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Who Needs Pet Insurance?
Veterinary pet insurance can save you a lot of money in unexpected medical bills.
As a result, more and more dog and cat owners are buying pet health insurance these days.
I read somewhere that percentage of owners who buy insurance for their pets increased from about 1% in 1995 to about 6% in 2008.
But unless you are careful when choosing the policy, you may get stuck paying for procedures you thought were covered. Before you buy your dog health insurance, ask some very important questions…
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The Benefits of Pet Insurance
Veterinary science is changing rapidly and pets are living longer.
Procedures like radiation therapy and even transplants, once reserved only for humans, are now available to pets. These procedures require latest technology, which is not cheap. All this is driving veterinary costs higher and higher…
Some procedures can cost up to $5,000.
When faced with such a bill and without dog health insurance, the only option available to most dog owners is to put their pet to sleep.
A good dog insurance from a stable company makes dealing with emergencies a lot easier.
If you are still not convinced, here are some examples of actual cases along with the cost of treatment and how much an owner was reimbursed by an insurance company (I'll give you the name of the company in a minute)…
Before You Buy Pet Insurance...
Here are the questions you will need to ask before you purchase pet health insurance…
- How stable is the company selling dog insurance for your pet? How long have they been in business?
- Is the company registered with my state's regulators?
- Will I be able to choose my own veterinarian?
- Will the policy cover visits to a specialist?
- What will the policy not cover?
- Will the policy cover medication costs?
- Will the policy cover for pre-existing conditions? (most policies will not, but few do)
- Does the policy have an age limit?
- Under what situations will the policy be terminated?
And finally, some financial questions...
- Is there a deductible? How much is it?
- Is there a co-pay? How much is it?
- Is there an annual cap on charges the plan will cover? What about a lifetime or per incident cap?
- How much is the premium and how will I get billed?
The following video talks more about pros and cons of pet insurance...
Learn more about How to Keep your Dog Healthy
While no plan will be perfect and it's unrealistic to expect that there will be no out of pocket expenses, you still need to make sure that in a case of emergency, the policy will cover for procedures necessary for your pet's recovery.
Talk to your veterinarian and ask what pet health insurance he or she can recommend. Ask for several alternatives and then do your own research. Before you sign anything, read the small print and after you finish… read it again.
The leading insurance companies for pets are Veterinary Pet Insurance and PetCare Pet Insurance.
Both are excellent companies and you can't go wrong with either one.
I am, well Bo is, a customer of PetCare Pet Insurance. Luckily, we never had any emergencies, but here is why I chose PetCare...
Before I show you what policy Bo has, I need to tell you that the cost of the policy depends not only on the plan you choose but also on your dog's breed, age and what % of your bill you want covered (I chose 70%, but you can choose 100%)…
Policies start at $10.95 and PetCare also provides various discounts for which Bo and me, regrettably, did not qualify. Click here to learn more about Bo's policy.
Is there anything I don't like about PetCare insurance?
They will not pay for maintenance and preventive care.
While I would have preferred they covered preventive care, I understand that to provide the service at a reasonable cost, PetCare simply can't pay for everything. PetCare's true value comes up in a case of emergency.
At the same time, PetCate Insurance will pay for…
- 25% of the cost of prescription food for 6 months
- Holistic medication when it's prescribed by your licensed veterinarian
- Will reimburse for parasite treatments, as long as preventative measures recommended by your veterinarian were followed
Overall, PetCare Pet Insurance is a solid company that provides coverage not only in US but Canada as well. If you are searching for a pet insurance, I highly recommend them.
Back to the top of Pet Insurance
I hope you will find this information useful and it helps you to recognize some common dog health problems your pet may be experiencing. However, if you suspect your pet is ill, immediately contact your veterinarian. He or she will be able to help you decide the best course of action when it comes to caring for your pet.
