Is Pet Insurance Right for You and Your Furry Friend?

June 26, 2024

Pet insurance covers medical costs for your pet, similar to human health insurance in many ways. However, it is meant more for unexpected expenses, not routine care or pre-existing conditions (which most human plans do accommodate). Pet insurance’s purpose is to prevent significant financial loss due to accidents or illnesses.

Types of Pet Insurance Plans:

1. Accident and Illness: These plans are the most popular on the market and cover treatment for illnesses and injuries. However, they do not reimburse or offset routine, preventative care like vaccinations or dental cleanings.
2. Accident-Only: This plan only covers injuries from accidents. Illnesses is not protected with accident-only pet care. What defines an injury from accident may vary by provider, be sure to verify the finer details with your agent for clarity.
3. Wellness or Preventive Care: This option is typically an add-on or upgrade to your pet coverage plan. Including this provisional option, adds coverage to routine Vet care, such as vaccinations and annual exams.

When weighing the pros and cons of investing in pet insurance, it is important to consider what and why it is available, along with and some of the following reasons:

Having insurance for your pet can contribute to better planning. It prioritizes pet illness costs from discretionary to budgeted, helping you with financial management. Much like humans, it isn’t much of a question of “if”, rather “when”, unfortunate events like accidents and illness occur. And when they do, will you be prepared? If you are not, you might not always have better options. Options that allow you to make healthcare decisions based on your pet’s needs, and not on your financial limitations.

Right now, my pet is young/healthy, I don’t need the expense. Even young pets can have costly injuries or illnesses, in fact in their youngest months, your pet is more likely to have an illness or accident due to their young-ness (ask any pet owner and they will probably shake their heads in agreement as they recall some prepubescent shenanigans). Insuring them as early as possible also prevents future exclusions for pre-existing conditions – which is common in pet policies.

I am financially sound and I already have a pet savings plan. While saving money is an excellent option, and one everyone should be so lucky to maintain, unexpected events happen in life. All of the time. Your best intentions for that money might be called on for immediate use, elsewhere. One unforeseen visit to the vet, resulting in a costly treatment protocol can easily exceed your pet savings, making insurance valuable.

Other financial costs to consider when shopping for pet insurance

Your pet’s species and breed will affect insurance cost…cats generally cost less than dogs to insure (the two most covered types of animals by insurance carriers). Mixed breed dogs typically have less genetically imposed issues, versus purebreds – who tend to scale higher premium rates.

Just as factors like where you live and park your car are reflected in your personal insurance premium expenses, the same is true for your pet. The area where you live and seek veterinary care contributes to the cost of insuring your animal. As well as the age of your pet – think about your roof on your home, or your own premiums costs as you accumulate birthdays. Age and location always matter.

Finally, eligibility, pre-existing, and genetic (termed hereditary and congenital) conditions are all considerations that influence the premium and deductible options you will have for your pet. Discuss these exclusions along with all charges, co-pays, deductible, etc., with your Robertson Ryan Insurance Agent during the pricing period of your pet’s insurance quest to fully understand the policies they present for you.

If you have questions or are ready to begin the quoting process, please contact us today, and for more information on pet insurance follow the link from the American Veterinary Medical Association.