I recently read a piece of advice to pet owners that really annoyed me, basically the author suggested that pet insurance was a waste of money and pet owners would be better off putting the money in a savings account to cover any unexpected vets bills. The argument went along the lines that over the average 10 year lifespan of a dog, the owner was statistically unlikely to recover the ?2200 in estimated premiums.
No way you, you don't say what a genius! Pet insurance is just like any other insurance, its money you pay for piece of mind, just incase something goes wrong. Most of us have household insurance, or contents insurance, so we know that we will have enough money to cover costs, in the statistically unlikely event of the worst happening. There is no way I would expect to claim all of the ?40,000s or so I expect to pay in premiums on my home and its contents during my lifetime. I accept that in return for knowing should I be unlucky enough to have a flood or be burgled I will be able to replace damaged or stolen items; in return the insurance company is allowed to make a profit.
Let's say I applied the advice to my home insurance and rather that taking out a policy I put the money away in a savings account. If I was lucky and the next 10 years were uneventful in say ten years I would have a tidy nest egg, which would cover most but not all eventualities. However if I was unfortunate and after only a few months my bathroom flooded, (as recently happened), I would not have saved enough to cover the cost of repairs or damaged possessions.
The same principle is true with Pet Insurance, if I chose to put the money away in a bank account I could be lucky and never need to touch the money until my pet dies. On the other hand I believe that with my luck, after only a few weeks my dog or cat are more likely to contract an illness, that is only treatable by the most expensive drugs known to the veterinary world. In this hypothetical case, by this time I would have saved just enough money to say ?Hello? to the vet.
I guess that a good way to make a decision about pet insurance is to decide what type of pet owner you are. I think for the sake of argument we should create two broad categories of Pet Owners.
The first type we can call the ?I'll do anything for my Pet, whatever the cost Clan?.
The second we'll name ?I do whatever is reasonable, but if the cost's start mounting it's just a Dog or Cat people?.
I don't intend to pass comment on the rights or wrongs of either attitude, both types of people would consider themselves responsible pet owners and who am I to disagree.
But I do suggest that you might want to decide which of the two descriptions most closely describes you, before making a decision whether or not to take out pet insurance.
If you think that you are closer to former than the latter, then I would strongly advice you to take out Pet Insurance.
If you feel your attitude is closer to the latter, then hey live a little Insurance is for wimps!
The treatments that are available now days for pets match those available for human beings. As a result, many ailments which were earlier never detected and consequently diagnosed are very easily identified and cured. This indeed is good news. But all upsides have a downside too. The cost of veterinary treatment has skyrocketed, and if you would go to any length to keep your pet healthy, go for a pet insurance as early as possible.
As is the case when you are taking out an insurance policy for yourself or your family, you must also be aware of certain fundamentals when you buy a policy for your pet.
The first and foremost point which you should enquire is how long the pet insurance company has been around? Needless to say, the longer a company is in the market the greater would be its experience and reliability.
Does the company have a substantial list of satisfied policy holders? In these age of various powerful search engines, you will always be able to locate a policy holders forum or at least blogs which will provide with all shades of opinions. You can make your judgment and draw conclusions at your own leisure.
The next point to ponder on is the financial security of the insurance company. To put it in plain terms, would it be able to shoulder the financial burden if the need arises, or would it try to escape the responsibility under the cover of unintelligible technical jargon?
Does the company have a countrywide coverage? This becomes a big issue if your job is such that you are constantly on the move shifting base from one state to another very frequently.
Usually all pet insurance companies have a list of recommended veterinarians. But some of them insist that they would entertain a claim only and only if it has been certified by a pet doctor on their list. This may prove to be a very big bother. So, find out whether the company accepts bills from any licensed veterinary doctor or not.
Also take the trouble to enquire whether the insurance company will reimburse you of the expenses you might have incurred when you visited a specia9list with your ailing pet.
The last but very important point to verify is whether the policy covers the cost of treatment if your pet contracts cancer. This is a crunch point, because the cancer treatment of a pet is almost as costly as that human patient.
Both Terry King & James Kermitson are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Terry King has sinced written about articles on various topics from Pet Insurance, Puppies Dogs and Pets. Terry King runs , a leading UK web site and has had pets al. Terry King's top article generates over 12100 views. to your Favourites.
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