Nobody wants to think about having to find a new home for their pet, but unfortunately life doesn’t always play by our rule book, does it? You could get seriously ill, find a job in a new country or simply realise that you can’t afford your pet any longer. Then what? What would you do if you had to ask a friend or a family member to take ownership of your dog or cat? It’s not a decision that anyone takes lightly. It’s a real commitment in time and it isn’t a cheap exercise.  It might well be an easier decision to make if the new owner was reassured that pet insurance was in place.

So, can you transfer your pet insurance policy to a new owner?

I reached out to the guys at OnePlan to help find the answer to this question.

With OnePlan, should you sell or re-home your pet, you may transfer your policy to the new owner. You will need to notify OnePlan in writing that you have transferred ownership of your pet and this transfer will need to be accepted by OnePlan.

Transferring ownership of the policy isn’t an issue, but it’s important to remember that the risk doesn’t lie in the changing of the policy owner. The risk for the insurer lies in any change to the insured life on the policy. The insured life on a pet insurance policy is obviously your cat or dog.

That’s why OnePlan insists that you may not change the details of the pet insured to that of another pet without allowing them the opportunity to underwrite and apply waiting periods, as they would to any new policy.

You might find that the new owner would consider taking the pet if you could provide them with proof of insurance cover. That would immediately put to bed any fears they might have of being lumbered with a new pet that automatically could put them on the back foot financially.

That’s also not an issue for the guys at OnePlan. If you have a policy that has been in place for longer than 30 days, since the first premium was collected, they will provide you with proof of insurance you can hand over to the new owner.

The payment of the policy is something you also need to consider.

I guess that would come down to the nature of the ownership arrangement.

Let’s assume that you just signed a work contract abroad for 5 years. Your friend is going to do you a huge favour and take ownership of your dog. You transfer the ownership of the policy into your friend’s name and you decide that you want to honour your premium paying commitments because that’s the right thing to do.

Another scenario might play out like this. You simply can’t afford your pet or the pet insurance anymore. You find a new loving home for your cat or dog and the new owner wants to take ownership of your existing pet insurance policy and is happy to pay the premiums. In that case the ownership details are changed as well as the premium collection details (new owner’s banking details).

Let’s hope you never need to re-home your pet. If that day ever did come around, at least you are safe in the knowledge that your pet insurance policy can be transferred to the new owners without compromising your pet’s situation.

Until next time

The Pet Insurance Team