Is Pet Insurance For You?

Pet insurance is perfect for owners who deeply love their pets and consider them part of their family, like children. It is not a good investment for owners who do not have a strong emotional tie to their pet. So if you are willing to spend sufficient money to keep you pets healthy and extend their life, pet insurance is for you.

Each year 1 in 3 cats and dogs will be become injured or fall ill and the average cost of an emergency visit to the vet will be about $650 (?300). As technologies improve, treatments are becoming more effective but more expensive. So if your beloved pet needs emergency medical treatment after an accident it could cost you hundreds if not thousands of dollars.

The most common reasons to visit a vet are:

• Bites
• Ear Infections
• Cuts / Lacerations
• Road Traffic Injuries
• Abscess
• Swallowing Foreign Objects
• A Growth
• Skin allergies
• Urinary tract infections
• Stomach Upsets

Pet insurance would cover all these common conditions and more, without costing you a fortune.

To see if it is for you, ask yourself how you would cope financially if the following situation happened in six months time. You pet is involved in a car accident and must be operated on immediately or they will die. The changes are very good after surgery that your pet will survive but the cost of saving your pet is around $5,000 (?2,400).

What do you do?

Can you easily pay this amount with no worries? Will you somehow find, borrow or beg for the money, so you can save your furry friend? Or will you do what the majority of pet owners do when faced with this decision; allow their pet to be put down? The problem most people have is they do no have access to large amount of money at short notice. They made be able to borrow or use credit, but with the large interest on these short-term loans can become another problem.

Let’s assume that you were smart enough to have brought pet insurance. You do not have the added stress of, where will I get the money? Instead of facing a $5,000 (?2,400) vet bill, you are only faced with a $100 (?50) excess payment.

Let consider another scenario that will show the benefits of pet insurance. You pet has a small lump growing near their right shoulder. You consider taking your pet to the vet but after thinking about the costs you decide to wait. A year later, the growth is a lot bigger and your pet is showing signs of discomforted. Finally you visit the vet and learn that you pet has advance stage of cancer. The treatment will be very expensive but since you waited so long the changes of a full recovery are only around 30%.

What would you do?

Let’s assume again, that you are a wise pet owner and have pet insurance. You happily visit the vet when required since you are concerned about your pet’s health not the cost. After some tests, the vet informs you that your pet has some cancerous growth. Since you caught the cancer in the early stages, there is high probability your pet will make a full recovery. The costs are insignificant thanks to the policy you purchased.

Pet insurance is designed to ease much of the financial risk and insecurity that caring for your pet can bring. Choosing the right insurance policy, enables you to keep your pets safe and healthy and leading a happy and active life. It is like any insurance is something that is better to have and not need, then need and not have.

Grant Copland is the owner of PetHealthCover.com

For more information, advice and help with choosing the correct Pet Insurance for your pet visit Pet Health Cover.

4 Reasons To Consider Purchasing Pet Insurance

Millions and millions of people in the US have some kind of pet. The majority over pet owners though, do not have pet insurance. We become very attached to our animals and they become like part of the family. We don’t hesitate to purchase insurance for our own health, our cars and homes, so it makes sense that we should consider insurance to protect our pets.

Pet insurance is an industry that has been overlooked and thought to be silly by some people, but if you’ve had to take your pet to the veterinarian lately, you realize that those trips can be very expensive! Vet costs have risen tremendously over the last decade and the need for pet insurance has grown to offset those high costs. About a year ago, one of my dogs was hit by a passing vehicle. $1200 later, I decided I should take a closer look at insurance for my dogs.

So other than rising costs, what are the main reasons you should consider pet insurance?

1) Accidents or serious illnesses can and do happen to your pets and always seemingly at the worst time. As the owner of several dogs and a cat, I can assure you that when you least expect it something can happen to one of your animals.

2) When an accident or illness does happen and you’re given an estimate of the cost to make your pet well again, the last thing you should have to deal with is the stress over the expense of saving your pet. I remember well, the vet telling me that it would cost “at least” $1000 to save my dog! This dog is a part of my family but in the back of my mind, (and I’m ashamed to say this), I still wondered if the cost was worth it? Especially when you know that even with the surgery and treatments, my dog could still die from complications. Fortunately it all turned out well and my dog is happy and healthy today.

