Regularly we are being asked by our clients to advise them on Pet insurance options in the UAE. Although we are in favor of Pet Insurance in general there are quite a few considerations to make. This is why we, at Al Barsha Veterinary Clinic, are not promoting any of the newly started Pet Insurers in the UAE. Not promoting does not mean we will not work with them. We will support the client who has taken on pet insurance and sign off on any claim forms to be signed and will communicate with the insurers to get pre-approval for procedures needed for our client’s pets to take place under the cover of the Insurance Plan. We just leave it to our clients to choose the Pet Insurance Provider which fits them best. Important to note is our service will not include direct billing with any of the Pet insurers.

What are the advantages to look for in a Pet insurance?

Covers unexpected veterinary bills, e.g.

• Your dog gets hurt in a car accident and will need surgery, costs are high and unexpected, this is nice to have covered with your pet insurance.
• Your cat develops chronic renal failure and will need regular “dialysis” in the hospital setting, this is a recurring high cost and nice to lean back on your insurance
• Like this, there are many more examples

Covers liability (This liability is very difficult to cover in any other way in the UAE):

• Due to a misunderstanding, your dog gets into a fight with another dog and that dog needs stitching up, you are kept liable for the veterinary costs, this is covered only under certain Pet insurances
• Your cat crosses the street, causing a car to hit a wall when the driver tries to avoid the cat, the damage to the car as well as the hospital bill of the driver will be your liability.
• What is the cover in value, is this sufficient? What is the procedure for them to pay in case of liability? Does this require a court case and if so who pays for the court case?

Although other covers are offered within all current plans on offer, you have to wonder if these are needed as they only make the needed cover more expensive; a lumpsum payment for a pet which died will not take the pain of your loss away and might encourage fraud to encash money, similar for theft or straying. Vaccination is a recurring cost and implementing this into your insurance cover, again will only elevate the price of your policy.

Will you be able to choose your own Vet Clinic or will you be forced to move to another Veterinary Clinic? In this case, what could be the motivation for this? In our opinion veterinary clinics as care professionals should shy away from forming business connections which reduces their freedom of professional approach and quality of care, as seen in human health care.

It is important to check your personal yearly contribution (own risk) per claim occurring, to ensure the yearly limit per item stated is market relevant (40% covered with a maximum of 18.000 AED/year might seem correct but means that when you have a pet who needs orthopaedic surgery and intensive care after a car accident you get 7.200 AED, which barely covers the surgery let alone the intensive care and follow up costs). Or what will happen when your pet has developed a more chronic condition, will you be kicked out of the insurance as your pet has become too costly for the insurer? Important questions to consider. Who is doing the approvals, are they knowledgeable in the field? How long will it take for a claim to be reimbursed?

Why do we stay away from advising our clients on Pet Insurance? Since the opening of our clinic in 2004 at least 5 Pet Insurances have started up and after 1-2 years disappeared, the pet industry and market were not of a large enough scale to sustain a proper product. They offered unbelievable promises and did not find sufficient clients to make their promises come true, they were not backed up by proper underwriters.

Currently, we see at least 5 new products on the market, none of them has experience in the UAE, some have known underwriters, and some have a link to other insurance products in the UAE. None have experience in the Veterinary field. It remains to be seen whether the Pet Market in the UAE is big enough to support 5 products. All products make sense, all companies have done their homework and we are fine to work with all of them, but you as Pet Owner will have to see which of these products are covering your needs and have a sufficient set-up to last and float above.

Written by Dr. Ellen Kruijning, ABVC Founder and Veterinarian