Everything You Want to Know about Choosing Coverage for Your Pet

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry wrote: “You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.” And this is true. Like our children, our furry friends also need love, attention, affection, and... medical expenses. Pet accidents are not only difficult emotionally but can also be burdensome on the family budget.

Therefore, insuring your four-legged friend can be the right decision. Today, we are going to learn how pet insurance works, which plan and company to choose, and much more that you need to know before purchasing coverage for your furbaby.

Why Should I Insure My Pet?

It is difficult to say for sure if your creature will be absolutely healthy during its life, especially if your pet is not purebred. However, some breeds of dogs and cats are prone to frequent or temporary diseases. For example, many sphinxes develop skin problems during puberty, and Yorkshire Terriers have a frequent patellar dislocation, urolithiasis, and other health troubles.

But even if you believe that your pet is completely healthy and never suffers from ailments, no one is immune from any other incidents. Below, we have provided several examples of when your pet may need medical treatment.

• Accidents. Our pets are active and can meet various accidents: they can get poisoned, get into traffic accidents, or swallow something. This applies not only to the most popular pets such as cats and dogs. If you are the owner of a parrot, rabbit, or other creature, you also may shoulder the burden of treating them.
• Damage caused by other pets and animals. Although we believe we know our pets thoroughly, their behavior is sometimes unpredictable. A regular walk can end up in a fight between your pet and another one. The damage can be great! This is especially true for dogs, but even cats and other creatures sometimes can be aggressive towards others. Therefore, it is so important to see about such events and protect your furry friend in advance.
• Damage caused by other people. Regrettably but not everyone holds affection for animals. If your pet is used to walking alone outdoors, then it is almost naked to threats by other people.
• Simple visits to vets. People periodically undergo preventive examinations, but our fur babies also need it! They require regular check-ups to prevent developing unwanted diseases as well. After all, it is much easier to check your four-legged friend once and make sure that it is healthy than to wait until it gets sick or ill.

The good news is that lately, people are increasingly beginning to take care of their pets more. Indeed, the pet insurance market has grown significantly over the previous years. Below, we have provided statistics on the pet insurance market share growth.

Therefore, take care of your four-legged family member and protect it from various dangers in our world. The warmth, affection, and good feelings that they give us are worth it to ensure your pet a long and healthy life.

How Can I Get Reimbursed for the Treatment?

There is nothing fancy about what you should do when your pet gets into difficulty and you expect to receive payments from your company. We should mention that if your pet is already sick, then you cannot purchase coverage. Therefore, an expert needs to examine your pet first to determine its condition.

So, when your creature needs medical attention, study what you need to do to get payments from your provider.

• Come to the veterinary hospital with your pet and get the necessary treatment or buy medications prescribed by your vet. Then, pay for all the services you applied or drugs you used.
• Submit all required documents to your company to review them.
• Wait for reimbursement.

Remember to always keep in mind what your coverage includes and whether your company will pay you for certain services. For example, some plans often do not include a medical examination which is also worth money. However, a veterinarian will definitely examine your pet before diagnosing and treating it.

Our advice here is this: if you can afford it, choose a plan that covers necessary preventive examinations. Anyway, it would be helpful to visit your vet from time to time and consult with him to prevent the development of diseases.

What Do I Need to Know before Purchasing Coverage?

Choosing a plan for your furry friend is not an easy task. Take your time and do not buy the first available or the cheapest cover – it may not suit you at all. Before you start looking for offers, you need to consider some factors.

