Pet Insurance Provides Care and Comfort
These days, is receiving a good deal of attention, both in the marketplace and in the media. There is a terrific reason for this. People seem to love their pets more than ever and having health insurance pet plan is a reasonably affordable way for people to assure that their pets will be able to receive the animal welfare care that they need. At the same time, such insurance coverage helps to protect the pet lovers from financial hardship in case of major health problems or accidents with their animals.
Just like health care coverage for humans, insurance for pets can provide for peace of mind, because you will know that they are going to be taken care of in the event of an emergency. There is nothing worse than to have the four-legged family member become ill and be put in the position of having to pass on treatment or even worse, to have to put the animal to sleep because of the cost. As with all types of health care, veterinary animal care costs are increasing on a continual basis.
Securing proper coverage can protect the owners from having to make life and death decisions. This provides a measure of peace and security and reduces the stress of the owners of family pets, leaving them with assurance that their animal will be able to received proper veterinary attention when needed. Pet health insurance makes good financial sense for most families. In exchange for a small monthly insurance premium, the greater costs of long-term or emergency veterinary pet services will be taken care of by the pet plan.
While health care coverage for people has been available for many years and is almost considered a must have for every individual and family, insurance for pets is still a relatively new option for pet owners. For those who have many pets, it seems like a very important thing to have, since dealing with illness or accident for multiple animals can escalate costs quite quickly.
Some pet owners who have had a pet plan from the time that they were first introduced, say they would never again be without it. They have gone through the experiences of having their pets meet with trauma, accident or serious illnesses and can attest to the thousands and thousands of dollars they saved by having good pet health insurance.
There are many different types of insurance policies and prices will vary depending on how extensive your coverage choices are. It is a good idea to take a good amount of time to research the various coverage options you have and compare the costs and also the reputation of the company.
Some pet plans will cover everything including preventative types of veterinary treatments and visits. Others cover only emergency procedures. There are even some policies that cover the cost of boarding or kenneling related to the illness or treatment, and some that will cover kenneling when the family is simply traveling or if the caretaker of the pet is ill and cannot care for the animal. For those who travel extensively, there are also policies available that will refund your cancellation fees if you must cancel a trip because your pet fell ill.
Comparison shopping for your coverage will help you to have a complete picture of the various options you can choose that will impact the final cost of the coverage. Purchasing pet health insurance can be a wise financial investment for the long-term well-being of your family pets and can help to assure that they remain a healthy part of the family for many years to come.
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By: JanetM
I would like to get pet insurance for my dog but I'm going crazy trying to decide what company/s are reputable. I don't want any hassels if my dog becomes ill and they won't pay. Its my understanding they could come up with a 1000 reasons not to pay. That's scarey when you can't afford the enormous vet fees.
Undecided in NJ
By: Jack Stepongzi
Pet insurance has been increasing in popularity recently, due in large part to the advances of veterinary science. Vets today can offer treatments and procedures that were unheard of just a few years ago, such as radiation therapy, transplants, and MRIs. However, these new treatments are not cheap; veterinary costs have risen over 70% in the past five years, to over $19 billion last year.
Pet health policies are similar to human insurance policies; annual premiums, deductibles, and various coverage based upon what the owner chooses. Most plans also have co-pays and caps that limit how much will be paid out anually.
Items to be aware of:
Some policies won't cover older pets
Certain breeds are excluded from coverage
Pre-existing conditions are normally excluded
Mmost insurers offer a multi-pet discount
Policy costs vary widely, depending on the animal and the different packages that the owner can choose. Some packages are comprehensive, including such things as annual checkups and vaccinations, spaying/neutering, death benefits and even reimbursement for offering a reward for lost pets. Other plans cover only accidents and illness.
By: cheryl
Erich,
Just wondering what pet insurance did you go with? Petplan or Embrace?
By: Erich Riesenberg
Sorry, one more thing, with reading Embrace, be mindful of the continuing care option.
Continuing Care Reimbursement Limit
The maximum reimbursement you can receive in any given year for chronic conditions is 25% of your policy maximum. For example, if you choose $10,000 as your annual maximum then your continuing care coverage provides up to $2,500 (25% x $10,000) of protection against any chronic conditions that your pet required treatment for.
That doesn't seem to be the case with Petplan. I think that is a big difference from human insurance, for conditions which occur while a policy is in force to then be considered pre existing even if the policy is continuously renewed.
http://gopetplan.com/WhyPetPlan/CoverForLife.html
By: Erich Riesenberg
Also, petinsurancereview.com was helpful in reading comments by other insurance shoppers and it allowed me to get multiple quotes, which helped highlight cost and coverage differences. Embrace might be a second choice, but the price was a tiny bit more for less coverage, at $10,000 per year and a 10% co-pay.
By: Erich Riesenberg
The cheapest plan I have seen for major medical is Petplan at gopetplan.com It cost about $187 for a year old dog, $20,000 per year, $200 deductible and 0% coinsurance. I am not concerned about a couple hundred dollar bill, it is the several thousand dollar or chronic condition I would want to avoid. My five year old would cost quite a bit more, so not sure if I will get it, but for the cost Petplan still seems the least expensive.
By: Lynn
The way I see it, you do need to have the money [or credit card funds] up front, but the insurance is a little back-up that softens the blow of the cost of pet care.
By: straybaby
Comment by Christie Keith ? January 15, 2008 @ 11:24 am
yeah, age was one of the issues when i was sourcing insurance in the past. i had 5 cats over 8 or whatever the age was. right now i have 3 (15, 15, 8, 4, 2). and my dog is getting close to cut off on some with her 'real' age. some of her shelter papers have her listed as 4yrs older than she is, but that will now come in handy to avoid vacs, lol!~ she's either turning 6, 8 or 10 next month! i don't think pets best is available here. i seem to remember checking someone out during the recall.
By: Christie Keith
<i>8. Bone Cancer $1,059</i>
Even if you add a zero, it's not close to the $14,000 I spent on Raven.
By: Christie Keith
<i>. I?ve checked into what was available several times since, and always found that the policies were overpriced and had too many exclusions, especially age exclusions. They were cutting off at something like age eight! My guys are just getting started at that age.</i>
Pets Best took my senior dog Rebel when no one else would... he was 8, just turned nine a couple of weeks ago. He's been insured with them since last March.
I found this out when I went to change my Borozi, Kyrie, from VPI to Pets Best when Pets Best announced they'd waive the deductible for their clients suffering from eating recalled foods. I thought that was classy and checked them out. And found to my shock that they, unlike every other company I applied to even a year earlier, would insure Rebel.
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