Pet Insurance… Yes, No, Maybe?

Pet insurance is not new, but many people are still not familiar with the concept. It is similar to human medical insurance in many ways, but differs in a few major ways. The primary purpose is the same; to help defray the cost of medical care for a loved one should they become ill or be injured. Like many health insurance policies for people, there are typically deductibles and co-pays and varying limits of coverage. The differences are significant too. The insurance company has no voice in the care provided by the veterinarian and managed care as we know it does not exist in the pet insurance realm. The pet owner pays their veterinary bill as usual and then is reimbursed afterwards (usually within two weeks) by their insurance company based on the type of plan they carry. Unlike some people’s medical plans, the pet owner may take their pet to any veterinarian they chose, including specialists and emergency facilities. Hospitalization requires no preauthorization. It is much simpler in many ways! The insurance company has no voice in the patient’s care… that is decided by the pet owner’s family and their veterinarian, not the insurance company.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Did you know….

Less than 1% of the dogs & cats in America are insured

Over 48% of pets in the Netherlands are insured

30 to 40% of pets in the United Kingdom are insured

One third of all insured pets had a claim filed last year

Three out of four pet owners file a claim within the first 3 years

30 to 40% of all claims are for chronic conditions that may last over one year

66% to 80% of dogs experience major health problems over the life of the pet 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There are many different types of insurance plans offered by the eleven pet insurance companies currently operating in the US. Choosing a plan can be a bit complicated. Firstly, some offer comprehensive care for all sorts of illness and injury, some offer limited policies that cover injury only and many plans offer wellness care or preventive health care as an option too. Some programs offer a single fixed deductible and others have variable deductible levels so you can choose what fits your circumstances the best. Of course, the higher the deductible you choose, the lower your monthly premium. It is generally better to first insure your pets when they are young, but many companies will accept older pets although most refuse geriatric animals. Some policies will cover inherited disorders such as hip dysplasia and luxating knee caps while others will not. Policies can start at under $15 per month for cats and under $22 for dogs and go up from there.  Some companies will also insure pet birds, horses, rabbits and exotic pets.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Did you know….

The first pet insurance policy issued in Sweden was in 1927

The first policy written in the UK was in 1947

VPI wrote the first policy in the US in 1982, for Lassie, the famous TV dog

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, is it worthwhile? Well, if you are going to do your best to care for your sick pet whether you have insurance or not, it’s a very good thing to have. It can be the difference between generating a significant debt when Fido gets sick and breathing easy knowing that most of your expenses are covered. From a veterinarian’s perspective, it can make the difference between euthanasia and treatment. It is horrible to see a family have to euthanize the pet they love because the treatment is more than they can afford. It’s called “economic euthanasia” and it’s painful for everyone. And it’s happening more these last few years since many people’s savings accounts aren’t as flush as they once were. 

Consumer Reports says pet insurance is not that good a deal. If your pet is pretty healthy, you’ll spend more in premiums than you get back over their lifetime. That sounds like a reason for a happy dance to me! And it is absolutely true, but how do you know in advance if your pet will be so fortunate? I haven’t had an insurance claim on my teenage son’s health insurance in years, but I wouldn’t consider canceling his insurance because I’ve lost money due to his good health! One major orthopedic surgery would reverse all of that in a heartbeat.

Insurance is about peace of mind and knowing you can handle most anything that should happen because you have help with the costs. It can reduce the impact of economics in the pet owner’s health care decisions for their pets. Some “experts” say that instead of insurance, you should put money in a savings account each month to prepare for future bills if your pet gets sick. Ok, that makes sense, but what if they get sick or hurt before you’ve saved enough? And how many people have that kind of discipline to put aside savings for their pet’s health care? It seems like a monthly payment for health insurance is much like putting money in a savings account each month. But if I’ve only paid $500 in premiums when that cruciate ligament ruptures and “Rocky” needs surgery to get walking well again, the insurance will help with the $3000 bill but my $500 in savings isn’t going to get the job done.

There are a huge number of resources on this subject. If you are looking at pet insurance, please be aware that some companies have come & gone over the years and you want a company with some stability and history.  The good news is that the current crop of insurance companies does appear to be fairly solid. From petinsurancequotes.com:

Pet Insurance Company Facts

• 9 of 11 companies are BBB Accredited and 10 of 11 have an A rating
• 10 of 11 companies have an insurance rating of A or better
• 11 of 11 companies let you use any licensed vet in the U.S.
• 10 of 11 companies pay claims within 15 days
• 8 of 11 companies offer Wellness or Routine Care coverage options
• 10 of 11 companies have a Facebook page with 140,000 total fans
• 8 of 11 companies pay claims based on the actual vet bill

 If you are considering pet insurance for your personal pets, here are a few thoughts to consider. If you can handle a larger deductible for an unexpected emergency, your premium will be significantly lower. If the deductible would be tough to manage, say you’re on a fixed income, planning for a larger monthly premium but lower deductible might be a better choice. The value of preventive health care insurance varies. Most companies do that as an additional premium to the major medical policy. Look hard at your yearly preventive health care costs to see if you think this is a value for you. It often is nearly a break even financially and is rarely a significant savings. It is wise to research carefully before you buy an insurance policy! Each company has different strengths & weakness and a few have several plans within the company. A few companies have policies that do not cover chronic conditions after the first year, which, in my opinion, defeats the purpose of insurance. One requires an add-on for prescription medication coverage and another doesn’t cover a few major chronic diseases like Diabetes and arthritis. The resource links below can help guide you through the various offerings to help find which policies may be the best choice for you.

 Most companies do offer multiple pet discounts, so inquire if you plan to insure more than one pet. If you have a pet with a chronic health problem, expect that it will not be covered by your new policy. Most policies have a waiting period before the coverage begins. If you are changing policies, it may be wise to overlap them to provide coverage during that waiting period.

Several excellent of sources of information can be found online:

http://www.pet-insurance-university.com/index.html

http://www.petinsurancequotes.com/petinsurance/tips-and-advice.html

http://animals.howstuffworks.com/pets/pet-travel/pet-insurance.htm

http://personalinsure.about.com/cs/petinsurance/a/aa051103a.htm

http://personalinsure.about.com/od/pet/a/aa062705a_2.htm

Hopefully this article will have provided some useful information to help you decide if pet insurance is right for you. My own pets are insured as well as my employees’ pets and many of us have used our insurance for common medical problems as well as visits to specialists. I was happy to have insurance coverage for the last orthopedic surgery on my eldest dog… it covered $1700 of the specialist’s fees for his surgery. It was much less painful than the orthopedic surgery when he wasn’t insured!