Pet insurance ‘can save owners money’

Pet insurance is an important consideration for any pet owner regardless of whether an animal is healthy or not, a leading pet charity claims.

Jenny Davies, press officer for pet charity PDSA, pointed that insurance can provide cover for unexpected veterinary fees and an owner’s peace of mind.

“It is also an important consideration when thinking about the owner’s liability for their pet’s actions, such as damage to a person or property,” she said.

According to the charity, it is also important for pet owners to find out as much as possible about the breed of animal they have as this can play an important factor in how much vet’s fees come to.

Ms Davies said this was important as certain pets are more susceptible to certain conditions.

Meanwhile, recent research from the PDSA showed that one in three dogs and one in four cats are overweight

The data was collected from over 5,000 dogs assessed on the charity’s PetCheck vehicle and over 500 pets assessed in PDSA’s PetAid hospitals.

Tags: person, certain conditions, PDSA, jenny davies, four cats

Chucking out time worst for accidents

Young drivers need more encouragement to stop them driving while drunk as alarming new figures show that fatality rates remain high.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) is calling upon the government to step up efforts to tackle the problem of young motorists driving home from the pub.

According to the organisation, the number of young males killed or seriously injured on the roads is three times higher between 23:00 and 01:00 on Fridays and Saturdays than at any other time.

“Every weekend 76 young male drivers are killed or seriously injured driving between 23:00 and 01:00,” Justin Jacobs, motor manager at the ABI, told a conference for motor charity Brake. “Too often a night on the town ends in tragedy.

“We need a government information campaign to make young drivers aware of the dangers of driving at night.

“Some insurers already offer lower premiums to young drivers who only drive during the day,” he added.

Mr Jacobs also called for a limit to the number of passengers that young drivers are allowed to carry, citing statistics which show that a youngster with three or more passengers in his car is three times more likely to crash.

Young motorists can bring down their car insurance premiums by shopping around for an insurer that offers competitive rates to those who only drive in certain conditions.

Tags: motorists driving home, American Beverage Institute, certain conditions, Association of British Insurers, three times, time."Every weekend, Traffic collision