Insurance for cats and dogs

The highly touted Ghanaian hospitality encompasses our love for pets such as cats and dogs. But for their “droppings,” we love to always have them by our sides. Domestic cats, in particular, have often been likened to humans, as their mating encounters are often shrouded in secrecy.

For people of my origin, the ‘nyeburos,’ and most other ethnic groups in Ghana, cat meat is a special delicacy and highly alluring. For those of us in the ‘cats confederation,’ the mere sight of us typically irritates and scares cats in our neighbourhood. No wonder my personal cat takes to its heels anytime it sees me with a nylon sack! But the same cat offers my visitors warm receptions.

Unlike cats, dogs, which are our bosom friends, are quite visible with their shamelessly open mating sessions. Besides providing companionship and security, dog meat is a delicacy for most ethnic groups in Ghana. In fact, across Ghana, dog meat is gradually taking over from the other traditional meats such as beef and mutton, because the latter have become too monotonous for consumption. 

Cats and dogs in Ghana

In most parts of Asia, the killing of these pets is unlawful, and constitutes first degree felony with a prison sentence. Notwithstanding the sanitary and animal rights concerns, however, Koreans, for instance, relish dog meat, indigenously called ‘gaegogi.’ Meanwhile, in most Ghanaian homes, cats and dogs are valuable and often used for three major purposes including companionship, security and nutrition. Their nutritional usage, in particular, poses a challenge for their insurance underwriting. The Mirror Newspaper recently carried a story on the proliferation of pet shops in Accra, an indication that there could be a growing need for pet insurance. Giving their increasing significance, therefore, most pet owners are now concerned about how to maintain the health of their pets; leading to an increase in the market for pet insurance. 

Brief history of pet insurance

The very first pet insurance policy was underwritten in England in 1890 by Claes Virgin, with an initial focus on horses and livestock, but later extended to other pets in 1947. 

Other countries later embraced the concept, with the United States selling its first pet insurance in 1982. By the end of 2009, Sweden recorded the highest pet insurance patronage, followed by Britain.

Pet insurance and how it works

Pet insurance simply refers to an insurance that pays, partly or in total, for veterinary treatment of the insured person's ill or injured pet. In some cases, a lump sum benefit may be paid when the pet dies, or if it gets missing or disappears. Pet insurance is, typically, a form of property insurance, where for instance, insurers may offer pet owners discounts and "excess" premiums akin to property insurance. 

Moreover, the insurer may either pay off the agreed benefit sum in full or up to 90 per cent of the veterinary costs. Thus, the policy compensates the pet owner after the pet has received medical care and the owner submits a claim to the insurer. Lately in the advanced parts of the world, however, many insurers also pay for routine medical care including preventive vaccinations, dental care, as well as extended treatments such as physiotherapy and acupuncture. The pet owner would, typically, pay the amount due the veterinarian and then forward a claim for reimbursement.

Types of pet insurance

There are two known types of pet insurance policies:

i. Lifetime: This provides cover for a pet throughout its lifetime, so that conditions previously claimed for will not prejudice similar future claims. However, there are applicable limits “per condition”, “per year”, “per pre-existing condition” etc. Here, it is incumbent on the pet owners to be clear about their policy requirement.

ii. Non-lifetime: This provides cover for a pet for new medical conditions other than those previously claimed for. Thus, upon annual renewals, a condition that has been claimed for in the previous year will be excluded in the new cover. If that condition requires further treatment, it becomes the pet owner’s responsibility.

Meanwhile, there are limitations on pre-existing medical conditions. These are measures often adopted by insurers to prevent fraud. On a rather positive note, it guarantees pet owners an incentive to insure younger pets, with often low veterinary costs, since they are still infants. 

There is usually a waiting period of not more than two months, after a pet insurance policy is bought. Meanwhile, some policies for dogs also cover third-party liability insurance. For example, a victim of a dog bite may be compensated by the insurer.

Pet insurance in Ghana 

Technically, there is nothing uninsurable in the Ghanaian insurance market provided all the required conditions are met. However, our craving to have dog and/or cat meat in our pepper soup, coupled with the fact that consumption of these pets is not outlawed, somehow discourages insurers from underwriting pet insurance. Besides, rabies in dogs for instance, is becoming difficult to control; hence underwriting such policies is associated with high risks. 

The way forward

It is needless to say that pets have become endangered species and as such there is need for a legislation to criminalise the consumption and inhumane treatment of these pets. 

This will very likely encourage insurers to commence underwriting such policies, thereby increasing the insurance penetration in Ghana from the current 1.42 per cent (as of December 2013) in the next few years. Besides, Ghanaians must be wary of the fact that dogs, cats and horses, in particular, are just like human beings; their lives need to be covered by insurance. After all, pork, chicken, fish and mutton are still available for our consumption. Let’s keep our dogs, cats and horses as our perpetual friends ‘till death do us part.’

Until next week, “this is insurance from the eyes of my mind.” GB