You never know what kind of trouble your pets can get into, which is one of the reasons why many of us purchase pet insurance.
Most pet insurance claims may involve more common, regular types of accidents and injuries, although recently there have been reports of some much stranger claims pet owners have made.
One of the latest odd pet insurance claims concerns a pug named Harley who lives in Rhode Island. He has been in the press recently after his owner Lori Laverdiere noticed that he was unable to eat or drink without vomiting. After taking Harley for an X-ray, they found that he had eaten over 100 rocks, which were crammed into his stomach and intestines!
Thankfully, Harley made a full recovery, passing the rocks after taking some medicine.
For such a small dog, this is quite an achievement; one which the Veterinary Pet Insurance Association has recognised in their annual ‘Hambone Awards’. These awards highlight the more unusual pet insurance claims that have been made throughout the year.
Harley will have to fend off some tough competition for the coveted award. For example Tobey, a 7 year-old Labrador, paid the price for his love of playing with the garden sprinkler after his stomach bloated to twice the size from consuming so much water. Another unlucky pet was Chico, a Chihuahua who was injured after an owl swooped down to catch the miniature dog as a light snack. Luckily the owner managed to scare the owl away, but left Chico with a puncture wound on his foreleg.
Many others have also been put up for the prize, in which the general public vote on which story they believe worthy enough for the prize.
Although these stories are humorous and entertaining, there is a serious message behind them - how important it is to purchase pet insurance for your furry members of the family. These stories highlight how your pets can fall victim to serious injuries in the most bizarre situations. Harley’s owner Lori says how happy she was that she took out a pet insurance policy, which she was able to use for the X-ray needed for her dog.
Luckily, all of the pets nominated were in fact covered by some form of pet insurance. However if this weren’t the case, it’s likely most of these owners would have been faced with a costly veterinary bill.
What needs to be remembered is that our four-legged friends are a curious bunch and can get themselves into trouble. It makes sense therefore, both for your pets’ safety and your bank balance that they are covered and kept safe!
Visit ePet for pet insurance to protect against unforeseen incidents that can affect both your pet and your pocket. ePet offers a variety of policies to suit you and your pet. Each year 1 in 3 pets are injured or become ill and need urgent veterinary treatment. We can help cover the cost of these unexpected bills for as little as 13p a day, leaving you with the important job of helping your important member of the family back to full recovery.
Read more about this story here.
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Tuesday 20 September 2011
Friday 9 September 2011
New parental controls for cars as 4 year old caught driving
It’s a stage that most parents have to go through and which most of them dread... their child has just passed their driving test and wants to borrow the car! Whilst they have passed their test with flying colours, it’s hard not to turn into an over-concerned parent and wonder how your child will drive once they are free to venture the roads by themselves. However, parents may soon be able to put their worries aside, thanks to a new piece of technology that can ensure your kids are behaving on the road.
Motor vehicle giants Ford are set to launch new parental controls for the 2012 Fiesta. The technology works via the ignition key, where parents can programme in a maximum speed, limit the volume of the stereo system and make many other tweaks to make the car much safer to drive.
Whilst many deem this to be a step in the right direction, there are still some issues. For example, the parents can only put a speeding cap on of up to 80mph. There is nothing in place to stop someone from going up to 80mph in a 30mph zone, apart from a warning chime that will go off when the car reaches certain speeds.
Whist this is still in its early stages, many will welcome this new safety tool, allowing many parents to feel more at ease when handing over the keys to their eager-to-drive offspring.
This is also seen as a much more productive technique to teach your children road safety, than say teaching your four-year-old child how to drive by handing over the keys and giving directions from the back seat, which is exactly what happened recently in Jinal, China.
The video was uploaded onto YouTube, where you can hear the parent filming, telling his child to “concentrate” and “be careful”. It is reported that the parent gave his child stilts to use so she could reach the pedals, similar to a famous scene from the Indiana Jones films.
What’s even more staggering is that when local officials were quizzed on the incident, they claimed there was little they could do if they were to catch the family responsible; as children under the age of 14 in this region cannot be given tickets. Instead, they would only be able to ‘educate the parents’ not to let their child who was still using a pacifier, to drive a car!
From the reports describing how shocked and appalled many people were from this video, it’s unlikely this will catch on in the UK! For the parental control key system however, it appears to be a step in the right direction. It has not yet been reported whether installing systems such as these will help to decrease the high costs of insurance premiums for new drivers. However, it will more than likely be a benefit rather than a hindrance. Only time will tell if this new piece of technology will catch on and benefit safe young drivers who are constantly suffering from high insurance premiums.
If you’re a young driver looking for a cheap quote, visit eCar, an online insurance solution that will let you manage your car insurance whenever is suitable for you. As well as annual car insurance, we provide short term car insurance from 1 to 28 days and monthly car insurance in the form of a flexible Pay As You Go car insurance policy.
