Pet insurance is for those who want to provide their pet with the best possible medical care with the least worry about the associated costs. The way it works is very simple. After your visit to a clinic or veterinary hospital, you simply submit your invoice along with the insurance claim form. You will then be reimbursed according to your selected coverage.
This type of insurance has existed for more than ten years. Its main purpose is to help cover the costs of unpredictable accidents and illnesses that may occur during your pet's life. It is not uncommon to see a young dog in need of surgery after ingesting a stuffed toy. This case is considered an emergency and must be dealt with promptly. Unfortunately, the cost of such an emergency can reach hundreds of dollars for the diagnosis, treatment and care needed afterwards.
Remember that pet insurance works in the same way as your car insurance. Most types of pet insurance cover your pet’s medical problems that are "out of the ordinary". Similar to car insurance that does not cover your oil change or tire rotation, but will cover your vehicle’s repairs in case of an accident. Similarly, pet insurance applies to "out of the ordinary" care of your pet. On the other hand, there are insurance options that do cover vaccinations, preventive treatments and even teeth scaling. You can simply shop around for the insurance coverage that suits your needs as well as those of your dog.
It is important to know that the moment you choose to insure your dog, his pre-existing medical conditions will unfortunately not be covered. As an example, a dog with known allergy problems will not be covered for any issue falling under this condition. This means that the ideal time to insure your pet is as soon as possible so that it is covered from muzzle to tail.
Perhaps you’ve already had to pay a considerable amount of money after an unforeseen situation (accident or illness); in hindsight, you probably thought that insurance would have been convenient. You are probably more receptive to insuring your pet as you do your car, or in certain cases it may already be done.
Conversely, we see many animals with little or no health problems and owners who have never been faced with an unexpected bill at their veterinarian. It would be easy to believe that if nothing has happened in the past, that nothing will happen in the future, so why purchase insurance? Unfortunately, no one can predict the future and, after the fact, it is often too late to change your mind about insuring your dog.
Surveys were conducted with animal owners to find out how much they would be willing to spend to save their sick or injured animal. A large percentage of pet owners responded that they would be willing to spend "any amount" to save their pet. However, when they have to make this decision after receiving the cost of a diagnostic and treatment plan for their animal, it is no longer a hypothetical question in a survey, but the reality; and many have difficulty making the decision when faced with the costs involved.
Routine veterinary care, such as vaccines, annual consultations, and heartworm or tick prevention treatments are not covered by most pet insurance plans. The best advice we can give you for this kind of routine care is to plan an annual budget of about $350 for your dog. If these fees are already included in your monthly budget, about $30 a month for a dog, you will not get any surprises during your pet's annual visit at the vet.
We insure our cars, our houses, our goods ... why not our animals? Although this is a relatively recent service, we feel it is important to inform pet owners.
We are seeing more and more pet owners getting insurance for their pets because they understand the benefits of having financial protection to help them provide quality healthcare for them. Pet owners and veterinarians may benefit from receiving payments from a third party (the insurance company) to help pay for pet healthcare, but we are confident that the real winners will be pets themselves.
Don’t hesitate to contact our team for more information about pet insurance or visit our page on this subject.