Choosing Veterinary Pet Insurance Company Coverage
These days, there are great debates raging about health insurance coverage for families. However, there is also a unique type of health insurance that you can get for your pets that is seldom talked about. If you are the owner of one or more, then you are more than likely equally concerned about the health and well-being of them and you might want to investigate getting coverage from a company.
Just as the human members of the family need and deserve adequate health care, so do your pets. Household pets and even livestock such as horses, cattle and exotic animals are all subject to any number of illnesses and accidents that threaten their health and longevity. In fact, in the last decade or so there has been a significant increase in the incidence of cancer and other serious diseases in domestic pets and other animals. Because of this, it is a wise choice to seek out coverage.
Securing pet health insurance coverage from a reputable and reliable company can be of enormous benefit to a family, especially families with many pets in the household. Such a pet plan can guarantee protection against financial hardship for a family if they are faced with large veterinary pet bills. The stress and anxiety that a family is put under if they cannot afford a life-saving procedure for their animal can be devastating.
As the practice of veterinarian medicine has expanded and improved in recent years, the cost of veterinary care has also risen, just as the cost for human medical care has increased. This has led to an increase in the number of company plans that are now available on the market. In addition, it has also brought more insurance companies into the pet health insurance arena. This has been beneficial in many ways because the competition has offered people more choices in coverage and pricing.
No matter which pet plan company you select to carry your coverage, the reputable companies will strongly recommend that you take steps to try to prevent illness so that your pet can enjoy health and well-being to the greatest degree possible. The best plans will cover wellness care, or preventative care procedures. This would include vaccinations, health screenings and other types of routine care that should be taken care of as advised by your trusted veterinarian. Also, new kittens or puppies introduced to the family should have a visit to the vet's office for their first examination within 48 hours of bringing them into the home.
In most cases, your veterinarian will have you bring your new pet back to the office to get booster vaccinations three to four weeks later. In addition, preventative care routines dictate that you return for annual vaccinations and booster shots for the long-term benefit of all the pets in the household. These costs can add up to several hundreds of dollars a year, especially if there are multiple pets in the household. Before choosing your insurance company, be sure that they offer coverage for preventative care.
Although it can be tempting to buy the cheapest you can find, often in the long-run it is better to choose a company that believes in the value of preventative health care for domestic and other animals. A policy that covers wellness care might cost a bit more each month, but it will ensure that you never have to worry about being able to pay for the proper care for your family pets.
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Choosing Veterinary Pet Insurance Company Coverage
These days, there are great debates raging about health insurance coverage for families. However, there is also a unique type of health insurance that you can get for your pets Read more...
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Cheap Pet Insurance Offers Affordable Solutions for Pet Care
In many homes across the nation, pets are an important part of the family. In the same fashion that people have concerns about the health care and well-being of their family Read more...
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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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