Pet Insurance Explained
Health care is increasingly expensive, not just for humans, but for pets too. Whether you've got cats or dogs or something else entirely, you may worry about covering the expense of medications or surgery if something happens to your pet. These are perfectly normal concerns. Veterinary care isn't cheap any more. That's why more and more people are considering pet health insurance.
Pet Insurance Basics
When hearing the phrase pet insurance, some may think, "That's going a little too far.'' If you are one of those people consider what Americans spend on the care and indulgence of their pets. According to the American Pet Product Manufacturer's Association, Americans spent over $34.4 billion on their pets in 2004, double the amount of ten years prior.
What did they spend it on? Only $1.6 billion was spent on the actual purchase of the animal; $14.2 billion was for food; $8.1 billion for supplies and over-the-counter medications; $2.1 for miscellaneous; and $8.2 billion for veterinarian services.
Considering that combined veterinarian and medication costs were well over the $10 billion mark, shouldn't pet insurance be a consideration? What follows is a description of pet insurance policies and how they work.
Pet Health Insurance - Defined
Pet health insurance is a health insurance policy for your pet. This could be almost any animal, but most often is a dog or cat. Much like human insurance, you can choose a policy as simple or elaborate as you need.
Perhaps you have a breed susceptible to a particular disorder or weakness, something that will most likely require surgery in their lifetime. You would look for surgical coverage and make sure that the condition is going to be covered at all. Is there a restriction on which veterinarian you use? Some policies deal with a network of vets; others allow you to choose your own. The insurance policies also vary in their geographical coverage. If you travel or move frequently, find an insurance that has national coverage. They are available. Also be aware that there are multiple pet discounts, typically 5 to 10%, for registering 2 or more animals.
The veterinarian does not technically accept a health insurance. Most policies work by you paying up front and then being reimbursed. In the case of a particular practice offering the insurance, then you may be able to only have a co-pay arrangement.
What do these policies actually cover? For cats and dogs, they cover routine and emergency vet visits, x-rays, medications, lab tests, with the add-on of routine vaccinations available. Because veterinary treatment and knowledge has advanced, new techniques are in practice that didn't exist several years ago. The use of MRIs, CT scans, even pacemaker implantation, is used on animals these days. As with human care, they are also very expensive. With the right health insurance policy, you can have a large part or all of the expense covered by insurance.
Some veterinarians or a local group of veterinarians may create their own 'wellness program', more of a discount on routine treatment than true insurance. In an effort to get you to come in for all routine preventative procedures, and to use the same veterinarian, a vet's office may offer a 6 or 12-month wellness program, which in effect is a percentage discount for the vaccines and routine check-ups you would have for your pet, anyway. Depending on the rate of discount, the up front outlay of a year's care may or may not be sound financially.
Please browse the articles listed to the right for information on this topic.