No matter if they have furry tails that wag or they spend their days sunning on a heat stone, many of us treat our pets just like family. This means getting them the best possible care, including a pet health plan.
According to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, Americans spent roughly $10.1 billion for pet health care in 2007 ” a 40 percent increase from 2006. The insurance industry isn’t ignoring these numbers. Jack Stephens, founder of Pet’s Best Insurance, says that Americans spend roughly $250 million annually on pet insurance. That figure is expected to increase to $1 billion by 2011, he says. That makes pet insurance one of the fastest growing insurance lines.
Pet health insurance is a health insurance policy for your pet. This could be almost any animal, but most often is a dog or cat. Much like human insurance, you can choose a policy as simple or elaborate as you need.
Like any insurance, you don’t know when you’re going to need it. Unfortunately with animals, if they end up having surgery the costs can spiral so quickly. Equally, pedigree dogs are more prone to certain conditions.
The ASPCA has noticed a surge in the number of people contacting their office in recent months. Well meaning owners who simply can no longer afford the often routine health care that their pets require.
Pet insurance generally covers vet bills that arise from illnesses and injuries. Many plans also offer preventative care, and liability coverage in case your pet damages someones property or person.
These plans also cover micro chipping to help locate a lost pet and some will even cover the cost of advertising and rewards to help locate your lost pet. Some even offer travel reimbursement if a trip is cut short due to a pet related cancellation.
This makes it important not to shop on price alone. How would you feel denying your pet a life saving procedure knowing that it saved you $1 a month?
Pet health insurance is becoming more common every day. It’s a great feeling knowing that your pet will be taken care of no matter what sort of emergency comes up.
Making the life altering choice between euthanasia and an expensive medical treatment is never easy. According to Wallace Sife, who has counseled hundreds of guilt filled pet owners as founder of the Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement, “There is no right answer.”
There is no hard and fast advice on what to do when a pet needs sudden care. It does appear, however, that pet insurance is the financial cure, though it may end up making the emotional decision a little easier.
Hopefully, this article has helped you with the basics of this issue. It’s still important that you do some research when getting a plan so you know what will be covered and what it will cost. A simple search should yield a very wide range of insurance providers, and you can use their websites to compare the plans that will give you the best deal. Please don’t automatically go for the cheapest price; your first concern should be the well being of your pet. You ultimately want to be prepared to care for them should anything go wrong with their health.
Tags: pets, catcare, cats, ragdollcats
