There are a number of things that, when evaluating a Pets at Home Insurance policy, you may be likely to overlook. By reading these tips, you, your much-loved furry friend and your wallet will be less affected by the possibility of an accident or injury to a pet.

Never lie about your circumstances

If you think it’s easy to lie about circumstances relating to your pet, you are wrong – insurance form is, quite simply, fraud. Insurance can be invalidated and, in the worst situation, criminal prosecution can be levelled against you. Ensure you disclose every part of your pet’s medical history, or you could be in for a very tough time.

Microchipping is worth consideration

It’s worth considering microchipping a pet. During the procedure, a chip is inserted under a pet’s fur before being registered. A scanner reading allows a pet to be returned to its owner if it gets lost. The average cost for this is £20 to £30 per pet, though insurers give discounts on premiums if a pet is been fitted with one, so you could get immediate returns.

Don’t forget yearly injections

Make sure that your furry friend has proper vaccinations, getting the certificates to prove it. If you’re not bothered or forget to keep them up to date, it could mean you invalidate your insurance.

It seems like more and more Americans are seeing the light with pet insurance, saving themselves plenty of money on life-threatening injuries to their furry friends much like fellow customers in the UK using specialists like http://www.castlecover.co.uk/ to protect family pets.

USA Today looked into recent trends regarding the policies taken out by individuals up and down the nation, discovering that regular check-ups and surgeries for most dog or cat owners came in at around $650 (£400) in vet bills last year, according to a very recent survey by the American Pet Products Association.

The news provider also found that the number of pet insurance providers had grown by a whopping ten times since the end of the last decade, mainly because people want to save money in any way they can. Until 1997, there was only one pet insurance provider in all of the US: Veterinary Pet Insurance.

Jeanne Salvatore, spokeswoman for the Insurance Information Institute, told the publication? “It’s definitely a niche insurance product, and we’re seeing a general rise in these specialty insurance products. The one thing you need to do with all specialty insurance is look at how much it costs and what you would get back.”

Rising costs of living and a number of disappointing summers mean that for many, the UK’s simply not the dream destination they’re looking for. So is there a way to retire abroad – and can it work out cheaper than staying in the country?

A new infographic published on Yahoo Finance seeks to answer this and other questions about moving away once you finish working – and the results offer a promising look into the financial implications of moving abroad. The most popular destinations are all far hotter than the UK – seems that most retirees are seeking a long-overdue extended holiday in the sun! – while many are built around entirely different cultures, such as the large-scale lifestyle or America or the laid-back attitude of Jamaica. Our main interest though was the cost – here’s a breakdown of some of the main findings:

–          Low property prices in Portugal, Barbados, the USA, Thailand and Jamaica were cited as major benefits of moving, suggesting that a number of expats move to get away from higher housing costs.

–          Low-cost or free healthcare was seen as another huge advantage, as especially in later life it’s useful to have a good system in place. Top choices for healthcare were Barbados, Australia and Greece.

–          An existing ex-pat community was an essential requirement to make the shortlist, an unsurprising find considering that many of us prefer to spend our free time among friends. Spain and Portugal have some of the largest communities, while close-knit groups can also be found in Malta and Australia.