Some pet insurers extend their cover abroad – if you regularly travel with your pet, it'll be worth considering this add-on, which usually covers vet fees of up to £1,000. Some insurers will also cover the cost of replacing your pet's travel documents, or quarantine costs incurred as a direct result of you losing any documentation. Holiday cover can also be arranged in the event you want to cancel your trip completely, or curtail it and come home – to help with the cost of travel and accommodation expenses.
The process of taking your pet to Europe and Northern Ireland has changed following the end of the transition period put in place after the UK's departure from the European Union.
Until the end of 2020, owners of dogs, cats and ferrets could travel with their animals to and from EU countries under the EU Pet Travel Scheme, provided they held a valid EU pet passport. To get a passport, pets had to be taken to a vet before travel, microchipped and vaccinated against rabies.
But if you're travelling to the EU or Northern Ireland now, you'll need to take the following steps on your first trip. These steps are similar to the previous process, but you'll need an animal health certificate (AHC) instead of a pet passport:
You must have your dog, cat or ferret microchipped.
You must vaccinate your dog, cat or ferret against rabies – your pet must be at least 12 weeks old before it can be vaccinated and you must wait 21 days after the primary vaccination before travel.
You must visit your vet to get an AHC for your pet no more than 10 days before travel.
In addition, if travelling to Finland, Malta, Northern Ireland, Norway or Republic of Ireland with a dog, you need to ensure it's received treatment for tapeworm one to five days before arrival in these countries. This needs to be recorded on the pet's AHC.
As long as you keep your pet's rabies vaccinations up to date, you will not need to get repeat vaccinations for subsequent trips to the EU or Northern Ireland (other than for tapeworm treatments for dogs visiting those countries listed above). But you will need to visit your vet to apply for a new AHC for each trip.
More details can be found on the Gov.uk website.