Pet insurance to touch hearts

Pet insurance, an insurance policy for pets to cover their medical and surgical expenses was launched last week for the first time in Sri Lanka by Asian Alliance PLC in keeping with their philosophy of touching the hearts of their customers by offering tailor-made solutions to serve them better.

The market for pet insurance has increased significantly as veterinary medicine increasingly employs expensive and sophisticated medical techniques and drugs, while owners have higher expectations for their pets' healthcare and standard of living than earlier.

Therefore, pet insurance is now becoming an extremely popular means of mitigating the 'economic euthanasia' of pets, said Manager - Brand and Channel Development of Asian Alliance PLC, Dilupa Pathirana.

He said that the company realised the need for pet insurance in Sri Lanka as they saw many pet owners being burdened by not being able to financially accommodate veterinary services for their beloved pet and faced with the heart breaking choice of euthanasia or having their pet live the rest of their life in pain.

We at AAI understand that a pet is a loved and valued member of the family and needs to be taken care of protected; which is why we introduced "Alliance Pet Insurance" Policy.

Understanding the unique needs of individuals and offering insurance solutions that is best suited to each one of our clients is what differentiates AAI in the market.

This is reflected in our pet insurance scheme." Although pet insurance was previously available in Sri Lanka, these policies paid only in the event of a pet's death, and did not address the financial and emotional need of an owner desperately seeking veterinary services for their pets.

Asian Alliance's pet insurance policy will not only cover death due to accident or illness but will also offer coverage of surgical and medical expenses (including cost of drugs, boarding kennel fees) incurred at a registered vet clinic or hospital, cost of recovery of your pet that is lost or stolen (ie cost of a reward) and third party liability for personal injury and damage to third party property.

In addition, all insured pets will receive a free annual physical examination for an annual premium of Rs. 2,000.

Asst. General Manager - Marketing of Asian Alliance PLC, Ms. Nadi Dharmasiri said, "Our success has always been our strength as a group of people committed together as one team, one family. We understand the importance of caring for a much valued member of your family, be it man or man's best friend. Furthermore, being a home grown company, we continually seek to uplift the local economy in everything that we do.

It is, therefore, with much pride that we introduce this revolutionary policy that will not only enrich the lives of pets and their owners but also benefit the local economy through empowering an evolution of the local veterinary industry by inspiring it to new heights of quality and service."

Americans are expected to spend nearly $11 billion on veterinary care in 2008, according to the American Pet Product Manufacturers' Association, states a website.

That would be an 8.5% increase from 2007. Pet insurance covers 1/8 of all pets in the UK, less than 1% of US pets are covered by some form of pet insurance.