Do Your Really Need Pet Health Care Insurance?

You have a dog that you love very much, and you want to make sure that your pet gets the best of care. You have probably purchased a variety of different toys and treats and made sure that your pet has its own special bed in the corner of the house. So, now you’re wondering if you should take the next step and purchase pet health care insurance.

Many pet owners go into ownership without fully counting the cost that it takes over the years to keep a pet healthy. There are yearly vet visits, vaccinations, and extra trips to the vet when something goes wrong. These visits often run one hundred dollars on average, and can be even more expensive if there are emergency services, surgeries or other examinations that are outside of a regular visit. Often, pet owners are shocked at the sticker price of the visits and have to resort to putting the visit on a credit card to pay for it. This is especially the case when there is an accident or sudden illness where the pet owners have to decide whether they want to pay thousands of dollars to save their pets.

About Pet Heath Care Insurance
One option that is available today to help with these rising costs is pet health insurance. Pet insurance is provided by a number of different carriers today so that the pet owners have more of a variety to choose from so that they can find the one that fits their particular situation.

There are several things that you need to consider before you make a definite decision as to if you should really purchase pet health care insurance.

First of all, consider your monetary circumstances. Pet health care insurance can be expensive depending on the plan that you choose. You should search around for pet insurance as it can be very inexpensive, costing only about ten to fifteen dollars per month, or it can cost around one hundred dollars per month depending on the plan, the health of the animal, and its age.

The next thing that you need to consider is whether or not you own a pet that needs special medical treatments. For example, as pets get older, depending on their breed they might start exhibiting signs of various old age diseases such as hyperthyroidism. Some plans will charge extra for breeds of animals that have hereditary health problems such as hip dysplasia.

How old is your pet currently? There are some plans that will not cover pets that are over the age of nine since there are many health issues that come up as the pet gets older. If your pet is advanced in age and needs frequent medical treatments, how would the cost of the medical treatments compare to the price of pet health care insurance?

If you have a pet that is at least middle-aged and in good health, you probably do not need pet health care insurance. The pet will require yearly veterinarian checks, but the cost of that is far less than the cost of pet health care insurance.

Pure bred dogs are a consideration when it comes to pet health care insurance, especially if you decide to show the dog. The appearance of these dogs varies with their health, so it is very important that they have the proper insurance.

Also, if you have a dog that has done work in the movies, and if the dog gets sick it affects filming, it is also important that the dog has health insurance. The insurance will benefit you just as much as it will benefit the dog in this case.

So, the question remains: is pet health care insurance necessary? The answer really all has to do with how important you think it is. Remember, health insurance can be just as expensive as human insurance, and more so.

Pet insurance plans that cost the least amounts of money also provide the least amounts of coverage to the pet owners. Most of the time, these plans only offer minimum coverage, such as in the case of an accident or sudden illness. That way, the pet owners are covered when the very expensive emergency care bills come in. However, most of the pet insurance plans require that the pet owner pay for the cost of the visit up front and then file to obtain reimbursement for the cost. This still puts the pet owners in the position of trying to find a way to pay for the visit so that their pet can be taken care of.

If you want more information about pet health care insurance, you will probably be able to find pamphlets on it at your veterinarian’s office. There are some veterinary offices that offer health insurance plans through the office, such as Banfield, so that the pet owners only have to pay the co-pay up front rather than the entire cost and hope for reimbursement. You can also search the internet (be sure that the websites are reliable) for more information.