Excess fees are ubiquitous within the pet insurance industry. An excess fee clause reduces your pet insurance premiums by discouraging you from claiming for minor veterinary treatments. Is it also discouraging you from seeking early intervention when you think your pet is unwell? One company thinks so and claims it has found an affordable, socially responsible solution.

An excess protection policy has been launched by insurer insure4excess.com, (Towergate Underwriting Group). The product runs in tandem with a normal pet insurance policy. It pays the excess costs incurred as a result of claims. For example a payment of £35 per year to Insure4excess currently returns cover for up to £250 worth of excesses.

The company claims that its policy will result in a greater take-up of pet insurance by encouraging pet owners to increase the excess fees clause, thus reducing their premiums.

If the company has got its sums right, then this seems like a good deal for animals who regularly get into scrapes or suffer minor ailments. From a welfare point of view, the scheme may also encourage owners to take their pets to the vet earlier when they notice something is wrong.

Insure4excess says it has had feedback from dog owners suggesting excess protection is socially responsible as it addresses pet insurance concerns about increasing premiums and escalating excess costs.

Everyone's situation is different though, and you need to do the maths. To achieve this you will need two websites: Pet Insurance Online provides a fairly comprehensive list of pet insurance excess fees which you can compare these against Insure4excess costs.

Submitted by: Steve O'Malley      

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