Health care seems to be the topic of the season, if not the year. This week’s puppy diaries discusses similar issues for dogs.
I don’t have to tell you how expensive health care can be for a dog. A vet visit tend to run about $100 in my area, and as soon as you factor in routine vaccinations (or titers), flea treatments and routine labs, you can very quickly spend $500 or more a year.
And that’s only if nothing goes wrong. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never had one of those dogs.
Truth be told, I don’t have insurance on my dogs right now. I was denied coverage for an issue with Caffeine a few years and was very disappointed, since then we’re been banking what we’d pay in premiums instead. I’m not sure if this is a better option or not. I’m still on the fence.
What do you think?
For you who are disciplined about your savings (I know I’m not), stashing money aside for your pet’s veterinary care can be very helpful to help pay for routine/wellness care. However, your savings accounts are likely to come up short for the unexpected things like major illnesses or injuries.
Now pet insurance from anyone won’t cover any pre-existing conditions, but it should help for any new accidents or illness your pet may have. Being an employee of Pets Best Insurance, I can tell you that Pets Best guarantees coverage for all dogs and cats of all ages, even if they’ve had previous medical conditions. If your pet has a serious on-going pre-existing condition such as diabetes or Addison’s disease, Pets Best cannot issue full health coverage. However, we will provide accident only coverage to help with accidents, injuries, poisonings or in the event Caffeine swallows a sock.
So I think pet insurance is always a good idea, for younger and older pets and even those pets who may have had prior medical issues.
Great information! Thank you!
Although we don’t have it for our dog, I think it’s a great idea.
I’ve worked for several vets (including an emergency-only practice). It’s astounding how quickly costs can add up once a pet gets injured or ill.
Mary
I currently have Trupanion as pet insurance for my dog and I think it is pretty much amazing! I know there are some people who prefer to just put some money in a separate account but what I think is a good idea, is to do both! I think having pet insurance will greatly reduce the amount of money you would normally have to pay in full. As an example my insurance company pays 90% of the bill! Along with having pet insurance, storing money in a different bank account is nice because if I have a vet bill, I would have to pay it first and then get reimburse later when I fill out the claim form. Pet insurance is definitely the way to go.
My pet insurance policy was definitely worth the money when my jack russell trod on something (not sure what) and her paw needed an operation to check that whatever it was wasn’t still in their. That combined with the post-op aftercare resulted in quite a few costly visits to the vets.