Rabbit insurance covers a wide range of illnesses, accidents and injuries, depending on the type of cover selected. However, there are some issues rabbit insurance won’t protect against so it is important to be a diligent pet owner too to avoid an unexpected bill.
The biggest expense rabbit insurance covers is vet bills, with policies offering protection against a range of problems up to a certain value, often about £2,000. However, some rabbit insurance providers also help with other expenses including advertising and a reward for a lost rabbit, boarding fees if the policyholder must stay in hospital, death of the pet, and even waiving the premium fee if the policyholder is unable to work and earn a living.
There are a few things rabbit insurance does not cover, including vaccinations, neutering, euthanasia, and treating an injury or illness that could have been prevented by vaccination but the pet was not jabbed. Dental treatment is often not included, or sometimes is with the condition that annual check ups have been carried out. Routine preventative dental treatment is not covered.
Some do not cover pre-existing conditions, and this can require specialist and more expensive pet insurance. This is why it can be useful to purchase pet insurance early in a rabbit’s life and keep it renewed, as the condition won’t be pre-existing if it occurs during a policy’s lifetime.
What are the types of rabbit insurance?
There are four types of rabbit insurance available, from the very basic to the most comprehensive. The four types of rabbit insurance are:
Accident only: Cheapest and least comprehensive only covering accidents and injuries but not illness.
Time-limited: Covers illness as well, but only for a set time and amount of money.
Maximum Benefit: Capped amount of money on a rabbit condition but with no time limit (so long as a policy is kept in date/renewed).
Lifetime: The most comprehensive and expensive, covering both illness, accidents and injury with the maximum spend renewing every year the policy is renewed.
However, personal finance research website NimbleFins found most rabbit insurance providers only offer lifetime cover for rabbits. It is also worth noting many insurers don’t offer new rabbit insurance for pets over five-years-old, but will renew policies throughout their life if there is no gap in cover.
Who needs rabbit insurance?
It is a pet owner’s personal choice whether or not to purchase rabbit insurance, however, vets and charities do advise policies are taken out as veterinary bills can be very expensive. A rabbit’s broken leg is estimated to cost about £500 in vet bills, according to the RSPCA.
There are thought to be about 1 million rabbits kept as pets in the UK. However, only 18% are estimated to be insured according to the PDSA. This is a rise from about 13% in 2018.
Although there is no law to take out rabbit insurance, rabbits can live as long as cats and dogs, with a lifespan of eight to 12 years. That’s a long time to avoid an accident or illness.
What’s more, many pet insurance providers do not offer new rabbit insurance policies to those over five years old, so it may be too late to get peace of mind if left too long to take out cover. Insurance providers will happily renew policies over a rabbit’s long life if there has not been a gap in cover. Keeping insurance up to date is also a way of avoiding a health problem becoming a ‘pre-existing’ condition, which can be a barrier for some insurance providers. If taking out a new policy, or renewing after a gap in cover, the insurance provider may only offer a policy with an exclusion for that condition.
Personal finance website NimbleFins has looked at the cost of rabbit insurance and found policies start from as little as £9 a month, but it depends on the age of the rabbit and the amount of coverage wanted.
