People have health insurance so why not pet insurance? Over the years, pet insurance has become increasingly popular. While some people wonder why not just save money for accidents and emergencies – for some people this isn’t easy and they’re more comfortable paying a monthly fee and having insurance. In some instances, people end up paying more for pet insurance in the long run, but it also helps keep peace of mind.
So how do you choose which program to go with? Do your research.
One of the best places to start is www.petinsurancereview.com. This fairly comprehensive website gives objective descriptions for most of the pet insurance carriers available in the United State and allows people to rate them.
Then make sure you visit the website for each plan you’re interested in, some things to consider while doing your research:
- Does it cover pre-existing conditions and what do they consider as pre-existing? Most pet insurance consider on-going conditions that existed before you purchased the insurance to be a pre-existing condition. However something like a broken leg that has healed usually is not.
- Are there any exclusions of hereditary issues? There are some insurances that have lists of hereditary issues such as, hip dysplasia in German Shepherds, that don’t cover. Make sure you look over that list. Mixed breed dogs are usually exempt from most of these items.
- Do they charge a higher premium for your breed of dog or cat? While most insurances don’t discriminate, there are others that might, get a few quotes from different places to see if there are higher costs specifically for your breed of dog.
- Are there age limits? Most insurance don’t have age limits for pets that are continuously insured by that company. However some do, when mom adopted her 11 year old dog it was difficult to find pet insurance, but Pets Best was one company that didn’t discriminate against age.
- Is there a multi-pet discount if you have to cover more than one pet? You want to insure all your pets if possible right? Well most of them offer discounts for registering more than one pet so check out different quotes to see what works best for you.
- What does your policy cover? Most of them only cover accidents and illness which is typically what most people go to the vets office for. However some offer packages to add-on which cover checkups, vaccinations, neutering, and other preventative care. Estimate how much you would spend on checkups and vaccinations and see if the add-on is worth it for you. For me, mom decided we didn’t need the add-on package since it would cost more than my year check-up and vaccinations.
- Probably the most important – do you understand how the copays and payment/refunds work? Read over the policies carefully to make sure that there aren’t limits for certain conditions and that you understand what each incident limit and each yearly limit is. An incident usually refers to any vet visits, procedures and medications related to a specific event – for example if I got hit by a car then all the vet visits whether it’s 1 or 5 will be considered as part of that incident. A yearly limit is the amount of money that the insurance company will cover up to a year, regardless of the number of incidents. There are some companies, such as VPI who has limits for individual types of procedures, so read over that carefully if it’s a concern to you. Other companies don’t limit individual procedures and just go by incidents and yearly limits.
- Understand the “making a claim” process. Most pet insurance websites are incredibly comprehensive and you can find all the information to these questions on their sites. Make sure you understand the entire process from beginning to end and that it’s something you are comfortable with. Typically insurance companies require you to pay up front first and then reimburse you after evaluating the claim. Take a look at the turnaround for getting claims paid and make sure you can handle those types of expenses. Don’t forget to work with your vet, many of them can be quite accomodating.
- Read the cancellation policy. Choosing a pet insurance is a very subjective process and you need to find the one that works for you. Ask others for information and do your research. Also look at the cancellation policy in case you don’t like them and want to switch.
- Ask questions! Don’t be afraid to contact their customer service to get all your questions answered and have them explain the process. This also gives you an idea of how helpful they are going to be when you file claims.
Mom and I are not pet insurance experts, we just wanted to share our experiences in choosing pet insurance for me and mom’s first dog. However we did find Pet Insurance Review’s website to be incredibly comprehensive and helpful! According to user ratings the top 3 pet insurance carriers were:
Please note, Furry Friends Rescue does not endorse any insurance companies, we try our best to present as much information for consideration as possible.
This is part 2 of a 3 part series, to go to part 1 or 3 click the links below: