Pet insurance is a special type of insurance designed to cover both routine and incidental health-related costs. Pet insurance can be applied to dogs, cats, birds, and even exotic pets. And it can be an excellent way to protect your financial situation as well as your beloved family members.
Your Pet Is Your Best Friend…
Are they protected? People protect themselves with health insurance, their cars with car insurance, and their houses with homeowner’s insurance. So why not protect their pets?
For a low monthly fee, you can ensure that you’re covered for general wellness visits, accidents and injuries, serious diseases and illnesses, and more. Pet insurance can ensure that your pet gets the treatment that they need, fast — without a sudden expenditure on your side.
Let’s take a look at how pet insurance works, why pet insurance is needed, and what’s covered by a pet insurance plan.
How Does Pet Insurance Work?
Just like any other insurance policy, you have a deductible and a claims limit. In many policies, basic wellness is covered: claw trims, check-ups, flea and tick medication, and more. Other than that, you may need to pay a deductible and the pet insurance will cover the rest. Every time you go to your vet, you’ll get a bill. You’ll send that bill in as a claim to the insurance company. And the insurance company will reimburse you.
Pet insurance ensures that you’re not caught by surprise by unexpectedly large bills. Instead, you’ll have a low monthly rate. This rate will guarantee a certain amount of coverage for things such as x-rays, blood tests, cancer treatments, broken bones, and torn ligaments.
Even if your pet is healthy, accidents can happen. Pet insurance covers you for the unexpected — and ensures that your pet can get the best care available.
Why is Pet Insurance Necessary?
Pets can cost a lot of money. The average cost of dog ownership can be up to $4,300 a year. The average cost of owning a cat is $809 a year. As your animals get older, these costs become higher. There are a lot of incidentals and a lot of unexpected events: eating something they shouldn’t, breaking a bone, or even getting cancer.
An emergency visit can cost much more. An emergency visit to the vet can cost thousands of dollars at once. Many people don’t have the cash at hand for such an unexpected event.
Pet insurance is instrumental to ensuring that your pets get the quality of care they deserve. If you can’t pay for care, then you may be forced to make difficult decisions. Unlike human health services, veterinarians generally will not work on an animal unless they can get paid. This isn’t because they don’t want to, but they have limited time and resources.
Thus, being able to pay for care controls the level of care that your pet receives. And being able to afford routine procedures such as check-ups can improve your pet’s health overall.
What is Covered By Pet Insurance?
Every insurance policy is unique. Just like human policies, there may be different deductibles and caps, depending on how much you want to pay. But pet insurance can cover quite a lot, including:
- General wellness.
- Accidents and injuries.
- Chronic illnesses.
- Medical procedures.
- Common illnesses.
- Hereditary conditions.
- Holistic and alternative treatments.
- Serious illnesses: cancer, heart disease, diabetes.
- Diagnostics: x-rays, ultrasounds, blood tests.
You can get a pet insurance policy that can cover virtually any medical issue your pet might have — even if your pet is genetically predisposed to issues such as cancer or heart disease. And pet insurance will also save you a lot of money on routine costs, such as medication for heartworm, fleas, and ticks.
In general, a pet insurance policy will be cheaper the earlier you start the policy — because older animals cost more to insure. By insuring your pet, you can reduce the risks to your pocketbook while also improving the quality of care your pet can receive.
