Pet Health Insurance
If your pet has been to the vet lately you are certainly aware that the cost of pet health care just like personal health care is rising. More and more pet owners are now considering pet health insurance to help off set the cost of caring for their dog or cat.
With a little Google searching I came up with several different companies that are currently offering pet health insurance and I was able to easily get a quote from several of their web sites. This article is not intended as an endorsement of health insurance for your pet or of any particular plan but simply to give you an idea of what is available. With a basic search on the Internet you can get a lot of information on pet health insurance and companies that provide the coverage.
I got quotes for one of our dogs, a 5 yr old Corgis starting at about $9 per month for accident only coverage (if paid annually) to $75 per month for the top of the line all the bells a whistles coverage. Following is a brief overview of the plans that I looked at.
Pets Health Care Plan
PetsHealth Care is a plan that is underwritten by Hartville Group, Inc. out of Canton, OH (they also underwrite ASPCA Pet Health Insurance, Healthy Bark and Purr). There plans offer reimbursement for 80% of covered allowable veterinary charges, after your $100 annual deductible is met. They are currently listing five plans on their site:
Accident Only Pet Insurance Plan - Covers accidents such as poison ingestion, lacerations, bone fractures, burns, insect bites and bee stings, falls, and motor vehicle accidents.
Basic Pet Insurance Plan - Covers treatment and medication for illness and injury.
Value Pet Insurance Plan - Covers treatment and medication for illness, injury, and basic wellness care.
Choice Pet Insurance Plan - Covers illness and injury along with deluxe wellness care.
Best Pet Insurance Plan - Provides coverage for illness and injury along with basic wellness care. In addition, it allows for continuous coverage for chronic and long-term conditions that occur during a previous plan term.
According to their site these plans range in price from $.25 to $2.24 a day and as with all insurance plans there are exclusions that you should be aware of. Please check their web site for more details.
Pet Care
Pet Care is a subsidiary of Pethealth Inc. out of Oakville, Ontario. Their plans are underwritten by Praetorian Financial Group which is located in New York. There plans offer different reimbursement levels on covered allowable veterinary charges ranging from 70% to 100%, as well as different deductibles from $50 to $200, depending on the plan. They list the following plans on their site:
Gold - With varying levels of coverage QuickCare Gold is the ideal program for those who want the finest possible protection for their dog.
Complete - offers your pet the most extensive accident and illness coverage with the additional benefit
of an annual wellness plan.
Optimum - similar to complete but with lesser coverage’s.
QuickCare - provides coverage for an unlimited number of selected accidents, up to $2,000 per accident.
Senior - provides coverage for an unlimited number of accidents and coverage for illnesses common to senior pets such as stroke, seizures, cancer and heart problems.
They also offer an Emergency Care program for microchipped pets and Tenant Care program for people living in rentals which covers third party damage. Please check their web site for more details on the coverage’s as well as the exclusions.
AKC Pet Healthcare Plan
The AKC Pet Healthcare Plan is underwritten by Markel Insurance Company which is head quartered in Glen Allen, VA. Their plans also offer different reimbursement levels on covered allowable veterinary charges ranging from 80% to 90%, as well as different deductibles from $75 to $125, the deductible can be a per incident or annual depending on the plan. They list the following plans on their site:
Accident Plus - accidents coverage only.
$8,000 maximum coverage, $2000 per incident, $75 deductible per incident, covers 90% of allowable veterinary charges
Essential - coverage for accidents and illness.
$11,000 maximum coverage, $1500 per incident, $125 deductible per incident, covers 90% of allowable veterinary charges
Essential Plus - coverage for accidents and illness, with higher per incident and an annual deductible.
$11,000 maximum coverage, $3000 per incident, $125 deductible per incident, covers 90% of allowable veterinary charges
Wellness - coverage for accidents, illness and wellness care.
$13,000 maximum coverage, $5000 per incident, $125 annual deductible, covers 80% of allowable veterinary charges
Wellness Plus - coverage for accidents, illness and wellness care, with the addition of spay/neuter procedures.
$13,000 maximum coverage, $5000 per incident, $125 annual deductible, covers 80% of allowable veterinary charges
The AKC site did not make the prices of the plans available on the site that I could see. They do offer a free quote that would be emailed to you and a 60 day trial plan with limited benefits for approximately $16 per mo. Please check their web site for more details on the coverage’s as well as the exclusions.
Is health coverage right for you and your pet? Only you can know for sure. Sure there is the additional cost that comes with having coverage, but if a large vet bill is ever incurred it would certainly be nice to have the coverage. I’ll leave that up to you to decide what best fits your situation.
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I just wanted to reiterate the importance of making sure to read the fine print. While many companies seem to advertise that they cover “90% of the vet bill”, they only actually cover about 50%. Make sure that the company pays for your vet’s prices, as opposed to prices they seem “reasonable”. One such company that I’ve found and done a little research on (great customer service, btw) is called Trupanion. However, if you have an older pet this isn’t the company for you, as they will only enroll puppies and kittens. It seems to make sense, as many “pre-existing” and congenital and hereditary conditions do exist but most companies do not cover them, so enrolling a dog or cat while they’re young and healthy would get rid of the pre-existing conditions problem. I found that this company will even cover these “hereditary and congenital” conditions - also anothe important factor to consider when shopping around.
I would suggest visiting http://www.petinsurancereview.com. This Trupanion company is pretty new so they’re not yet rated, but I was told that they are a spinoff of Canada’s Vetinsurance (which actually had a great rating). Anyway, do your homework so you’re not burned later!!
I did some research before we got our puppy from the local shelter. Decided on a new company, Trupanion(www.trupanion.com). They specialize in lifetime coverage for puppies and kittens 8 weeks to 1 year old. They cover all accidents, illnesses, surgeries, diagnostics and meds. Also cover hereditary and congenital diseases. Exculsions are pre-existing conditions and wellness/preventive care. Get $20K for the life of our pet and no deductible. Premiums won’t change b/c of pets age or claims history. You can get an accurate quote right on their site, without having to give them your e-mail address or second born child:) We had budgeted for the wellness, so it was a great deal for our pup, since he had no previous illnesses.
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