Dogsey

Dog owners have been left worrying about vets' bills after a pet insurer announced it is pulling out of the pet insurance market. 50,000 policy holders are affected. State-owned Lloyds TSB, who owns Halifax, announced that it is unaffordable to continue to offer pet cover last October, following in the footsteps of 13 other insurers who have blamed increasing vets' fees for their decision.

It is reported that the average cost of treatment for pedigree cat costs 28 per cent more than a year ago. For a pedigree dog it is 13 per cent on average. Insurance has increased by more than a third in that time.

Customers of Lloyds, whose existing cover will end in September, are concerned that they will not be able to get cover from other insurers for pre-existing illnesses and will either have to somehow finance the vets' fees themselves or consider putting their animals to sleep. Many have lobbied Lloyds Banking Group to change its decision. The Consumer Action Group is preparing a legal challenge, saying the bank has gone back on its promise to cover these animals and abandoned them. Marc Gander, founder of Consumer Action Group, pointed out that people have paid thousands of pounds over the years for cover.

“Some will now have no choice but to put down their animals because they can't afford to pay for their animals' medical bills,” he said. He hopes the insurer will either reinstate the insurance or pay lump sums to owners whose pets were currently undergoing treatment. Lloyds and Halifax policies were attractive since the pet was insured for an illness for life, provided cover was renewed yearly, and Halifax allowed up to to £6000 a year to be claimed.

The head of rehoming at the Blue Cross confirmed that the charity is seeing an increasing number of people unable to afford vets' fees and a rise in abandoned animals and agreed that the decision would increase the risk of more sick animals going untreated,

A spokesman for Lloyds said [we are] sorry for any inconvenience caused but insisted that the insurer reserves the right to cancel policies.