HEALTH PROTECTION FOR A PET
The Benefits Of A Pet Insurance Policy
It is a surprising fact
that although health insurance for a pet has been on the
market for the best part of twenty-five years, many, if not
most pet owners are unaware of its existence. Most people
have some sort of health insurance covering the family, but
if something untoward happens to a pet and you have to
decimate your savings in order to pay for life saving
surgery for a pet, and perhaps even worse, have to put a pet
down because you were unable to pay for the medical care,
then you would understand the benefits of having pet
insurance.
Unfortunately, as with
every other aspect of health care, the expenses related to a
pet’s medical care are increasing almost daily. If you have
a number of pets, the veterinary bills for even the most
basic medical needs for your pets can be financially
disastrous. The question, whether or not to have health
insurance for your pet depends on many considerations,
probably, the most important consideration would be whether
you genuinely feel your pet is a member of your family. Are
you in a position to potentially pay thousands of dollars in
medical expenses if your pet becomes incapacitated and needs
long-term medical care? Would your family be devastated if
you had to put your pet down because you could not afford
the veterinary care and had never considered the costs of
potential health problems? If these considerations were
answered positively, then, of course, you will want to give
a lot of thought to having your pet covered with a heath
insurance policy.
A number of specialist insurance companies and brokers are
now offering competitive health plans covering all sorts of
pets, from basic health cover to a top of the range medical
benefits. As, with any health plan, the higher the premium
the greater the benefits that are afforded to you and your
pet. The cost of a basic health pet insurance plan can cost
about ten dollars a month rising to about forty dollars a
month for an annual benefit limit of somewhere in the region
of fifteen thousand dollars a year. Many pet insurance
companies offer discounts if you have several pets. Like
everything else, it pays to shop around.
As most medical expenses incurred by a pet come under the
heading of everyday procedures such as vaccinations, annual
check-ups and dental care, it is advisable to look for a
plan that covers these costs. Of course, you must always
make sure that whatever plan you purchase also protects you
and your pet in the event of serious illness or injury, but
the cost of day to day procedures can mount up over the year
and cause a considerable amount of pain to your wallet.
There are, of course, a number of restrictions usually
imposed by pet insurance companies. While you may be only
too happy to buy pet insurance cover that does not mean a
pet insurance company will automatically cover your pet.
Your pet may be denied insurance cover because the insurance
company considers him too old. Even if your pet meets the
age requirements there are other limitations and
restrictions. Most companies won’t issue a policy if there
are pre-existing health conditions. Most companies will also
exclude cancer form the policy unless an additional premium
is paid for this cover.
It must be also understood that there will be a waiting
period before the insurance policy takes effect. This
waiting period can last anytime from a few weeks to six
months after the policy has been written up and the premium
paid. Once you insurance plan begins, you will most probably
be required use a vet from a list of approved providers.
If it should happen that your pet does not qualify for
insurance cover, or, if for one reason or another you don’t
want to buy an insurance policy, there are a few money
saving strategies that you can take advantage of. You can
join a health care discount program such as Pet Assure. When
you become a member of such programs, you are entitled to a
discount of up to 25% on medical care for your pet providing
you use a participating vet. Prescription discounts and
access to product coupons are other benefits included in the
membership fee.
If it should happen that your dog needs urgent medical
treatment and you are uninsured and have no available funds,
check with your vet if his clinic offers any type of
emergency relief funding. Occasionally, some vets put aside
financial resources for pets whose owners can’t afford to
pay. However, fundamentally, insurance is the only real way
to make sure that your pet can receive expensive medical
treatment when most in need.
