Authored by Jayant Row in Insurance, Pets
Published on 04-20-2009
A pet is quite often very much part of the family. So why not have health insurance for it just as you have for the other family members. Yes, you may not know it but it is possible to get health insurance for your pet and this policy would have the same kind of deductibles, co-pay and exceptions to what it would cover depending on the type of cover you opt for. You can cover routine vet visits and even kidney transplants if you wish. It is estimated that the volume of pet health insurance in the United States is about a 100 million dollars per year.
Pet insurance does not come cheap and has the same type of problems and restrictions that your own health insurance would have. Average spend on insurance over the life time of a pet could run into thousands of dollars and may sometimes exceed what you would normally spend on your pet during its stay with you. So the question is whether such pet health insurance is worth it?
It is up to you as a pet owner to see that your pet maintains good health and does not require frequent visits which could cost you money. Pets do not have bad habits like humans do and will not spoil their health by choice. A pet is after all completely dependent on you for its food and exercise and if you take proper care here, the chances are that the pet would live a healthy life and not require any health related interventions that could cost you money. See that the food that your pet eats is of the right quality and has healthy ingredients that are suitable for it. See that he has regular exercise and is able to run about freely even within the house. Give him lots of love and affections as pets are very sensitive to these things and will even starve themselves if they feel neglected.
One of the suggestions that are made in lieu of pet insurance is to open a separate savings account to take care of vet expenses and deposit money in it regularly. Use it exclusively for the pet and at the end of the pets’ lifetime you may find that you have substantial money left over for your own use, as pets if properly looked after really do not require the sort of medical intervention that humans do. Yes, when they grow old you may require to take them to the vet, but a good breed carefully looked after can be quite aloof from illnesses.
All the same if you are looking for pet health insurance there a number of types of policies that you can consider. A benefit schedule will only give you a fixed sum immaterial of what you actually spend. Some policies may cover up to 80 percent of the cost. Consider health insurance if you feel that any medical interventions that your pet may require would severely strain your finances. Insurance is after all just a guarantee that your pet could get treated as he should be when he needs it. And if you think your pet is a part of the family all expenses are worth it.
