Pet insurance has allowed me to make emergency medical decisions for my pets with little thought about the costs involved.
Veterinary costs are constantly rising like everything else.
Yet last year, when my cat Bonzo suddenly became dehydrated and diagnosed with early onset kidney failure, he was treated immediately. The last thing on my mind was the thousands of dollars in vet charges about to be incurred.
Today Bonzo continues to be happy and healthy because of pet insurance.
Pet emergencies can cost thousands of dollars.
Several years ago my sister’s dog ran out into traffic, fracturing several bones. It was a very traumatic experience for everyone involved. The kids were crying, the dog was crying, bystanders were crying.
Making sure the dog wasn’t suffering was everyone’s type priority. Like me, my sister had pet insurance and so the issue of the thousands of dollars likely needed for treatment wasn’t even discussed.
He was rushed to the vet hospital, where he was treated for several days. When he came home, the smile on my nephew’s face as he ran up and welcomed his best friend home was truly priceless.
What is pet insurance?
Pet Insurance is a policy that covers your household pets such as cats and dogs as long as they’re healthy. Whether your dog or cat is mixed breed or pedigree most insurers will cover the animal for the whole of its life.
That means if an emergency medical situation arises, I can make the best choices for the comfort and health of my friend, rather than what best suits my pocketbook of the day.
What does pet insurance cover?
Pet insurance usually covers more than just the vet bills. It can also cover emergency kenneling costs, theft and travel. Vaccinations and routine treatments such as worming and flea treatments are also excluded.
Millions of pet owners treat their animals like family.
I have four cats, who are members of my family. I have had pets my entire life. I cannot imagine the distress of being in a situation where my pet’s problem is curable but the cost is too high and I put my animal to sleep.
Or, I opt for less than ideal treatment again because of cost constraints.
I would never do that to my own children so why would I do that to my pets?
Pet insurance can give you the piece of mind that you are covered against unexpected bills.
Pet insurance can take away the financial worries when a pet is seriously ill.
Knowing this, when I first discovered pet insurance in the late 1980’s (while renewing my life insurance) I jumped all over it. At that time, $25 per month to cover three cats seemed like peanuts. Today, I pay $60 for 4 cats.
When should I get pet insurance?
I have insured all of my cats within the first six months of life.
It is often difficult to get insurance for older pets. Usually pre-existing illnesses will not be covered. That’s why it is important to think about insurance as soon as possible.
It is now possible to pay a monthly premium to insure your pet against veterinary fees.
Are there different levels of pet insurance?
Just like the different coverages on your life insurance policy, pet insurance plans are the same.
There are usually different levels of coverages available where different values or events are covered. Usually the higher the monthly payment, the greater the value of coverages.
Different aspects of coverages you need to review include: Vet’s Fees, Coverage for Life, Accidental Damage, Death from Illness, Death from Accident, Advertising & Reward, Theft or Straying, Third Party Liability & Legal Expenses, Boarding Kennel Fees, Holiday Cancellation Costs and Overseas Travel.
Bestpetresources.com is run by Drew Harris and is a one-stop-shop web portal for those shopping for pet insurance and pet meds. Multiple pages of resources, referrals and tools. Expert advice articles. http://www.bestpetresources.com
Tags: cat insurance, dog insurance, pet health insurance, pet insurance, pet meds
Even if you haven’t had a run-in involving your pet of late, pet insurance has probably crossed your mind. And if you have, the bill for any non-routine care may have cost you anywhere from a cool couple hundred to nearly a grand.
You might have wondered why people have health insurance and most pets don’t, when the medical costs seem practically the same! And yet, navigating through the underbrush of fine print involved in pet insurance may have put you off. Is it worth the money? What do insurers really cover? And why do some plans cost the moon while others seem much more affordable? We’ll try to clear a path through the paper jungle.
Tip #1: Get Them in Young
Ideally, you’ll want to identify right pet insurance plan for you, and get your pet in young while she’s still quite healthy. The reason is, should your pet develop a long-term health issue such as a thyroid problem, she won’t be eligible for many programs, having a “pre-existing condition.” If you stick with one quality program, though, you’ll probably be fine.
Tip #2: You Get What You Pay For
This may stick in the craw a bit, when you start looking at insurance premiums. Some of them cost an awful lot! Be sure to look ahead too, at estimated increases down the road. The older your pet grows, the more the premiums will cost. They will get quite stiff for an older pet, even a healthy one.
So why should you pay out a mint for plan A, when plan B offers coverage for half the price? The answer is: lack of nasty surprises.
Let’s face it, no one but an insurance adjuster can tell what the fine print means when it comes to covering your pet. But we do know this: on the cheaper plans, unhappy things happen. Let’s give an example - let’s say you have two pugs, both covered by an inexpensive plan. One sadly breaks his leg and needs several surgeries, costing two thousand altogether.
You may think your inexpensive plan - which happily, covers 2K of expenses - will handle it all. But when you submit your claim, you discover that 2K is the maximum coverage for both dogs, and your pug is only eligible for half. Even worse, but very common, is a lower limit per incident. In this case, Low Cost Pet Plan will respond that it only covers $500 for this “incident,” but if your poor pug breaks his leg three more times this year, they’ll be happy to help.
Tip #3: You Get What You Pay For
Yes, we know we said that already - but we didn’t say it enough.
Here’s a horror story that happens often on a low-cost plan: you have an insurer. You pay your premiums. But one day, your aging pet develops diabetes. That year, when it comes time to renew the plan and update the premiums, your insurer sticks in an exclusion. As of that moment, they no longer cover diabetes in your pet. Yes, they can do that - and you’re out in the cold.
No less common — and no more pleasant — is the limited payout per condition problem. Your low-cost insurer may cover the first three years of your diabetic pet’s vet bills, but after that, you’ve run through her lifetime allowance for diabetes. Now in her golden years, all her medical costs come straight from your pocket.
What you want is a reputable company that agrees to insure your pet for life, period. No tricks, no last-minute exclusions, no lifetime condition limits. But to have these things, you’ll need to pay for them.
Tip #4: Follow the Wagging Tails
Pet insurance costs too much to be throwing darts in the dark. You need to know which plans will come through for you down the road after you’ve paid their premiums for years. So do your research - look for good word of mouth. You can learn a lot with some smart surfing and Googling.
Although we haven’t used either, we found many satisfied buyers with PetPlan and Marks & Spencer. There are other good plans as well, and plans that are best avoided. The tip we like most is to ask your vet what she uses. Yes! - many vets insure their beloved animals, and are scrupulous in who they choose.
Tip #5: Do You Even Need Insurance?
There’s an argument - and it’s a good one - that pet insurance really serves no purpose. You can see the force of this line of thought when you check out the premiums of quality, reliable plans - they’re high. So why should you pay out all that cash for what *might* happen, instead of stashing it each month in your own high-interest savings account and simply withdrawing what you need?
The answer is simple: discipline. Some people have the discipline to pay their premiums, but not to establish a separate account they won’t touch except for emergency pet expenses. Other than discipline, there’s probably no real reason why you shouldn’t self-insure.
With one exception - liability. Some plans offer extra coverage if your dog injures someone and you get sued. These aren’t the kinds of things you can effectively save up for on your own, so if you think it might be a problem, pet insurance might truly be the route for you.
Tip #6: One More For the Road
Is your pet a prize purebred, with a pedigree reaching back before William of Orange? Expect more vet costs over its lifetime - it’s just a statistical fact. Perhaps this subtle factor will help you decide whether you should self-insure or go for a plan.
Peace of Mind: Priceless
We’re animal lovers. And in the back of our minds lurks the fear that Fido will someday come down with something we can’t afford to treat - simultaneous renal failure and diabetes, for example (to cite a sad chapter from my own pet annals). The peace of mind in knowing you can afford to care for your furry companion, no matter what the future brings, is profound. That’s why insurance was developed, and that’s why pet insurance might be the right choice for you.
Blake Kritzberg is editor of FavorIdeas. Stop by for continually-updated celebrity
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