Pet Health Insurance: What is Important?
Posted on June 19, 2009 by Nancy Houser
Statistics are showing that pet health insurance is the least important thing in a pet owner’s budgets. This is at a time when third party claims are on the rise against dog owners for dog bites, dog attacks, dog destruction, etc. But it is vital that pet owners look around at pet insurance companies in general, dog and cat health insurance specifically, what each has to offer, the best pet insurance money will buy, the cheapest pet insurance they can get, or whether or not to compare pet insurance prices to get the best quality for a decent price. Pet insurance–is it important?
WHY PET HEALTH INSURANCE SHOULD BE A PRIORITY
With pet health insurance the least important priority on the minds of most pet owners, it would be wise to become more objective about the importance of having pet health insurance in today’s times. As compared to any other time, today 1 out of every 3 dogs will eventually require an emergency trip to the veterinarian make dog health insurance almost mandatory. With most vet fees increasing approximately 10% every year and a typical vet trip costing in the hundreds, most people who are on a fixed income, are having financial problems, or are on strict budgets cannot justify taking their pet to the vet–especially if they have no pet insurance or pet health insurance. This causes animals to die needlessly or will seriously jeopardize their health at a time when the quality of animal health care is at its peak.
Pet owners have the necessity and tendency to have vehicle insurance, house insurance, storm insurance, flood insurance, dental and health insurance, or life insurance in case something should happen to one of the spouses. The insurance list goes on and on because we do not know what will happen in this crazy world and so we attempt to to cover everything…except for the family pet.
PRICE OF PET HEALTH INSURANCE & WHAT IS COVERED
The price of pet health insurance varies, depending on the policy that is chosen and what a pet owner wants covered in it. But generally, they will start around $10 or 8 GBP monthly with the basic policy for a small dog running about $33 a month (about $1 a day).
Things that need to be decided before a policy price can be determined are:
- Whether a person wants routine care coverage
- Prescriptions drugs availability
- Low or high deductible
- Affordability to the buyer
- Basic treatment coverage: non-elective surgery, anesthesia, laboratory or diagnostic routines (blood tests and ultrasound scans), hospital stays, initial vet visit and follow-up visits, special medication administered by veterinarian, medication administered by a veterinarian, or euthanasia for humane reasons
PET HEALTH INSURANCE CONDITIONS NOT COVERED
What is typically NOT included in pet health insurance are genetic conditions; cosmetic procedures such as tail docking for dogs; routine care and regular visits to your veterinarian for vaccinations, de-worming, and so on; chronic illnesses lasting more than one year; alternative and complementary therapies such as acupuncture; dental diseases such as gingivitis; genetic testing; and organ transplants.
Most (but not all) pet health insurance companies do not cover pre-existing conditions, such as genetic or congenital conditions. They also do not cover chronic conditions, which are known to make large gaps in the pet’s health insurance plan…the best thing to do is request their coverage from your pet health insurance carrier to make sure.
IS PET HEALTH INSURANCE IMPORTANT?
The next time someone asks you if you have pet health insurance, tell them yes but you found this out after you had checked on pet insurance companies in general, pet health insurance specifically, what each had to offer, the best pet insurance money would buy, the cheapest pet insurance a person can get, and compared pet insurance prices to get the best quality for a most decent price you could afford. Pet health insurance–is it important? Very much so. But never go into it blindly but remember to always check around and ask questions.
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