Pet insurance
Calculate the premium of your pet insurance directly!
Whether it is a dog, cat or rabbit, a pet is part of the family. You would probably rather not think about it, but even a pet can get sick or injured. If your pet gets sick, you do not want to have to choose between your animal and your wallet, because your animal deserves the best care. That is why a pet insurance can offer a solution. With a pet insurance you are insured for common unexpected sickness costs for your pet.
Why insure a pet?
Imagine your dog eats a sock lying around and needs emergency surgery. Or your cat got into a fight with one of its own and got bitten pretty hard on the tail. Medical costs can sometimes be very high, especially if surgery is required. Besides acute medical costs, other costs also play a part in having a pet. Think for example of a consultation or treatment at the vet's and medicines. Pet insurance costs a relatively small amount per month, so you will not have to pay the full bill after medical treatment.
What kind of pet insurance is available?
Dogs and cats are the most common pets in the Netherlands. Therefore, most insurers offer cat insurance and dog insurance. The content of both policies is otherwise the same. If your dog or cat gets sick, you are insured for the medical costs that come with it. Some insurers also offer rabbit insurance.
What does pet insurance cost?
The cost of pet insurance depends on your pet. An insurer looks at the following factors when calculating the premium:
- The breed or cross of your pet
- Your pet's weight
- The age of your pet
- Will you go for the basic coverage or will you also choose additional coverage?
If your pet is heavier, there is a higher risk of health problems. The age of your pet is also important. The older an animal gets, the higher the risk of disorders. Many insurers therefore recalculate the premium every year, this is also called an aging surcharge. This means that the premium will increase every year.
You can also extend the basic pet insurance with additional coverage. Examples are physiotherapy, behavioural therapy, radiotherapy and dental costs. With some insurers you can also insure the sterilisation or castration of your pet and sometimes even the required vaccinations. Travel cover or cremation cover is also an option. You can compose your pet insurance exactly as you want it,
Frequently asked questions about pet insurance
You can insure dogs, cats, rabbits and parrots. The animal you are insuring must be at least 8 weeks old.
The maximum age for taking out insurance is for dogs up to 7 years, for cats up to 11 years, for rabbits up to 5 years, and for parrots unlimited.
Basic package
- Reimbursement up to €3000 per year.
- For an accessible premium, the certainty of good coverage in case of unexpectedly high costs
- Including: consultation, diagnostics, special treatments (physiotherapy, behavioural therapy, hips & elbows), operations (including anaesthesia), placing identification chip, medicines (including chronic/long-term treatments) and euthanasia
- Your personal contribution is always 20%. For consultations, diagnostics and special treatments you pay 50% co-payment.
Plus package
- Reimbursement up to € 4,000 per year.
- Comprehensive package with a good price-quality ratio. For those who want to be insured for specialist care such as an MRI scan or dental treatment.
- Contains all reimbursements from the Basic Package.
- Also includes: dental care (such as tartar removal, tooth extraction), intensive care (such as MRI, CT scan and aids), and extra care (such as Animal ambulance, European medical expenses, care of pet when owner stays in hospital, admission and nursing for more than 7 days).
- Your personal contribution is always 20%. For consultation, diagnostics and special treatments, you pay a 25% personal contribution. For medication of alternative care, dental care, intensive care and extra care, you pay 50% personal contribution.
Total package
- Reimbursement up to €5,000 per year.
- Enjoyment without worries. The most complete package with the highest compensation.
- Contains all reimbursements from the Basic and Plus Packages.
- Your own contribution is always 20%.
Accident package
- Compensation up to €2,000 per year
- The entry-level package with reimbursement for care required after an accident.
- This package only provides cover for a verifiable accident, i.e. road traffic accident, bone fracture, ingestion of a foreign object, toxic gases, poisoned food, bite wounds, fire or flood.
- The insurer will reimburse 80% of the above costs. In addition, you will receive an advertising budget of EUR 250. The waiting period is 48 hours for accidents.
You can choose from 4 packages:
- Basic package
- Plus package
- Total package
- Accident package
The Accident package has a more limited cover than the other three packages. In this package, health costs are only covered in case of a demonstrable accident: a traffic accident, bone fracture, ingestion of a foreign object, toxic gases, poisoned food, bite wounds, fire or flood.
In addition to the four main packages, you can choose from 4 optional additional insurances:
- Sterilisation/Castration
- Chemo- and radiotherapy (cancer treatment)
- Cremation of a deceased pet
- Continuous Travel Insurance World Coverage
The supplementary insurances can be taken out in combination with one of the 3 main packages (Basic, Plus or Total Package). The Sterilisation/Castration insurance can only be taken out in combination with a Plus or Total package.
Yes, identification and registration of insured pets is mandatory. Most insurers only accept claims that include a chip number. The costs of placing the chip are reimbursed by the insurer.
No, the insurer will not reimburse the costs if your pet has not been microchipped. Only declarations that are provided with a chip number are accepted. Please ensure that your pet has been microchipped before you submit your first claim and that the insurer knows the chip number.
Yes, you can insure your pet even if it does not have a chip. You must, however, ensure that the animal is microchipped before submitting a claim.
We can imagine that in the emotional time around the death of your pet you do not immediately think about the insurance. Fortunately, it is possible to stop the insurance with retroactive effect. What is the procedure for this?
- Not later than 30 days after the death of your animal, notify the insurer of the request for termination.
- Include a death certificate from the veterinarian.
