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Pet Insurance Facts All Owners Must Know
Pets that seem healthy and outgoing can quickly come down with one of the many viruses and health disorders common to animals. Veterinarian bills are notoriously high and more than a few grieving owners have had to make the decision to put their dog or cat to sleep not because no treatment was available to save them, but because the owner simply could not afford it. Should you purchase insurance for your pet to avoid such a potentially tragic circumstance yourself? There are many facts about pet insurance that you should know but the most important may be that in the world of insurance, protecting your beloved animal is typically a more affordable due than protecting your own health, car or home.
If your dog is critically ill should be aware that many clinical trials and experimental treatments are available across the country and the cost of taking part in these medical treatments can be provided at very little cost to you. It is when the treatment isn't experimental, however, that the paradox of not being able to afford medical care rises. Medical treatments for dogs, cats and other pets tend to cost significantly less than what might be termed a comparable treatment for human illness. An even more significant fact about pet insurance and pet health care is that it is nothing like the unwieldy and confusing human insurance/health care alliance. For one thing, pet insurance is priced at a far more affordable rate for the average owner. While the actual cost to you will depend in great part on your individual pet, its age and medical conditions, typically you can expect to pay pet insurance premiums that run anywhere between $100 and $500 annually. For instance, if you have just acquired a puppy you can generally expect to pay between $25 and $35 per month. Although that may sound a bit steep to pay for protection against a new dog that appears to be the very image of health and fitness, that monthly premium arrives with a premium return that includes allowances and exemptions for office checkups, vaccinations, heartworm protection, lab testing and even in most cases dental care.
Pet insurance policies also tend to contain far less legalese and confusing language with the result that it is simple to determine exactly what kind of medical coverage your policy covers. Another striking difference between health insurance for your pet and your own health insurance under a standard HMO or PPO is that under most insurance plans you can walk into any veterinarian's office anywhere in town or even out of town and expect your coverage to be honored. This flexibility requires that you take the initiative in submitting the bill you receive from the vet to your insurance company with the understanding that your coverage will be remitted in the form of a reimbursement following your out-of-pocket payment.
That's the good news about paying for pet insurance to cover your animal's health. Now for the downside of pet insurance; some pet insurance carriers are available only specific states and your coverage cannot be carried over if you take your dog on vacation out of state and it comes down with a viral illness following the ingestion of contaminated foot or water. In other cases, pet insurance policies cover only illness and accident. You may discover that paying for routine care such as shots or birth control surgery comes directly from your own wallet. There is one thing that both human and pet insurance have in common, and that is the tendency to reject coverage for a pre-existing condition. In other words, once your dog has contracted a dangerous disease you will find it far more difficult, if not impossible, to get insurance that would have covered the same health problem with no questions asked had you applied when your dog was a puppy.
Despite these problems associated with pet insurance, the advantage of being able to afford medical procedures that can save your animal's life seems worth it. Even so, it has been estimated that less than 10% of all people who own pets in America actually have invested in pet insurance. As the popularity and affordability of pet insurance becomes more well-known, however, that number has consistently increased.