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In exchange for a regular premium, pet insurance pays a portion of your vet bills when your cat or dog is sick or gets in an accident. Typically, you pay the vet bill and the insurance company reimburses you an amount that is set out in your policy.

Pet insurance is in many respects like our own health insurance with deductibles, maximums, and copays and the portion paid to you is determined by these limits and the stated conditions that are covered. Pet insurance does not necessarily cover all treatments your cat or dog might get, such as routine care or transplants, so make sure you ask a lot of questions before you buy.

Under many insurance plans, you can visit any vet you like in the US, which is good news. Even though pets come and go in our lives, we often stay with the same vet over many years.

Vet bills are much more expensive than many pet lovers think. In fact, vet bills have been growing at a rate twice as fast as that of our pay checks, so that pet health costs are now a bigger chunk of our take-home pay than ever before. Why is that? Part of the reason for this is that vets can help cats and dogs in ways they simply couldn't before. For example, if your dog developed cancer ten years ago, your only option was to operate and hope for the best or have your dog put down when she became too sick. Nowadays there are new options such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy that carry reasonable chances of success.

In addition, the cost of veterinary drugs is increasing rapidly with human drugs now being used for animals. The downside to all these new drugs or procedures is that they cost a lot causing us to face the life-or-money decision more often.

Pet insurance is not for everyone. Consider this: What would you do if you were faced with the choice of paying an unexpected, expensive vet bill or putting your dog or cat down? Some people would just put the dog down and pet insurance would probably not be a benefit but what would a spouse and/or kids think about that option? If you are like many pet lovers though, you will do whatever it takes to make your pet well or comfortable, even to the point of financial difficulty.

Here is a summary of the key questions you should ask any potential insurance company:

1. What are the deductibles, copays, and maximums and how are they calculated?
2. Will my premiums increase based on the pet’s age or with veterinary care inflation. What can I expect them to look like as my pet ages.
3. Are there exclusions based on breed or hereditary conditions.
4. For illnesses or accidents my pet has had previously, will he be covered going forward or not?
5. If my pet gets any new conditions while I have this insurance, will she be covered by the insurance for the remainder of her life?

As you might expect with a product like this, you cannot decide on price alone so get yourself armed with good information so you can get the insurance policy that is best for you and your pet.

Pet Health News