Know the facts before investing in pet insurance.
Veterinarian bills—expected or not—are never easy to handle. Pet insurance can potentially limit the financial burden, but it’s important to know the benefits and pitfalls of this investment.
Dr. Rachel Luoma is a veterinarian with Atlanta-based Paws Whiskers & Claws who previously worked as a field veterinarian for Nationwide Pet Insurance. She says the ideal candidates for health insurance are cats younger than 7 and dogs younger than 2. “It is not wrong to sign up an older pet, but pre-existing conditions might not be covered, and coverage might be more limited,” she says.
People with multiple cats and/ or dogs may benefit from investing in pet insurance more than those with only one. “Vet costs can add up quickly, and the more pets you have, the higher the costs can go,” says Luoma. “Plus, many pet health insurance companies offer multipet discounts that can help make the premiums more affordable.”
Potential Downsides
As with health insurance for humans, pet insurance comes with monthly premiums and a deductible that needs to be met before the insurance kicks in. If your cat or dog is healthy and not prone to accidents, you may be paying monthly premiums for pet insurance you will never use. Payment for vet visits is required up front, then the claim must be accepted and the deductible factored in before pet owners are reimbursed.
Pet insurance does not cover pre-existing conditions, so once your cat or dog develops a chronic condition, it is often too late to insure against in it. Pre-existing conditions can be classified as temporary or permanent/chronic, and it is important to know the difference.
It’s also important to understand your pet insurance policy and what chronic conditions it does or does not cover. “For example, the cost of take-home medications might be covered with some, whereas others might require an add-on to the basic policy to include those,” Luoma says.
Useful Advantages
The major pros of investing in pet insurance is that it provides financial assistance to cover the rising cost of vet care and enables pet owners to make better care decisions since they are not as concerned about the cost of that care.
Pet insurance allows owners to visit any vet; there is no need for the doctor to be part of a particular network. Plans can also be customized to meet the pet’s needs. Some cover accidents only, some cover both accidents and illnesses, and some routine wellness such as vaccines and heartworm tests.
Diving Deeper
Many pet health insurance companies offer customization, like setting your own deductible, the percent of the reimbursement and the annual maximum.
Luoma says most pet insurance policies reset annually, which means if your pet is diagnosed with heart disease on an echocardiogram, recheck heart ultrasounds would likely be covered. But this is subject to your policy’s annual reset, deductible and reimbursement limits.
Sandy Springs resident Lauren Erin Lopez has had pet insurance for her two cats, Taylor and Flynn, for a year. Taylor’s feline asthma was deemed pre-existing since her vet had already diagnosed it prior to Lopez’s purchasing insurance. But Flynn needs a biopsy, which will be covered under the policy. “It will save me $200-plus after a pre-certification for Flynn’s biopsy; otherwise, it would have been $500 without reimbursement,” says Lopez. “Overall, I really appreciate having health insurance for my cats.”
PAWS WHISKERS & CLAWS
770.579.6001
pawswhiskersandclaws.com
