Pet Health Insurance
In the current economic condition we find ourselves, more of you have been asking us about pet health insurance. As your veterinary healthcare provider, we believe one of our roles is to educate you in all aspects of veterinary medicine. As a result, our staff has recently been researching and discussing the current options available in pet insurance. Personally, I feel pet insurance has its place for some of our clients, but don’t misconstrue this discussion as a blanket recommendation for everyone. Our goal in this article is to provide a good overview on the topic as well as offer several of the top pet insurance providers.
Current State of Veterinary Medicine
As most of you know, veterinary medicine today can offer many treatment options that were unheard of years ago. In Memphis, we have an MRI, CT scan, and chemotherapy available for our patients. There are veterinarians specializing in ophthalmology, surgery and dermatology, just to name a few. Of course, this elevated level of care comes with a higher cost. Add to this the fact that most clients view their dogs as members of the family and expect the best medical care available. When a serious illness does occur, owners are left having to decide what acceptable care is and how much they are willing to spend on their dog’s healthcare. This is where veterinary medicine finds itself today.
Pet Insurance Overview
Pet health insurance is indemnity insurance, not like your traditional personal medical insurance. This means the relationship is between the client and the insurance company, not the insurance company and the veterinary clinic. You, the client, pay the veterinary bill at the time of service just as before. Then you submit the claim and the insurance company reimburses you after the deductible or co-pay is met. The pet insurance companies, therefore, do not dictate to the veterinarian the diagnostic tests to be performed, the treatment options to use, or the length of hospital stay. Here are a few other key elements:
- Clients can visit any veterinarian, emergency facility, or specialist of their choice.
- Exclusions do exist depending on the policy and company regarding genetic diseases and more importantly pre-existing conditions.
- In general 80% of veterinary bills will be covered. Deductibles range from $50 to $125.
- Some policies have large annual or lifetime caps.
- Some companies offer multiple pet discounts.
- There may be a waiting period of several days to weeks before the policy goes into effect.
Suggestions When Considering Pet Insurance
- Start Early: Most people start looking for pet insurance when facing a serious and unexpected illness. This is like looking for car insurance after an accident. The younger and healthier a pet when you enroll the better.
- Avoid routine/Wellness Care Coverage: This coverage is for an annual exam and vaccination. For most policies this is additional coverage. Basically, all they are doing is creating a savings account for you to pay into monthly. In very few circumstances would I recommend this additional coverage.
- Try it for a year: You can always try pet insurance for a year and cancel it if you’re not happy with it.
Top Pet Insurance Providers
Here is a list of the top pet insurance providers based on our assessment. Please feel free to do your own investigation into these companies and others as well.
- VPI Pet Insurance - www.mypetinsurance.com
- PurinaCare Insurance - www.purinacare.com
- Pets Best Insurance - www.petsbest.com
- Pet Care Insurance - www.petcareinsurance.com
Conclusion
From our perspective, pet insurance is there to mitigate a healthcare crisis in which medical treatment might be more expensive than current family resources can bear. It helps you avoid the risk of unplanned costly veterinary care. For some, it may offer peace of mind knowing there is a financial backstop in an emergency. We suggest that all our clients assess their financial situation and consider their ability to meet unexpected expenses that may be incurred for veterinary care. Overall, our advice would be to consider it before the need ever arises.
The Staff of the Kelsey Canine Medical Center