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Frequently Asked Questions.

What is "Lifetime cover?

This means that once you start a claim for an illness, you can continue to recover treatment costs for the condition for as long as your policy remains in force, subject only to the maximum overall amount you can recover in a year. We will not exclude a condition at renewal, and we do not impose a maximum amount recoverable for a single course of treatment.

How may I pay for my policy?

You can pay in full by credit or debit card, or by cheque (payable to "Internet Pets"). Alternatively you can pay by monthly direct debit; there is no extra charge for this.

Why are your premiums lower than many other lifetime policies?

Most treatment claims are for relatively small amounts, but insurers' costs are skewed by the larger claims. There are various methods that insurers can use to balance the books. Some charge higher premiums and a larger excess on all claims, and then cover all of a claim above that excess. Our alternative is to charge lower premiums, and a lesser excess on those smaller claims, and to seek a higher contribution towards bigger claims. You can then decide which alternative best suits your needs.

How does the Excess work?

An excess is the portion of your treatment fees that you cannot claim under the policy. Your policy has a basic excess as shown on the excess page on this site. It will be either £30, £40 or £50 for a cat, or £40, £50 or £60 for a dog, depending on where you live.

This excess applies to all claims up to £1,000. So if your invoice is less than the excess, you will not be able to make a claim.

Where treatment fees exceed £1,000, an additional excess applies which is 25% of the remaining bill. So if your treatment costs are £900, the excess is, for example, £40 and you will recover £860. If your treatment costs are £1,200, the excess is £40 plus 25% of £200, so the total excess is £90 and you will recover £1,110.

When an animal is over 8 years old, the excess is 25% of the total claim after the basic excess, so in our example of a £900 invoice, the excess would be £255 and you would recover £645.

Will my premium rise if my pet has several claims?

There are two ways that your premium might increase. The first is if your insurer imposes a general increase in premiums for all policies, and this would be applied to your policy at renewal.

The second way is that your premium will be reviewed if you make more claims than is considered average during a year. This might result in an increase in premiums, or a change in policy excess, depending on the number and nature of the claims. Once a premium has been altered in this way, it will be reviewed each year, so it may reduce again if there are no further claims.

Will my premium go up as my pet gets older?

Your premium will not rise simply because your pet ages. There are some changes to policy cover for older animals.

Does the policy pay the purchase cost of my pet if it dies?

No, the policy does not pay for this. It will cover the costs associated with putting your pet to sleep and dealing with the remains, so long as your pet is under 10 years old at the time.

How can I get a claim form?

You can download a claim form from this website here, and from the downloads button at the foot of each page on this site. If you don't have a printer, you can email information@harvington.co.uk or call us on               01386 442722         01386 442722.