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Thursday 1 September 2011
Be careful who you leave your Ferrari with
When you hand over your car to the mechanic, you’re taking a possible risk. You give your car to a potential stranger and hope they have actually done what they say they have. Of course, most mechanics nowadays are highly qualified and trustworthy, but you never know when one might decide to take your car for a spin, which may have drastic consequences, such as potentially writing the car off!
This is exactly what happened to one particular owner’s vehicle, with his car being none other than a £300,000 Ferrari F40!
The owner of this vehicle had initially bought the car brand new 20 years ago for this price. There have been reports of these cars now going for as much as £1 million in good condition!
It has been reported that the owner of this vehicle was in Europe on business at the time and it was the mechanic responsible for the car during this time that was driving the car.
Eye-witnesses reported that the car was going between 70-90mph in a 35mph zone when he lost control of the vehicle as it veered into the curb and hit the fence. It’s unclear whether the crash was down to a driver error or a mechanical failure in the car. What is known however is that the mechanic should not have been driving the car at the time, let alone at such excessive speeds!
This is not the first story that has come out in recent years in regards to the bad luck Ferrari owners seem to have. For example, in 2010, another hapless mechanic lost control and destroyed a Ferrari worth £200,000 after taking it for a drive as part of its MoT. It’s safe to say that the owner was not happy to hear about this ‘quick’ road test!
Another example happened more recently in Croatia, when a van had lost control of its brakes, slamming into a parked Ferrari spider worth £120,000 and pushing the front end of the car into the sea.
Luckily with all of these incidents, no one was majorly hurt or injured, apart from the owners’ feelings, as well as their cars!
What’s particularly sad about the Ferrari F40 however is the fact that the owner had previously bought it 20 years ago, brand new. For many Ferrari enthusiasts, this model is believed to be one of Ferrari’s greatest cars ever built and is one of the last cars to be made before the company founder, Enzo Ferrari stepped down as founder and managing director of the company. It would therefore be a shame to see it written off, which is looking likely from the damage to the frame.
This should be a warning to all Ferrari owners. When taking your pride and joy for a ‘routine check-up’, make sure you can trust who you’re leaving it with. It might also be a good idea to ensure you’re covered with Guaranteed Asset Protection (GAP) Insurance.
If your car is stolen or written off then GAP Insurance will pay out the difference between the price you paid for your vehicle and the value that your insurer will pay out after depreciation.
Premiums start from just £115 for 3 years cover and GAP Insurance will cover any car up to the value of £150,000. It might be too late for the Ferrari F40 owner but not for you to protect your own investment!
Visit eInsurance Group for all your insurance needs
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This is exactly what happened to one particular owner’s vehicle, with his car being none other than a £300,000 Ferrari F40!
The owner of this vehicle had initially bought the car brand new 20 years ago for this price. There have been reports of these cars now going for as much as £1 million in good condition!
It has been reported that the owner of this vehicle was in Europe on business at the time and it was the mechanic responsible for the car during this time that was driving the car.
Eye-witnesses reported that the car was going between 70-90mph in a 35mph zone when he lost control of the vehicle as it veered into the curb and hit the fence. It’s unclear whether the crash was down to a driver error or a mechanical failure in the car. What is known however is that the mechanic should not have been driving the car at the time, let alone at such excessive speeds!
This is not the first story that has come out in recent years in regards to the bad luck Ferrari owners seem to have. For example, in 2010, another hapless mechanic lost control and destroyed a Ferrari worth £200,000 after taking it for a drive as part of its MoT. It’s safe to say that the owner was not happy to hear about this ‘quick’ road test!
Another example happened more recently in Croatia, when a van had lost control of its brakes, slamming into a parked Ferrari spider worth £120,000 and pushing the front end of the car into the sea.
Luckily with all of these incidents, no one was majorly hurt or injured, apart from the owners’ feelings, as well as their cars!
What’s particularly sad about the Ferrari F40 however is the fact that the owner had previously bought it 20 years ago, brand new. For many Ferrari enthusiasts, this model is believed to be one of Ferrari’s greatest cars ever built and is one of the last cars to be made before the company founder, Enzo Ferrari stepped down as founder and managing director of the company. It would therefore be a shame to see it written off, which is looking likely from the damage to the frame.
This should be a warning to all Ferrari owners. When taking your pride and joy for a ‘routine check-up’, make sure you can trust who you’re leaving it with. It might also be a good idea to ensure you’re covered with Guaranteed Asset Protection (GAP) Insurance.
If your car is stolen or written off then GAP Insurance will pay out the difference between the price you paid for your vehicle and the value that your insurer will pay out after depreciation.
Premiums start from just £115 for 3 years cover and GAP Insurance will cover any car up to the value of £150,000. It might be too late for the Ferrari F40 owner but not for you to protect your own investment!
Visit eInsurance Group for all your insurance needs
Follow us on Twitter
Friend us on Facebook
Tune in on YouTube
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