Vet bills can add up to massive amounts over time. This can occur following accidents, ongoing medical care, diseases that require surgeries, and routine wellness visits. Also, chronic illnesses can require you to pay for the pet’s treatment and medication. Pet insurance operates like human health insurance, and it helps cover the medical cost. Since your pet is part of your family, they should also get a medical cover like any other family member.
How Much is Pet Insurance?
The average monthly pet insurance cost ranges from $20 to $35 for cats and $40 to $60 for dogs. It depends on the pet’s breed, species, pre-existing condition, and age. Also, your location of residence can be a factor of consideration in these insurance policies. Similarly, you can adjust your monthly premium by choosing the level of care you choose for your pet. Primarily, there are three tiers of coverage:
- Comprehensive coverage: this coverage includes diagnostic tests, lab fees, office visits, prescription to a basic plan, and X-rays.
- Basic coverage: this coverage includes illnesses and accidental injuries. However, it excludes cancer.
- Pet wellness care includes preventive care given to the pets, such as vaccinations.
Pet insurance greatly resembles human health insurance as it incorporates co-pays, caps, deductibles, and annual premiums. Generally, older animals will cost you more to cover, and cat insurance costs less than dogs. Taking an insurance cover is a good deal as it protects the pet’s health as well as your financials.
Although the coverage cost depends on the coverage you buy, the average cost for an illness or an accident for a dog amounts to about 595 dollars per year. On the other hand, the average cost cat owners will incur annually amounts to about 341 dollars. Cat’s coverage costs less as their care is typically less expensive compared to the dogs. Remember that some plans set annual limits per medical issue while others facilitate lifetime limits.
Types of Insurance Coverage
Per-incident deductible; this coverage is similar to s co-pay, requiring the pet owner to pay a specific amount for every claimed incident. It is after this payment that the cover kicks in.
Annual deductible; this entails plans that facilitate all the covered services after the pet owner hits the deductible.
Per-condition deductible; this coverage involves paying a specific amount for every new condition. The coverage states that one must pay the deductible for the coverage to work.
When deciding on the need to purchase pet insurance, you must consider whether there are any claims excluded and how the cover works. Also, determine the extra services essential to you, not forgetting the accident coverage.
What is Excluded in the Pet Insurance Premium?
Most pet insurance excludes covers for preventive and wellness vet check-ups. Nevertheless, they can cover illnesses, injuries, vet visits, and accidents related to the issues covered. Primarily, pet insurance covers will include;
- Emergency visits
- Hip dysplasia
- Surgery and hospitalization
- Breed-specific conditions
- Dental diseases, excluding cleaning
- Congenital and hereditary conditions
- Prescriptions and diagnosis tests
In conclusion, you should critically review a pet insurance plan to understand and determine if it aligns with your specifications. Not every plan will suit you as pets are different.
