Pet Insurance 101:

There’s no doubt about it. You love your feline or Fido. While you aim to provide your pet with love, affection, a nutritious diet, exercise, and a healthy environment, sometimes your pet may not be so healthy. Accidents and illnesses may arise. Whether it’s regular check ups at the veterinarian or a simple procedure done in the office, pet insurance may be necessary.

Various pet insurance policies differ so like anything else, it’s important to shop around. For instance, some companies require customers to pay a monthly premium and then you’ll need to submit claims and send it to the pet insurance carrier. After you get various quotes and decide upon a pet insurance company that is reputable and suits your needs, it’s time to enroll. Again, each pet insurance company may differ so it’s important to read the fine print: sometimes medical records will need to be sent to the pet insurance carrier, sometimes they won’t. Sometimes they’ll reimburse the full amount of the procedure, sometimes they won’t.

Most pet owners will agree although veterinarian bills may indeed be high, if they didn’t have specific pet insurance, they may regret not having it. There are a variety of instances which owners who previously didn’t have pet insurance wished they had it but it was too late. For instance, if your precious dog or cat is hurt in an accident or is enduring an illness that requires long-term veterinarian care, this could be quite costly.

Depending on the pet insurance policy, there may be treatment options that you would not have otherwise considered if you didn’t have the pet insurance. Some procedures in fact may be incredibly costly, while the purpose of pet insurance is to ease the financial burden. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, costs for veterinary services have increased more than twice than the average of all consumer spending. This is significant and you may have noticed recently that you’ve been paying out-of-pocket more than in the past. Even routine procedures sans pet insurance such as helping mend a broken leg can range from $2,000 to $5,000. Cancer treatment in dogs and cats can range from $2,000 to $10,000 and higher!

While shopping around for a pet insurance policy, it’s important to find out the percentage of reimbursement for routine veterinary visits, lab tests, surgery, and prescription medicine. Some pet insurance companies reimburse at 80% for example.

Similar to auto insurance and your own health insurance, pet insurance is there if you need it. While you hope you won’t need to use it, the purpose is to protect you and your pet from unfortunate health and unforeseen financial circumstances.

At The Dog Bowl, nothing is more important than your pets’ health and well being. For more information about pet insurance be sure to contact your local insurance providers for quotes.