Sainsbury’s Pet Insurance offers a range of benefits including up to £1,000 per condition for complementary treatments and £250 a year for behavioural problems. Over the last year, Sainsbury’s Pet Insurance has seen a 28%(2) increase in the number of claims linked to behavioural problems, the Bank believes that Master Separation Syndrome is one of the reasons for this.

Neal Devine, Sainsbury’s Pet Insurance Manager said: “If a couple separating have pets, their animals can also suffer from the anguish and stress caused by the breakdown. Cats and dogs can be very susceptible to their owner’s feelings and if they sense they are unhappy they can easily become agitated and depressed.”

“Pet owners should be aware that good quality pet insurance doesn’t just cover vet fees but will provide cover for behavioural issues as well.

“Also, if you suddenly become reliant on one income to look after a pet the need for pet insurance will usually be greater as it will help you to cope more easily with any large unexpected vet bills.”

Sainsbury’s Finance estimates that the cost of owning a pet is increasing by around 5% a year (3). Indeed, it has calculated that the lifetime cost of owning a dog bought today stands at around £9,000, while the corresponding figure for a cat is around £7,000(4).

Despite the rising costs of veterinary bills, its research shows that as many as 11 million British pet owners have no insurance cover for their pet cats and dogs(5).

Good quality pet insurance does not need to be expensive, good cover at a competitive price can be found by shopping around.

(1) Based on analysis of the latest available Government statistics on divorce and Sainsbury’s research into what percentage of people have pets. 963 people were interviewed between 2nd and 4th November 2007. Interviews were conducted over the phone. The consumer omnibus research conducted by GfK NOP uses a large sample size that reflects the demographic profile of GB. Given this it is possible to extrapolate figures and make projections from the research results within appropriate confidence intervals.

(2) Analysis of Sainsbury’s pet insurance claims data

(3) ONS Family Spending Reports 2002-2006 (Average increase in costs stands at 5.18889% between these years)

(4) Research undertaken by YouGov between 29th - 31st January 2007. 2,446 people were interviewed of which 693 were dog/cat owners. The survey was carried out online; the figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).

(5) Based on Sainsbury’s analysis of data from GfK NOP. 963 people were interviewed by GfK NOP between 2nd and 4th November 2007. Interviews were conducted over the phone. The consumer omnibus research conducted by GfK NOP uses a large sample size that reflects the demographic profile of GB. Given this it is possible to extrapolate figures and make projections from the research results within appropriate confidence intervals.

Related Posts

• Over 60,000(1) cats and dogs in Britain could suffer from “Master Separation Syndrome”
• Research identifies 1.8 million pet insurance claims a year
• Sainsbury’s Finance launches new pet cover option to encourage more cat and dog owners to take out pet insurance
• 51% of vets have put down a pet cat or dog in the past five years because the owners couldn’t afford to treat them(
• Sainsbury’s Finance Welcomes Code Of Conduct For Pet Owners As Research Shows Four In 10 Of Our Pets Are Overweight