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Pet Insurance
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Fetching Insurance for Fido The Wall Street Journal Does your PET need Insurance too? In an age where Americans consider their pets nearly as precious as children, the pet insurance industry is expanding fast. Veterinary costs are rising. About 400,000 pets are now insured in the U.S. Sure, insurance will cover Boomer's ultrasonic body scan, his ear infection and his chemotherapy if he gets sick. These kinds of treatments would cost a pet owner thousands of dollars. But, before plunging ahead with pet insurance, it's best to read up first to make sure it makes sense for you and your pet. "More Than Money" The few companies that sell pet insurance in the U.S. say it helps pet owners relieve the rising cost of veterinary costs without having to make the painstaking choice between high medical bills and caring for their pet. "Most pet owners treat their pets like loved ones and want the best for them," says Jim Wilson, founder of Priority Veterinary Management Consultants, based in Yardley, Pennsylvania. "It's about a lot more than just money." For a monthly premium -- usually between $10.00 and $50.00, depending upon the age and type of the pet -- owners can get policies that cover routine vet care, minor and major ailments, and even emergency care. Some insurers cover only domestic cats and dogs, while others cover all sorts of pets, including reptiles, rodents, birds and potbellied pigs. The insurance often requires the pet owners to pay a $50.00 to $100.00 deductible for the procedures and sometimes a small percentage of the overall costs. Pre-existing conditions are typically not covered, and many plans have exclusions as heredity ailments. At Veterinary Pet Insurance, the largest insurer in the U.S. with more than 75% of the market, policy holders on average, file 1.5 claims a year, according to Jack Stephens, Chief Executive. The average claim is about $300.00 he says. Obviously, if your pet doesn't ever get seriously ill, insurance won't pay off. Owners would be better putting the money in a savings fund for pet costs. That way, if the pet stays healthy, you don't spend the money on insurance. It Might Not Pay The July issue of Consumer Reports compared five popular pet insurance plans. The report found that if a hypothetical dog's owner in Oakland, CA, filed nine claims over 11 years for common ailments, such as a broken leg and ear infections, the owners would always end up paying more through insurance than if they just paid the veterinarian directly --- sometimes more than $3,000.00 more. When the same dog had major ailments over 11 years, such as hip replacements, only three of the five plans left the owner better off than paying directly. Still, on the slim chance a pet does get seriously sick with an illness such as cancer -- which can cost more than $5,000.00 to treat -- insurance could save thousands of dollars experts say.
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