- After this notification and receipt of the death certificate, the insurer shall terminate the insurance one day after the death of the pet.
- Any premium paid in excess will of course be refunded.
Frequently asked questions about pet insurance
The choice is of course yours, but insurance provides financial security for unexpected medical costs for your pet. An operation or long-term treatment can easily cost around €1,000. If you do not have this money in hand, pet insurance can offer a solution.
You can take out insurance for dogs up to 7 years old, cats up to 11 years old and rabbits up to 5 years old. There is no maximum age for parrots.
When taking out or renewing insurance, the age of the animal is taken into account. The older the animal, the higher the insurance premium because the risk of diseases and accidents increases.
You take out insurance for a year. Thereafter, it can be cancelled monthly.
Just as with people, the health costs of pets are lower when they are young than when they get older. That is why the premium of a puppy is lower than the premium of a dog of, for example, 7 years old. The exact annual increase depends on (the breed) and the actual age of the animal.
All animal breeds are welcome. However, there are restrictions for some dog breeds. For these breeds, the breed standard includes (hereditary) breed characteristics that give rise to (many) additional sickness costs. Disease costs related to these abnormalities are excluded through a breed clause and can therefore not be reimbursed.
- (Old) English Bulldog: Standard exclusion of all respiratory diseases (including throat and nose).
- French Bulldog: Standard exclusion of all respiratory diseases (including throat and nose).
- Cavalier King Charles: Standard exclusion of all neurological disorders including brain and spinal cord.
Yes, you can change to a more comprehensive package. You can do this on the annual premium due date (the policy anniversary).
A waiting period applies to pet insurance. Complaints that arise before or during this waiting period will not be reimbursed. Any follow-up costs of an illness, disorder or accident occurring before or during the waiting period will also not be eligible for reimbursement.
How long is the waiting period?
- For care required after an accident, a waiting period of 48 hours applies.
- A waiting period of 30 days applies to diseases and disorders.
In all packages, the insertion of the chip is reimbursed in the waiting period.
The pet insurance starts - after acceptance - on the day the application is received by the insurer.
After the effective date there is a 14-day trial period. Within these 14 days, the pet insurance may be cancelled in writing without stating any reasons. This does not apply if a claim has already been submitted.
From the starting date onwards, a waiting period of 30 days applies for illness.
You can terminate your insurance with a notice period of one month. This is possible on a monthly basis once your policy has run for one year or in special cases, for example if your pet has died.
Frequently asked questions about reimbursements and claims
The moment from which you can claim depends on the waiting period. From the commencement date of the insurance, a waiting period of 30 days applies for illness.
You can declare in 2 ways and it is always free of charge: online or by mail. The advantage of online claims is that the insurer receives your claim sooner, so that they can process it faster and you receive your money sooner.
As of 1 January 2015, it is compulsory to report your regular veterinary clinic or practice to the insurer.
You have free choice of veterinarian. So you decide which vet you like. However, before you submit your (first) claim, you are obliged to inform the insurer of your regular vet clinic. Do you subsequently incur costs at another clinic? Then these will in principle also be reimbursed, unless it concerns a second opinion.
You can opt for a higher voluntary excess. This means that when you submit a claim to the insurer, the voluntary excess is deducted first. The advantage of this is that you can reduce your monthly premium, and you are covered in case you have to incur high costs for your pet.
You can opt for a voluntary excess of € 100 or € 250 per year. You will then receive a discount of 15% or 25% on your premium.
Please note: if you opt for a voluntary excess, this will apply for one year. Only after one year can you change or terminate it.
When you submit a claim, your personal contribution is determined for each treatment. The personal contribution differs per package:
- Basic package:
you pay a personal contribution of 20%. For consultation, diagnostics and special treatments (such as hip and elbow treatments and physiotherapy) you pay a personal contribution of 50%. - Plus package:
you pay a personal contribution of 20%. For consultation, diagnostics and special treatments (such as hip and elbow treatments and physiotherapy) you pay a personal contribution of 25%. For medicines of alternative care, for teeth and for intensive and extra care, you pay a personal contribution of 50%. - Total package:
you pay an own contribution of 20%. - Accident package:
you pay an own contribution of 20%.
The personal contribution will be deducted from your claim.
What is the best pet insurance?
Is only the best good enough for your four-legged friend? Then you should also choose the best pet insurance. The best pet insurance depends on your pet and your personal situation. It is advisable to take out insurance when your pet is young, as pet insurance can only be taken out up to a certain age. In addition, it is important to take a look at your financial situation. If you have a buffer to cover unexpected costs, you may not need to be as extensively insured as when you are a bit short on cash. This way you can determine the best pet insurance for you, your pet and your wallet.
What is the cheapest pet insurance?
Food, a basket, toys, a leash or cat litter... Maintaining an animal costs money, of course. Not surprisingly, you also want to save a little. Saving on pet insurance, but not sacrificing coverage? No problem. At Alpina\.nl you can find the best and cheapest pet insurance with our online comparer. Moreover, you can easily add and remove additional coverages to get a good idea of the difference in costs.
Why compare pet insurance
Before you decide to take out pet insurance, it is important to start comparing. One insurer is not like another. There are often differences in coverage and premiums. To start comparing, please fill in some personal details and details about your pet in our online comparison tool. You will then get an overview of all insurers that meet your requirements. Do not only look at the level of the premiums, but also at the policy conditions of the insurance. What is covered? What about the increase in premium as your pet gets older? If you compare extensively, you can be sure that you will soon have a good pet insurance.
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