Is Pet Insurance Worth It In 2021? (Plus Rates & Tips)
Well, keep reading:
In this post today I am going to explain to you why pet insurance is worth it, how to get out of the procrastination of purchasing it, and where you can get some affordable pet insurance quotes.
“In Plain English” – Pet insurance is health insurance for your pet.
Pet insurance functions just like insurance for a human and has several of the same features like:
Monthly Premiums
This is going to be the monthly premiums that you pay for your pet’s policy.
The average monthly premium for a pet insurance policy is between $30 to $50 per month, and as long as you pay your premiums, your pet’s insurance policy will stay in force.
Deductibles
Deductibles are amounts that you are responsible for before the insurance company will assist with paying your pet’s health insurance bills.
Deductibles usually must be paid on an annual basis and come in several options of $50, $100, $200, $250, $500, or $1,000.
The lower the deductible, the higher the monthly premium will be and the higher the deductible, the lower the monthly premium will be, just like with your health insurance.
Co-Payments
Your pet’s co-payments work the same as yours, there may be specific co-payments for visiting a vet or for a well visit that must be paid before the insurance company will cover any additional expenses.
Co-Insurance or Reimbursements
The pet health insurance industry uses the word Reimbursements instead of Co-Insurance when it comes to how the insurance company will pay for your pet’s health care.
Reimbursements come in options like 90%, 80%, 70%, and 60%.
The way it works is that the insurance company will be responsible for the reimbursement option you choose and you will be accountable for the difference.
For example:
If you have 80% reimbursement, have already paid your annual deductible, and your pet has a foreign object in their intestine, and the bill comes out to $1,967.
You would only pay 20% of the bill which would be $393.40, the rest would be covered by the insurance company.
Claims
Depending on the insurance company your pet is covered with, you might have to pay the full amount of the bill up front and file a claim with the insurance company, who will, in turn, send you back the reimbursement amount.
However, most insurance companies are set up to where they pay the vet directly, and you are only responsible for your percent of reimbursement or co-insurance.
If you are still thinking, should I get pet insurance, then you probably want to know what it actually covers.
Below is a list of things that are covered:
As you can see this is a substantial list of coverage and those are just the basics. There’s a useful blog on whether pet insurance covers pet dental here.
Some policies actually cover preventative services as well.
Keep in mind that there isn’t any pet insurance company that will cover pre-existing conditions.
According to the Veterinary Pet Insurance Company (VPI) below is a list of the most expensive procedures:
According to Smartasset.com, the average money in a savings account by age is:
This means that it only takes a few emergencies to wipe out most of our savings and with the average cost of pet care constantly on the rise, having some free money or using all of our savings doesn’t make sense.
Just like with any type of insurance it is always easy to say that you can only save the money and pay it.
A recent survey by the Associated Press found that 41% of pet owners are extremely or somewhat worried they could not afford the medical bills for a sick cat or dog.
In general, we aren’t the best savers.
Pets Get Sick Too
Just like anyone, pets can get sick and just like with ourselves, some things just can’t be left alone for time to cure.
According to AVMA.org veterinary expenditures for all pets increased to $28 Billion in 2011, so I can’t imagine how much that amount is today.
Pets play very hard as well which can cause all sorts of unexpected accidents and lets not even get into how many car accidents happen every year that involves a dog.
If you care about the health of your pet, what do you do if you can’t afford to get them help?
No one wants to euthanize their pet because they couldn’t afford to give them the health treatment that they needed but this is happening daily across the U.S.
The Insurance Isn’t For You
As I tell all of my customers, “You aren’t buying pet insurance for yourself, you are buying it for your pet.”
We seem to think that this insurance is for us and we are entirely wrong.
You aren’t getting the coverage to make yourself happy, it’s for your pet’s well being, and if you really consider yourself a “Pet Parent,” then isn’t it irresponsible not to have pet insurance?
So:
To answer the question, is pet insurance worth it?
I say 100% without a doubt yes, just think about all of the things we spend money on during a monthly basis.
It won’t hurt us to spend a little for a lot of peace of mind.
The best way to get pet insurance coverage is to purchase it online by clicking here or by checking our a few of our reviews.
We did a Healthy Paws Insurance Review and a Pets Best Insurance Review and we think both are great options for purchasing your pet insurance.
With all of the options that are available online today there really is no excuse to why you are procrastinating.
Be the best pet parent and get your pet covered today.
