Pet Health Insurance - Should You Buy It?

What can you do if your pet has a serious illness or accident? Do you ever ask yourself, Should I get pet insurance? Advances in veterinarian medicine have paralleled that of human medicine over the past few years. Pets are now routinely treated for diseases such as cancer and diabetes when such options didn’t exist as little as 10 years ago.

Pet health insurance became available in the US in approximately 1983, with the formation of a California-based company called Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI). Roughly, 30 different pet insurers came and went between 1983 and 1999. Some of the companies that began in this period still survive today including VPI. These companies offer a number of different pet insurance packages designed to protect your cat’s or dog's health and to give you peace of mind.

Pet insurance remains a relatively unknown type of insurance. According to a recent study only about one percent of North American pet owners insure their animals, compared to roughly 20 percent in England and 50 percent in Sweden. North American’s simply are unprepared for cases of catastrophic accident or illness.
Pet insurance works much like other forms of insurance. There are the traditional Blue Cross/Blue Shield type of plans where you would pick the veterinarian of your choice for services and be reimbursed for the fees after treatment. There are other that operate like pet HMOs or even discount clubs, where for an yearly fee you get a sizable discount on veterinarian services and pet medication. And like people insurance, most pet insurance policies involve a lot of fine print including coverage levels, waiting periods for policies to take effect, deductibles, payout maximums per incident per year and per ailment, exclusion, terms related to pre-existing conditions and reduced coverage for older dogs, so make sure you read the fine print before you buy pet insurance. Ask your veterinarian what pet insurance plans he or she recommends. They may know of locally-based discount plan for pets, that might be more suitable than one of the bigger plans, depending on both the kind of dog you and own your financial situation and needs.

Often hereditary and congenital illnesses, as well as pre-existing conditions, are not covered by pet insurance. For example, if you own a large dog and it develops hip dysplasia, you might not be able to make a claim against your pet insurance. Talk to several companies and make sure you review the terms with your vet before you buy and insurance package. Some breeds of dogs aren’t covered at all under some plans and sometimes a 10-20 percent surcharge is added for larger breed dogs. There is also some questions about what might constitute a pre-existing condition. I have read one article that describes a situation where a gentleman was denied coverage because he had phoned his vet to ask a question a few days before the policy was to take effect. Make sure you find out what the initial waiting period is for your pet's insurance coverage and also ask if a telephone call made to a vet before the policy takes effect would act to disallow a claim on the basis of pre-existing condition.

All packages are different and cover different things. Ask as many questions as you can before buying. Questions to ask include: Discounts for multiple pets? Will the insurer cover routine care such as check- ups and inoculations? Is testing and treatment for heartworm covered? Is dental care covered? Does the policy cover neutering or spaying ? Is pre-natal care for pregnant pets covered? Flea and tick control? Does it pay for prescription medicine? Some insurance companies will do these things, but only if you add on and pay for an additional rider to your existing policy, the cost for this additional protection can run about $100 per year so you need to do the math to figure out if the cost is worth it. Also ask about the deductibles on the policy? Is there a lifetime limit on payouts? What are the annual caps if any on payment? What are the caps for specific illnesses and specific incidents? For example, will the policy only pay $500 for retrieving a swallowed golf ball when the actual cost may never be below $700. Can you pay for the policy on a monthly basis without penalty? Can you choose your own vet? How long does it take for a claim to be reimbursed?

Like other health insurance policies the premiums are based on your pet's age, and some policies will insure dogs for accident coverage only after they reach a certain age. Older dogs are far more likely to be stricken by cancer than young ones, and this is one example of a situation where insurance can make the difference between treatment or death for your pet.

Pet health insurance has its drawbacks, but it is well worth exploring for most pet owners. In cases of catastrophic accident and illness, it can be a lifesaver for pets without crushing the owners financially or, worse yet, forcing them to make a decision to have a pet put down because they cannot afford medical treatment. Be a savvy pet owner, and investigate a number of options before you buy pet insurance. Talk to your veterinarian. Do a number of online searches for pet insurance. Read what people are saying in different online pet forums. Make sure you ask questions before you commit yourself and your pet to any pet insurance package.