1. What Medical Services Your Plan Includes. All plans are completely different. Most of them imply that the company will reimburse you for basic services such as the treatment of temporary/chronic diseases or injuries. However, as we have mentioned above, many plans also cover pet exams, neutering and castration, vaccinations, brushing teeth, and a few others. If you need these services, many companies offer to extend your coverage at an additional cost.
2. What Events Your Plan Considers to Be Covered. Not everything that happens to your pet is considered an insured event. For example, some plans allow the company to pay for treatment only caused by an incident. They include poisoning or getting injured due to a car accident. In all other cases, you will have to pay for the treatment independently. However, there are other coverage options. We will talk about them in the next part.
3. Whether Your Plan Has Payout Limits. In most cases, if you decide to purchase a plan, you will discover that they limit the reimbursement amount. Some of them have an annual-payout limit, others have limits for payouts throughout the pet’s life. Nevertheless, this does not apply to all plans, so you can also find a plan that does not have such a constraint.
4. How High Deductible Your Plan Offers. Undoubtedly, this aspect is one of the most important when choosing coverage. Remember that the higher your deductible is, the lower your premiums are. And vice versa.
5. Whether Your Plan Covers Pre-Existing Conditions. Just like plans for humans, plans for creatures do not imply the company will pay for medical conditions that existed before you purchased coverage. But this rule also has exceptions. If you cured the disease several months ago, you have a chance to receive payments if the disease recurs.
6. What Return You Should Expect. Of course, your company will not refund you 100% of the money you spend on treating your pet. Most providers are capped at 90%, 80%, or even 70%. Be sure to be aware of this so that you can always count on how much money you will have to spend and what amount you can expect from your company.

Which Coverage Should I Choose?

In the last part, we have already said that there are different types of coverage. Some of them include only injury-related events, but there are also more comprehensive plans. Let's figure out what you should consider and which solution suits you best.

We also consider it necessary to talk about the problems that pet owners face most often. Take a close look at the following data as it can help you decide which type of coverage is most likely to be useful to you.

Which Company Is Best for Me?

Having considered all the details of plans and coverage, it is time to move directly to choosing a company. We have selected several organizations for you that offer the most favorable terms and prices today. To begin with, we have provided you with a table that describes general information about each company, and then took a closer look at each company separately.

Pet Assure

PetFirst

GEICO

USAA

Embrace

What Determines the Coverage Cost?

Undoubtedly, which plan and coverage you choose will affect your cost. The more your coverage includes, the more you will pay each month. However, companies consider other factors that determine your premiums. The cost also depends on the following factors:

• Species. If we compare the most common pets – cats and dogs – then dogs require higher expenses.
• Breed. The weight and predisposition to certain diseases play an important role in determining the cost.
• Age. For puppies (up to 16 months old) and an elderly dog (over seven years old), fees are usually more expensive because they often require medical attention.
• Your location. Each state has its own specific rates. It may also depend on how many people live in your area.

What Should I Do if I Pay Too Much?

Yes, no one wants to pay extra out-of-pocket money. If you noticed your cost became very high or you just want to know how you can reduce your coverage costs, here are some tips to help you with this.

• Choose a plan with a high deductible. If you opted for a low deductible plan, reconsider your decision and go to a high deductible plan. The higher your deductible, the lower your premiums. However, this option is not suitable for owners whose pets have any chronic diseases. Here, constant visits to vets can force you to spend even more money than you expect.
• Choose a plan with a low reimbursement level. As in the previous example, how much your company pays you for a medical intervention determines your premiums. However, frequent medical care also will not save you money.
• Consider offers from other companies. Even though the breed, age, species of your furry friend is important for every company for setting the price, they all consider these factors differently. Therefore, another company may offer your pet a different price for their services.
• Pay for the entire year at once. Many providers offer to pay for the entire year at once. Accordingly, they provide quite interesting discounts for these people.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I buy coverage for my pet?

Of course, every owner wants his furry friend to be always healthy and not suffer from diseases or injuries. But, unfortunately, none of us and our pets are immune from infections, poisoning, or accidents. And if your creature gets into trouble, you can always be sure that you can pay for its treatment. Moreover, checking your pet regularly to prevent any disease can help avoid its development. In many cases, medical examinations are part of your insurance policy and are paid for by your provider.

Can my company refuse me if my pet often requires medical attention?

Some pets are prone to a wide variety of diseases. This entails high costs that your company needs to reimburse you. However, a good and reputable organization often provides coverage for your pet's life, so as long as your four-legged friend is alive and you are trying to help him get healthy, the company will support you with it.

Which company and which plan is the best?

It is impossible to accurately answer this question. Every state and every company considers your pet differently. Moreover, many providers have great offers for certain conditions and creatures. Therefore, you should explore the various offers and consider the factors that will affect the coverage cost. Also, study each company separately; take a closer look at its rating and reviews to be sure that you are going to turn to a reliable insurer.