Pet Insurance Comparison: When Should I Start My Pets Insurance?
The simple answer is as soon after they’re born as possible. It is best to take them to the vet soon and have a check up, and get them registered with date of birth etc. Treat this as you would with a new born baby. Get the birth registered and have your baby checked out and at the same time sort out their pet insurance. Reason is that you never know when there might be a problem. You never know when something will turn up and if anything becomes a pre-existing condition then you may not be able to insure them.
Then you could either have to pay out or have them put down which wouldn’t be a choice anyone would gladly face. So get your pet insured from the get go. I say as soon as they’re born but it will more likely be the week that you acquire them because, assuming you’re not the breeder, then you won’t get your pet until they’re ready to leave their mother. Even so, you should register their birthday for two good reasons: you will know how old they are in 10 years time and not have to think: “When did we get her, was it 8 years? No I’m sure it was more” etc. and the other more important reason is you can celebrate their birthday as another member of the family, which is fun!
The first examination is also important. Some breeds are prone to their own diseases and these are not always easy to spot. When we got our Westie, the breeder was not happy for us to handle the puppy because of cross infections, but she had a skin disease which,we found out, they’re prone to and we never picked that up because we never handled the puppy. This was a chronic disease which lasted her whole life and cost us dearly because we didn’t have pet insurance, but a vet would have noticed it straight away and maybe nipped it in the bud, but maybe that’s a good reason to take out the insurance before the first examination just in case.