To Insure or Not, That is the Question
By Lizz - Dec 16, 06 Well & Healthy
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Pet insurance is a daily topic of discussion for those of us in the veterinary field. To insure or not is a difficult question to answer for many pet owners. As a pet owner pondering this very question, here is exactly what you should do:
1. Get a caffinated beverage.
2. Find a cozy chair if you have a laptop. If you aren’t mobile with your computer, tilt the chair back or grab an ottoman, because you will be doing a bit of research.
3. Read Urbanhound.com’s guide to pet insurance thoroughly and ask yourself if this is enough information before going to the websites for the companies reviewed in the article.
4. Read this, this, and/or this.
5. Remind yourself that veterinary offices will want payment (most likely) when services are provided. Insurance should send a check after you have paid your bill.
6. Check out any or all of the following companies:
-ASPCA Pet Health Insurance or parent company, PetsHealth
-Pet Assure (Not a standard insurance plan, but more like a discount club)
-Veterinary Pet Insurance, aka VPI (A bonus for members of NYU’s Alumni Association: you are eligible for a 5% group discount)
-ShelterCare or parent company, PetCare Pet Insurance (For those thinking of adopting a new furry friend)
-Embrace Pet Insurance
- Pets Best Insurance
7. Now that the day is probably about half over if you followed all the previous steps, take a nap. Then you’ll be ready to get quotes.
8. Finally, let us know what you decided and how insurance is or isn’t working out for you!
(Image by IsolatedIguana from Flickr)
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Here’s my thought on pet insurance…
Pet insurance is great and I’ve done more research than I care to admit. Although, I didn’t have a reclining chair or whatever else Lizz feels is required I did review a few different plans while sitting in a plain little swivel chair.
I based the research from a puppy’s point of view because I was getting a puppy. Realizing there are normal puppy procedures such as puppy boosters and neutering, I wanted to find a plan that covered most of those expenses. The next step was to find the best emergency care plan, after all, that’s a main point of insurance. Having a puppy..everything is unexpected but a couple of examples, a broken leg or swallowing chap stick.
Adding in the monthly fees, the deductible and the remaining out of pocket percentage, my plan broke even and therefore was more than worth it. If any of those unexpected issues are factored in (which, unfortunately they were) the plan is necessary.
Every plan is really different…some cover medications or dentistry but limit the amount spent on major emergency procedures so the research is critical to finding the best plan while realizing that veterinary fees aren’t decreasing any time soon.
Hi, I think pet insurance is a must. if we hadn’t had our cat insured i dread to think how we would have coped. She had to have her ear removed last year and the final bill was around £1000. We only had to pay about £150 ourselves, thank goodness for the insurance.