Pet insurance What does Complementary Treatment mean?

Comments

1. Niki says:

   February 12, 2011 at 11:49 pm

   It means complementary treatments such as
   Acupuncture
   McTimoney Chiropractor treatment
   Homeopathy
   Herbs
   Massage
   Reiki or anything that involves a ‘natural’ course of treatment.
2. Jessie says:

   February 13, 2011 at 12:14 am

   Basically, it means treatment that is aimed at alleviating the symptoms of a health problem, rather than the health problem that created the symptoms. Complementary care is care that makes the dog feel better, but has not been scientifically proven to actually cure the health problem from which the animal is suffering. Sometimes ‘alternative’ treatments fall into this category because they do not have enough scientific research behind them yet to prove efficacy.

   If this were a human health insurance policy, it would refer to ‘complementary treatment’ as ‘palliative care’.

   ETA: Right, I wouldn’t know what insurance terms mean, having worked in insurance for 25 years. Love those Thumbs Downs from people who have no idea what the correct answer is.
3. MamaBas says:

   February 13, 2011 at 12:43 am

   I would suggest it’s things like homoeopathy, acupuncture, and the like. If you are at all confused, speak to the Insurance Company and ask. I would caution you that although obviously insurance is a good idea if you should hit on a huge bill during the life of your dog, Insurance Companies are not there to do anything other than make money. These days, they set their excesses, UK, around £50 – £75, and this means that as the vast majority of your vet bills will come in at a figure below this (which is why they set it at this level), you’ll end up paying the vet bill, plus the monthly premiums. Provided you buy a well-reared puppy, in normal terms your vet bills shouldn’t be huge over the life-time of the dog so my advice would be to keep your money in your own Bank Account as I have over the years. We were lucky enough to have a vet who allowed us to stage pay if we did hit an abnormally heavy month for vet treatment – if you build up a solid relationship with your vet, and pay their bills promptly, you should be able to do the same.

   Your decision, but for me, insurance isn’t on.

   ps Over the years, we’ve kept numbers which precluded our being able to insure them. However, now we are down to two only, I took a quote recently for my Whippet. I was shocked at the monthly fee expected – more like buying the company!!
4. marshy says:

   February 13, 2011 at 1:14 am

   ‘Complementary and alternative medicine’ is the name given to a broad group of health-related therapies and disciplines which are not considered to be part of mainstream medical care. They exist largely outside the institutions in which conventional healthcare is taught and provided. These medicines may be used in a ‘complementary’ or ‘alternative’ manner. In other words, they may be used alongside conventional healthcare and accepted as ‘complementing’ it, or they may be provided as an ‘alternative’ to conventional healthcare. The majority of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) follow the complementary approach and use these therapies in combination with conventional medicine.