Health Insurance for Pets may seem like a luxury expense to those who do not have pets. The question you may be asking is: Is Pet Insurance Worth It? Well, the answer to this question is "that depends".
Those who have a pet know that we can get pretty attached to our furry, feathery, slimy friends. It is hard to see our pets get sick or need medical attention for some reason or another and we want the best for them - just like we would for a member of the family. But when our pets do need some veterinary care, the bill can get pretty expensive. How does a petowner pay for the pet's healthcare - a pet insurance policy or out of pocket when health care is needed?
Pet Healthcare Insurance can be thought of just like a heathcare insurance policy that we humans buy for ourselves. There are annual premiums, co-pays, and deductibles. Pet Insurance can be used to pay for Veterinary routine office visits, sick care, emergency procedures and normal scheduled vaccinations among other reasons. Annual policies can range anywhere from $300 and up and are based on the health and age of the pet when the policy is purchased. Policy premiums will change as the pet ages and in some cases depending on the number and the nature of past claims.
Is Health Insurance For Pets Worth It?
This really is a hard question to answer as there is no right answer. It may boil down to just petowner preference. How attached is the petowner to their pet? Is the pet a show dog for example where there is a lot of money invested in the dog in training and travelling where there might be some additional health risks to the dog that it might not normally face? The petowner may just want some peace of mind knowing that their pet will be taken care of if and when they need veterinary medical attention.
If one analyzes the expense of a policy and having pet insurance for the life of the pet it may be worth it to keep the money that you would pay into a premium and save it yourself. This would take some discipline. According to a ConsumerReports.org article on whether or not pet insurance is worth it or not, pet owners would be better off saving their money themselves and only paying for veterinary visits as they are needed. See ConsumerReports.org article: Is Pet Insurance Worth The Price?
ConsumerReports listed several reasons why a pet owner may be better off not getting pet insurance and keeping their money in a savings account. One such reason is the Pet Insurance Policy fine print that spells out all of the deductibles, co-pays, unreimbursed costs, and policy exclusions. All of these items require the pet owner to ante up to pay the veterinary bill beyond what is not covered with their healthcare insurance policy.
Another cost consideration is looking at the expense of a pet insurance healthcare policy over time. A policy alone could cost in excess of $7,000 over the course of a pet's life. What happens when you add in the extra co-pay expenses etc? You can quickly have a pet health care expense over time that exceeds $10,000. Your pet could go many years without needing any care at all, yet if you have an insurance policy for your dog for example you could be paying every month for years without needing any veterinary medical assistance. The money spent on the policy could have been invested and drawn upon when the care was actually needed.
Pet Insurance May Not Be Just About Money
Psychologically speaking pet healthcare insurance may be a no brainer. It might not boil down to money at all. Petowners form a special bond with their pet and often think of their pet as a member of the family. As such, they want to ensure that the pet is cared for in the best possible way.
Even in the face of economic tough times some petowners would rather part with their money to guarantee that they have the best care in their minds for their pets. For other petowners, pet insurance could be one of the first non-essential expenses that gets dropped when budget trimming. Either way, as a pet owner you make the call as to whether pet insurance is worth it to you. Woof!
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