It has never been easier to take your pet on holiday with you. New laws came in a few years ago meaning that, as long as you have a pet passport and the appropriate vaccinations, there is no reason to leave your pet behind.

However, if you plan to take your pet with you on holiday then you should be aware of the importance of taking out appropriate pet travel insurance. There’s no knowing what trouble your pet could get into, and there is a need to protect yourself from the possible hefty financial payouts that you could suffer if anything were to go wrong.

Travel Insurance For Pets

Pets are a source of constant joy, but they are also a source of worry. If you take your pet on holiday with you, they could get lost, get stolen or even get injured and require emergency vet treatment. On top of that, they could inadvertently cause an accident and leave you with huge liability fees to pay.

Just as you wouldn’t dream of going on holiday without the appropriate travel insurance for yourself, you should be equally strict when it comes to insuring your pet. If any misfortunes befall your pet whilst you are abroad you could face huge fees that you simply cannot afford, which would be a nightmare scenario for any pet owner.

Pet travel insurance can come in the form of Single Trip or Multiple Trip policies, much like standard travel insurance for humans, but it should be noted that you can only take your pet to certain countries, and details of these can be found on the travel insurance websites.

Things To Remember

Before you take your pet on holiday with you, there are a number of things that you have to do. Your pet will require:

  • a microchip inserted
  • a vaccination for rabies
  • an overall health check
  • treatment for parasites and ticks

Once these steps have been taken, you can then apply for a pet passport. However, this can take six months to come through after the application has been made, so make sure that you plan for the trip well in advance.

What Does It Cover?

Most of the features of pet insurance are related to health, and a standard pet travel insurance policy will include:

  • emergency medical fees
  • repatriation
  • recovery costs
  • quarantine fees if necessary
  • third-party liability

Many policies will also cover the standard cancellation cover that you would expect from your own policy.

Pet Insurance In The UK

Even if you do not go abroad for your holiday, it is still a good idea to take out insurance for your pet. You are probably more likely to take your pet with you when holidaying in the UK, but being in unfamiliar surroundings could increase the likelihood of your pet becoming lost or of becoming involved in an accident, and standard pet insurance would be a good idea in this case. However, this will not cover events such as trip cancellation.