3) The financial strain of making or keeping your pet well can be overwhelming. When my dog was injured, it came at a time when that was the last thing in the world I needed to happen! I had recently been laid off from my job and quite frankly we were “over-extended” on bills. I ended up borrowing part of the money from a friend to satisfy the vet bill.

4) When money is an issue, you’re more likely to give your pet the “bare minimum” with regards to care. When you have pet insurance, you can give your pet the care it deserves because cost is no longer a major concern.

Insurance can usually be purchased for anywhere from $20 to $40 per month so it’s very affordable, especially if you get hit with a huge vet bill. Various different coverage options are available so you can tailor the insurance to meet your specific needs. Some insurance providers even offer “multi-pet” discounts. Hopefully this article will make pet owners think twice about the usefulness of pet insurance.

Tom Simone is the owner of several pets. After one of his dogs was injured after being hit by a car, he learned the usefulness of pet insurance and created the website

http://www.doginsurancehome.com to help other pet owners understand the value of pet insurance.

Pet Health Insurance Explained

Pet health insurance is simple, affordable solution for those owners who love their pets but is concerned about the financial hardship of high-quality pet care. It brings peace of mind, protecting you and your beloved pet from the inevitable and the unexpected. It is still relatively new, and many pet owners are still unaware of their choices. By going though the components of a typical pet health insurance policy, you will know what to look for when selecting the right pet insurance policy for you.

The principal component and the number one reason for people insurance their pets, is to cover vet fees. The majority of pet insurance companies will quote the vet fees as an amount per incidents, illness or condition. The vet fees listing will be one for three types.

Type 1: Time & Fee Limit

This type of cover has a time limit over which the condition can be claimed (usually 12 months) and a maximum payout amount per condition. One the time limit or dollar amount has been reached the condition is no longer covered. This is commonly referred to as a “12 month policy”.

Type 2: Fee Limit but No Time Limit

This type of cover has a maximum limit on the amount paid per condition but no time limit. Therefore, you can claim on this condition for as long as it takes to reach the conditions limit.

Type 3: Fee Limit per Year

This type of cover has a maximum limit on the amount paid per condition per year. The amount is reset each year when the policy is renewed. This is commonly referred to as “cover for life policy”.

A pet health insurance policy can cover (sometimes as an option):

• Treatment of your pet for illness, accidents or disease
• Payment for accidental death
• Payment for death by illness
• Advertising and Reward if you pet gets lost or is stolen
• Third-party liability cover (usually dogs only)
• Pet boarding cost if you are in hospital for a length of time
• Holiday cancellation cover if you pet is lost, injured or ill while you are away
• Pet Travel cover
• Alternative Treatments
• Basic routine care
• Dental
• Telephone Helplines

A pet health insurance policy will not only vary in the level of cover offered but different companies have their own additions, conditions and exclusions. One needs to look at the pros and cons of a particular product offering carefully, and compare it with other pet health insurance products before deciding.

It is important when choosing pet health insurance to select a policy which matches your desired cover with your budget. The higher your level of cover, the more expensive the policy will become. The breed of your pet, the pet’s age and your location will affect the cost of your pet health insurance policy. Generally, cats insurance is cheaper than dogs. Policies are contracted and quoted on a yearly basis as a one off annual charge or spread over twelve months.

All pet insurance policies will include an excess. An excess is an amount you pay before the insurance company starts paying. The excess is used to keep the policy cost down and to stop people making small claims that take up time and money to process. Companies will charge an excess per claim as either a fixed amount or a percentage amount. You may elect to pay a higher excess to help reduce the cost of pet insurance.

Although pet health insurance may appear expensive a first, consider the cost of veterinarian treatment if you pet has a serious accident or illness. If you are the type of owner who considers their pet an essential part of the family, pet health insurance makes financial sense.

Grant Copland is the owner of PetHealthCover.com

For more information, advice and help with choosing the correct Pet Insurance for your pet visit Pet Health Cover.

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