Your Money: THIS PARROT IS EX-PENSIVE

Sunday Mirror, Jul 30, 2006 by MELANIE WRIGHT

PARROTS, snakes and potbellied pigs are becoming more and more popular as pets - but before rushing out to buy one, remember that specialist pets need specialist cover.

There are currently five million pet reptiles in Britain and as many as 1,000 different types of exotic pets are being kept in the UK. Celebrities are helping fuel the trend for unusual pets - George Clooney is the owner of a pot-bellied pig called Max and Lee Ryan, formerly of Blue, owns a lizard called Dobbie.

If you do own an exotic pet, then it is worthwhile considering specific insurance, particularly as unusual animals can require expensive specialist treatment for illness... otherwise that tropical parrot could become an ex-parrot, as in the classic Monty Python sketch.

Petplan launched its specialist pet cover earlier this year, linking up with Exotic Direct. Cover can also be obtained through Healthy Pets, whose policies are also provided by Exotic Direct or go to straight to Exotic Direct. Fiona Pinkney, of Petplan, said: "Exotic animals can be one of the most expensive types of pets - as well as the initial purchase price, they often require living conditions that match their natural environment. In addition to this, vet bills can be high."

Petplan's Exotics policy covers all parrots, all birds of prey, all reptiles, such as iguanas, chameleons and boa constrictors, and large and small mammals such as pot-bellied pigs, pygmy goats and marmosets.

No policy will pay out if you haven't looked after your animal properly, so you must make sure you know exactly how to care for it - from its diet to providing it with a proper environment.

Our table below shows what you can expect to pay for cover for a selection of exotic pets. All the policies shown include claims for theft, death and vet fees. Death from old age isn't included.

To insure a common snake with a value of pounds 200 would cost pounds 106 a year, and this would cover up to pounds 1,000 in vets' fees. This compares favourably with the cost of cover for a more conventional pet - cover for cats is around pounds 6 a month and from pounds 9 a month for dogs.

A more expensive python, with a value of pounds 3,100, would cost pounds 334 a year to insure. This would provide cover of pounds 1,000 in vets' fees and up to the value of the python in the case of death or theft.

Cover for the most expensive pet, a pounds 7,500 hyacinth parrot, would cost an eye-watering pounds 920 a year.

You can opt to just choose cover against death and theft excluding vets' fees or for vets' fees only, but choosing the inexpensive cover could prove a false economy.

Richard Mason, director of price comparison website moneysupermarket.com, said: "Don't just go for the cheapest option, and check the policy covers risks typically associated with your species of pet."

Remember that exotic pet cover will not pay out for third party claims - bear this in mind if your boa constrictor squeezes the life out of one of your guests.

There are certain exotic pets that you can't obtain cover for. Mr Mason said: "Tarantulas are impossible to insure - they can't readily be treated or operated on."

CASE STUDY - Ben gets a clean bill of health - after pounds 4,000 fee

BEN the parrot would have cost his owner Karen Sturge, 29, from Romford, Essex, over pounds 4,000 in vets' fees if she hadn't taken out insurance for him.

Ben, who is eight, started having health problems three years ago, when paramedic Karen noticed that he was having trouble gripping on to his perch. He started biting at his toe and the vet amputated it as it had become ulcerated. This didn't work, so Karen had to take Ben to a specialist.

She said: "We travelled 282 miles to Swindon to visit the specialist. A special prosthetic boot was made for Ben from dental acrylic, but Ben wouldn't accept it. He stopped talking, eating and drinking, so the vet suggested that the whole leg should be amputated.

"In total, the fees cost pounds 4,035. We were astounded and really would have struggled to pay this amount if we hadn't been insured."

Luckily, Karen had taken out the highest level of insurance with Petplan, costing her pounds 137 a year.

This insured Ben against death, theft and vet fees up to pounds 5,000 in the policy year, subject to a pounds 50 excess.

She said: "Now Ben's been given a clean bill of health."

COVER THEFT, DEATH & VET FEES

PARROT - Covers up to pounds 1,500/pounds 5,000 in vets fees. Policy costs pounds 126/pounds 149 per annum based on a total value of pounds 700

SNAKE - Covers up to pounds 1,000 in vets fees. Policy costs pounds 106 per annum based on a total value of pounds 200

LLAMA - Covers up to pounds 2,000 in vets fees. Policy costs pounds 141 per annum based on a total of pounds 200

LIZARD - Covers up to pounds 1,000 in vets fees. Policy costs pounds 85 per annum based on a total value of pounds 100