Investing in Pet Insurance Now Could Save You $$$$ Later
Did you know that the monthly cost of pet insurance in most cases is less than what most people pay for their phone (cell or home/landline) + internet + cable monthly? The exceptions generally are elderly purebred pets with unlimited insurance coverage and low deductibles - these pets can cost more than our own health insurance premiums on a monthly basis, however, this is not always the case with every company, so you have to do your research. I was surprised to learn that some companies get around this by not even offering insurance coverage options for elderly pets beyond the age of 13 or 15 years of age. Companies such as Trupanion, Lemonade, Embrace, and Healthy Paws have an age limits around 14 years of age. Nationwide cuts the age limit down to 10 years of age for its Major Medical plan! There are many companies out there such as Spot, Lemonade, Trupanion, Embrace, Pumpkin, Healthy Paws, Pet's Best, Fetch by The Dodo, Figo, ASPCA Pet Health Insurance, Nationwide, MetLife, Allstate, Progressive, Wagmo, AKC, and Hartville to name a few. ***Phew***
It is always best to get pet insurance as soon as you get a new pet. Most companies will not cover puppies and kittens until they are at least 6-8 weeks of age. Most companies only cover dogs and cats and some companies charge more for purebred dogs and cats. Nationwide covers small mammals, birds, and reptiles in addition to cats and dogs. In addition to cats and dogs, ASPCA covers horses, but will NOT cover any horse related joint issues, procedures, or treatments whatsoever.
All pet insurance companies have a waiting period for both accidents/injuries and illnesses. This waiting period tends to be less for accidents/injuries and can be as short as 2 days (Lemonade, Embrace) or 5 days (Figo, Trupanion) or as long as 14/15 days (most commonly), 30 days (Trupanion's waiting period for illnesses is 30 days), or 180 days (Embrace has a 6 month waiting period for orthopedic issues without a veterinary orthopedic examination and AKC has a 6 month waiting period for cruciate ligament injuries). Accidents or injuries typically are classified as forms of trauma, whereas illnesses are considered to be acute or chronic disease states.
All pet insurance companies will require a documented veterinary examination within the first 1-2 weeks and will require not only that documentation, but also the previous year or 2-3 years worth of veterinary records to establish the pet's history and to look for pre-existing conditions. Pre-existing conditions are generally not covered by any pet insurance company, however, some companies will cover certain pre-existing disease states if they have resolved for a certain length of time. Some pet insurance companies will not cover congenital or hereditary conditions after a certain age even if the pet did not become symptomatic for the issue until after the insurance plan kicked in, however, ASPCA guarantees coverage in that scenario. Others will not cover certain breed specific conditions or predispositions.
Most pet insurance companies offer customizable plans as far as yearly policy limits, yearly deductibles, reimbursement percentage options (70-100%), and coverage types (preventative/wellness coverage, accident only, accident/injury coverage). I would personally recommend avoiding any policy that has a lifetime policy maximum for a certain disease, because as veterinary costs increase, it can be very easy to reach that maximum. I personally think it is more favorable to have a yearly policy or condition limit that resets each year than one that runs out for good.
All companies operate on a reimbursement principle meaning that they will reimburse the pet owner for all or a percentage of what they have paid their veterinarian after the deductible has been met and after non-covered items or categories have been excluded. Trupanion is the one company that will pay the veterinarian directly. The amount of time it can take to be reimbursed can vary, but it is still a very comforting thought to know that the money is coming. Having pet insurance minimizes or even eliminates the financial stress factor often present when having to make difficult decisions regarding how to proceed with a pet's medical care.
If you would like to hear more about this topic, please watch my YouTube video on this topic:
References:
Best Pet Insurance Companies of January 2023
Best Pet Insurance Companies Of January 2023
The Best Pet Insurance Companies For 2023
Best Pet Insurance Companies of January 2023
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