Lost or Stolen Pets

The loss or theft of a treasured family companion can be one of the most stressful things for any pet owner. Insurance providers have in recent years come to recognise this and have adjusted their policies accordingly. Obviously no policy can guarantee the return of a pet, but many insurers now help worried owners take a big step towards finding or retrieving their animals.

There are a few things which every pet owner can do if they find that they have lost their pet. The most obvious is to print out posters, usually with a picture of the animal and post these around the neighbourhood in case anyone has seen the missing pet. Sometimes, if the pet has high emotional or sentimental value, rewards can be offered to anyone who finds the pet. In more long-term searches, adverts or notices can be placed in local newspapers.

Many pet insurance policies will offer to foot at least part of the cost of retrieving a lost or stolen pet. This could include reimbursing money spent on posters, advertisements and even money offered out as a reward. As always, the amount which is offered varies from policy to policy.

If you have a rare or exotic pet for which you would be willing to offer a much higher reward, you need to make sure that your insurance policy is willing to cover such a reward and, if not, how much of it you will be able to claim back. Likewise, if you are insuring a pet which is very old and is unlikely to go missing then you need to make sure that you aren’t paying more for a policy clause which you are very unlikely to ever need.