You might have
wondered why people have health insurance and most pets don't, when the
medical costs seem practically the same!
And yet,
navigating through
the underbrush of fine print involved in pet insurance may have put you
off. Is it worth the money? What do insurers really cover? And why do
some plans cost the moon while others seem much more affordable? We'll
try to clear a path through the paper jungle.
Tip #1:
Get Them in Young
Ideally,
you'll want to identify right pet
insurance plan for you, and get your pet in young while she's still
quite healthy. The reason is, should your pet develop a long-term
health issue such as a thyroid problem, she won't be eligible for many
programs, having a "pre-existing condition." If you stick with one
quality program, though, you'll probably be fine.
Tip #2:
You Get What You Pay For
This may
stick in the craw a bit, when you
start looking at insurance premiums. Some of them cost an awful lot! Be
sure to look ahead too, at estimated increases down the road. The older
your pet grows, the more the premiums will cost. They will get quite
stiff for an older pet, even a healthy one.
So why
should you pay out a mint for plan A,
when plan B offers coverage for half the price? The answer is: lack of
nasty surprises.
Let's
face it, no one but an insurance
adjuster can tell what the fine print means when it comes to covering
your pet. But we do know this: on the cheaper plans, unhappy things
happen. Let's give an example -- let's say you have two pugs, both
covered by an inexpensive plan. One sadly breaks his leg and needs
several surgeries, costing two thousand altogether.
You may
think your inexpensive plan -- which
happily, covers 2K of expenses -- will handle it all. But when you
submit your claim, you discover that 2K is the maximum coverage for
both dogs, and your pug is only eligible for half. Even worse, but very
common, is a lower limit per incident. In this case, Low Cost Pet Plan
will respond that it only covers $500 for this "incident," but if your
poor pug breaks his leg three more times this year, they'll be happy to
help.
Tip #3:
You Get What You Pay For
Yes, we
know we said that already -- but we
didn't say it enough.
Here's a
horror story that can happen on a
low-cost plan: you have an insurer. You pay your premiums. But one day,
your aging pet develops diabetes. That year, when it comes time to
renew the plan and update the premiums, your insurer sticks in an
exclusion. As of that moment, they no longer cover diabetes in your
pet. Yes, they can do that -- and you're out in the cold.
No less
common -- and no more pleasant -- is
the limited payout per condition problem. Your low-cost insurer may
cover the first three years of your diabetic pet's vet bills, but after
that, you've run through her lifetime allowance for diabetes. Now in
her golden years, all her medical costs come straight from your pocket.
What you
want is a reputable company that
agrees to insure your pet for life, period. No tricks, no last-minute
exclusions, no lifetime condition limits. But to have these things,
you'll need to pay for them.
Tip #4:
Follow the Wagging Tails
Pet
insurance costs too much to be throwing
darts in the dark. You need to know which plans will come through for
you down the road after you've paid their premiums for years. So do
your research -- look for good word of mouth. You can learn a lot with
some smart surfing and Googling.
Although
we haven't used either, we found
many satisfied buyers with PetPlan and Marks & Spencer. There
are other good plans as well, and plans that are best avoided. The tip
we like most is to ask your vet what she uses. Yes! -- many vets insure
their beloved animals, and are scrupulous in who they choose.
Tip #5:
Do You Even Need Insurance?
There's
an argument -- and it's a good one
-- that pet insurance really serves no purpose. You can see the force
of this line of thought when you check out the premiums of quality,
reliable plans -- they're high. So why should you pay out all that cash
for what *might* happen, instead of stashing it each month in your own
high-interest savings account and simply withdrawing what you need?
The
answer is simple: discipline. Some
people have the discipline to pay their premiums, but not to establish
a separate account they won't touch except for emergency pet expenses.
Other than discipline, there's probably no real reason why you
shouldn't self-insure.
With one
exception -- liability. Some plans
offer extra coverage if your dog injures someone and you get sued.
These aren't the kinds of things you can effectively save up for on
your own, so if you think it might be a problem, pet insurance might
truly be the route for you.
Tip #6:
One More For the Road
Is your
pet a prize purebred, with a
pedigree reaching back before William of Orange? Expect more vet costs
over its lifetime -- it's just a statistical fact. Perhaps this subtle
factor will help you decide whether you should self-insure or go for a
plan.
Peace of
Mind: Priceless
We're
animal lovers. And in the back of our
minds lurks the fear that Fido will someday come down with something we
can't afford to treat -- simultaneous renal failure and diabetes, for
example (to cite a sad chapter from my own pet annals). The peace of
mind in knowing you can afford to care for your furry companion, no
matter what the future brings, is profound. That's why insurance was
developed, and that's why pet insurance might be the right choice for
you.
About
The Author
Blake
Kritzberg is proprietor of Poodle-oo:
Fashion for Toy Dogs. Stop by for toy dog couture and home decor, free
toy dog postcards and the Toy Dog Blog.
http://www.poodle-oo.com/
Learn
more about pet insurance:
http://www.poodle-oo.com/pet-insurance.htm
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