Pet Insurance

Pet Insurance

As the standard of care in veterinary medicine improves, so does the cost of veterinary care. Statistically, it is also likely that your pet will have at least one major medical incident in its lifetime, such as GI foreign body surgery, ACL tear, illness requiring hospitalization, etc. These types of events could easily cost thousands of dollars in veterinary care. It is also very likely that your pet will be treated for more “simple” medical issues that can still be costly, such as ear or skin infections, episodes of diarrhea, chronic illnesses, etc. Because of this, it is our recommendation that our clients look into pet insurance so that they can be financially prepared for any health event that affects their pets.

There are many reasonably priced insurance options available to pet owners. Health insurance allows the pet owner to pay a low monthly premium. In return, the pet owner is offered coverage in the form of reimbursement for non-routine veterinary care. Some carriers also offer plans that cover routine care (i.e., vaccinations, spay/neuter surgery, parasite prevention, etc.).

One of the key points to getting the most affordable premium rate is when you sign up for pet health insurance. Generally speaking, the younger and healthier your pet is, the better. Age, pre-existing conditions, and breed all play significant roles in determining the monthly premium.

At Upper Charles Animal Hospital, we recommend that clients look into the insurance options for their pets. While we are not partial to any one carrier, below are a few recommendations from carriers we’ve heard great things about:

• Trupanion (www.trupanion.com)
• Nationwide (www.petinsurance.com)
• ASPCA (www.aspcapetinsurance.com)
• Embrace (www.embracepetinsurance.com)

Make sure you do your research, paying particular attention to premium costs, percentage reimbursed, and conditions that qualify for reimbursement (i.e., sick only versus routine and sick visits/treatments).