Your pet is part of your family, be its dog, cat, or any other animal, and your goal is to ensure they are well and healthy. However, when it comes to the health of pets, it can be extremely costly because of medical procedures and vet bills. Interestingly you can lower the costs but still ensure your pet is still in good health through pet insurance.
Pet insurance is not something new, but it is increasingly starting to become popular, and for pet owners, it is something they should consider. Just like human cover, pet insurance can help cover health costs for your pet for specific procedures and preventive care. For instance, your pet might need some medication that might be expensive or a certain procedure that you can’t afford off pocket; this is where pet insurance comes in handy.
Why pet insurance is important
Having a cover for your pet is beneficial in that it will offer peace of mind. With a policy for your pet, you don’t have to worry about your pet getting injured to becoming ill because you are not going to dig into your pocket to pay for expensive costs of treatment.
Usually, pet insurance will cover various medical procedures on your pet and thus could help minimize expenses that you might use on the wellness of your furry friend. Similarly, it can cover regular veterinary check-ups, and thus you don’t have to worry about the costs you will normally incur during routine visits to the vet.
What you need to know about pet insurance
There are various types of pet policies that you can choose from to cover different needs. Basic insurance can cover things such as illness and accidents, but you can equally decide on a wellness plan that will cover vaccinations, wellness checkups as well as routine vet services.
The good thing is you can have a customized plan according to the needs of your pet. Premiums are paid just like for normal insurance policies, and you can pay between $30 and $50 per month. Besides the monthly premium, you are also responsible for an annual deductible. The difference with human health insurance is that for pet insurance, your provider reimburses you, which means you have to pay on your visit to a vet.
Most policies have waiting periods as a way of ensuring that people don’t quickly buy insurance to cover the expensive needs of their pets and then canceling them once covered. For injuries, it is five days, and for illnesses, it is 14 days.
There are restrictions on certain breeds and age of pet as well as pre-existing conditions. So it is important to check the covered breeds and any conditions that might not be part of the plan.
Pet Insurance providers
Pets Best: Offers insurance plans from $38 per month that include accident only cover. The low annual maximum for its base plans makes it’s less appealing.
Healthy Paws: Offers ingle, comprehensive pet insurance plan that covers most bases. It doesn’t have an annual limit on pay-outs, and reimbursements depend on the cost of the vet bill.
Embrace: Provides an option to customize your insurance plan according to the needs of your pet. The base plan is around $9 for cats and $13 for dogs, and you can enroll your pet up to 14 years.
Nationwide (former Veterinary Pet Insurance): Provides three insurance plans at the cost of $33 per month. Covers most services, and on average, it costs $32 for cats and $60 for dogs.
Figo: Offers the most flexible pet insurance option offering three-tiered coverage. There are plans to choose from that have annual maximums of around $10,000.
