
BreedDogsCats & DogsCats & DogsCats & Dogs
Age3 months to 7 years old3 months to 7 years old2 months to 9 years old4 months to 9 years old
Eligibility1. Must be licensed
2. Must not be any of these breeds: mastiff, bull terrier, Staffordshire bull terrier, pit bull terrier, American pit bull terrier, Dogo Argentino, canary dog, American bulldog or dogs crossed with any of these breeds and/or wolves
3. Maximum of 1 policy for each dog you own, up to a maximum of 2 dogs per household
1. Must be licensed with AVS and microchipped
2. Fully vaccinated and neutered/spayed 3. Must not be a working dog (not for the purpose of racing, breeding, law enforcement, guide dog, guarding or for other commercial use) 
1. Microchipped
2. Must be residing with you
3. Must not be a working pet or one used for breeding
1. Microchipped
2. Fully vaccinated
3. Must not be a working pet or one used for breeding
What do they cover?Accidental injury and/or death
Cremation and/or burial fees due to accident
Vet fees due to accidents
Loss of dog due to theft
3rd party liability
Basic Cover
Accidental injury and/or death
Cremation and/or burial fees due to accident
Vet fees due to accidents

Add-ons:
Option A: Lost of dog due to theft (+S$32.10/annual)
Option B: Medical and cremation/burial expenses due to illness (+S$321.00/annual)
Accidental death
Vet costs for accidental injury and/or illnesses
Loss of dog due to theft
3rd party liability
Clinical and surgical
Chemotherapy
Final expenses (euthanasia, cremation, funeral service and handling charges following death of the Pet)
3rd party liability
Annual PriceMicrochipped: SGD$79.49
Non-microchipped: S$84.58
Basic: S$74.90
Option A: S$74.90 + S$32.10 = S$107
Option B: S$74.90 + S$321 = S$395.90
Standard: S$350

Enhanced: S$450

Superior: S$750
**the payout amount will be different for different tier
For dogs:
Fur: S$337.82 (Limit of S$3,500/year)
Furry: S$410.22 (Limit of S$7,500/year)
Furball: S$482.60 (Limit of S$12,500/year)

For cats:
Purrfect: S$299.69 (Limit of S$5,000/year)
Coverage PeriodUntil 8 years oldUntil 13 years oldUntil 13 years oldLifetime

Co-insurance and deductibles

Co-insurance refers to the portion you have to pay when making a claim. For example, if your pet goes for a surgery and the total bill comes up to S$3,000. Your pet insurance plan offers 20% co-insurance on all vet surgeries.

The 20% means you have to cover it by yourself and they will reimburse you the remaining 80%, in this case S$2,400.

Deductible is the amount paid out of pocket by the policyholder before an insurance provider will pay any expenses. For example, third party liability, if your dog has escaped and ran into someone’s house and broke an ancient vase, they are claiming $5,000 from you. 

Your insurer offers a deductible of $1,000 on all third party liability claims, which in this case means that your insurer will pay you $4,000 after the claim instead of the full $5,000.

Co-insurance and deductibles help insurers lessen the financial burden on the individual policyholder and its family and also bring down premiums by making sure that only policyholders who need to make a claim pay their share. Otherwise, the costs will be passed on to everyone, making all policyholders pay higher premiums.

It is important to understand this and remember this as it will affect the cost that you have to bear even with this.  

AIA Paw Safe (Dogs only):

Accidental DeathS$1,000 or purchase price (whichever is lower)
Vet fees due to accident
*deductible of S$150
Up to S$1,000
Cremation or Burial Expenses due to Death by AccidentUp to S$250
Loss of Dog Due to Theft
*deductible of S$250
S$1,000 or purchase price (whichever is lower)
Third Party Liability
*deductible of S$1,000
Up to S$1 million dollars

CIMB My Paw Pal (Cats and Dogs):

Basic ($74.90)
Accidental DeathS$1,500
Medical Expenses Due To An Accident
*minimum claims of S$100
Up to S$3,000/year
Cremation Or Burial Expenses Due To An AccidentUp to S$300
Third Party Liability Up to  S$250,000
Option A (+S$32.10)
Loss of Dog Due To TheftUp to S$1,500
Option B (+S$321)
Medical and Cremation/ Burial Expenses Due To IllnessUp to S$3,000/year
(inclusive of basic plan)

Liberty Insurance PetCare (Cats, Dogs):

Standard (S$350)Enhanced (S$450)Superior (S$750)
Accidental DeathS$1,000S$2,000S$3,000
Accidental Injury
*deductible of S$50
S$500S$750S$3,000
Loss of Dog Due To Theft
*not applicable for cats
S$300S$500S$1,250
Vet fees for non-surgical treatment
*co-insurance of 50%
S$500S$750S$3,000
Vet fees for surgical treatment
*co-insurance of 30%
S$1,500S$2,000S$10,000
Third Party Liability
*deductible of S$500
S$100,000S$250,000S$500,000

AON Happy Tails (Cats, Dogs):

Fur (S$337.82)Furry (S$410.22)Furball (S$482.60)Purrfect (S$299.69)
Maximum annual coverageS$3,500S$7,500S$12,500S$5,000
Clinical and surgical benefit
Limit for room and board expenses
Limit for post-surgical treatment benefit
S$2,500
S$250
S$150
S$6,000
S$600
S$300
S$10,000
S$1,000
S$500
S$3,800
S$380
S$200
ChemotherapyS$1,000S$1,500S$2,500S$1,200
Final expensesNAS$250S$250S$250
Third party liabilityS$100,000S$250,000S$500,000S$250,000
Co-insurance (Cats and Dogs)
Before Age 420%
Before Age 730%
Before Age 940%
Deductible
Cats & Dogs; Any age$250

With all the pet insurances and what you can claim from them covered, let’s talk about deciding which policy is best for your pet.

Some factors you have to think about:

  1. Age: it is better to get your pet insured the earlier the better as the pet insurance won’t allow you to purchase a policy for your pet if there’s pre-existing health conditions.
  2. Pet Breed: It is good to look into whether your pet breed is known to develop any health issues at their later stage of health, if yes, it’s best to get one that covers the health issue.
  3. Medical History: If your pet is prone to falling sick, you should look for one that has higher medical bills coverage
  4. Accidents: If your pet is accident-prone or like to escape from the house, it is best to look for one that covers this and third party liability
  5. Cost: This is an important factor as you have to calculate if the policy is something that you can afford and at the same time keep some money aside for emergency.
  6. Lifetime: It would be great if all the policies are covering pets their lifetime as who would know what’s going to happen towards the last stage of their life. If you would like to have lifetime coverage for your pet, you can look into getting AON Happy Tails

This is considered an important decision so you should take some time to think about the policies before making decisions.

Take care paw parents and pets!

Stay safe everyone!

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