Deciding if you should buy pet insurance is a decision some pet owners struggle with. Should you buy pet insurance for your pet or just plan to pay out of your pocket and hope for the best. Here are some things to consider before deciding whether or not you should buy pet insurance for your pet.
The cost of pet care has skyrocketed over the past few years. There are several reasons for this. First, there are now procedures available to save a dog's or cat's life that just didn't exist until a few years ago. For example, vets can now treat dog or cat brain and intestinal cancer, as well as other conditions such as renal failure and bladder stones. These new procedures are expensive and can cost from $1,000 to $5,000.
The second factor that has worked to inflate the cost of pet health care are the advanced screening techniques now available. For example, your vet might give your pet an MRI exam just as part of its annual physical. Advanced techniques like this are not only costly, they can detect problems that until recently would have gone undiagnosed and untreated.
How Important Is Your Pet To You?
Another important part of the pet care equation is how we feel about our pets. If you're like many pet owners, your dog or cat is a valued member of the family.
What would you do if that dog or cat you love so much had an accident or illness and you found yourself faced with a vet bill of $2,000? Would you have that much loved family member put to sleep? Could you pay cash for the treatment? Would you be willing to go in debt and put the $2,000 vet bill on your credit card?
What Does It Cost To Buy Pet Insurance?
There is another alternative, which is to buy pet insurance that could cover all or most of that $2,000 vet billPet insurance typically costs between $20 to $40 a month, depending on the dog's or cat's breed and age. It will also depend on the policy's limits and deductibles.
Here are several examples of pet insurance policies for a dog.
| Company | Dog | Monthly Premium | Details |
| VPI (Veterinary Pet Insurance) | 5 year old Australian Shepherd | $27.42 (Basic Plan) | |
| PetCare Pet Insurance | 5 year old Australian Shepherd | $28.95 (Quikcare Gold 70%) | 70% reimbursement of each covered claim up to the policy limits; $100 per incident deductible |
| Embrace Pet Insurance | 5 year old Australian Shepherd | $23.74 (Budget) | Annual Maximum: $5,000Annual Deductible: $500 Per Visit Co-pay: 20% |
Should You Pay For Wellness Care?
One option offered to you when you buy pet insurance is wellness care. It goes by various names but they generally cover the same things, annual exams, flea and/or heartworm prevention and vaccinations. For example, Pets Best Insurance offers a standard routine care plan for dogs that starts at $22 a month and pays up to $50 for an annual exam, up to $100 for spay/neutering, and up to $60 for a heartworm test.
To determine whether or not you should pay for wellness care requires only some simple math. Multiply the $22 a month (minimum) times 12 and you get an annual cost of $264, plus your share of the charges. Compare this with the national average for vet care of $200 a year and, as you can see, this coverage would most likely cost more than it's worth.
Does Pet Insurance Really Save You Money?
Once again, all that's required to answer this question is some simple math. Just take the cost of VPI's basic plan at $27.42 and multiply this by 12 for a total annual cost of $329.04. Next, if you have a normally healthy dog or cat, you can figure that it's not likely to have a major illness more often than once in three years. After three years, you have paid a total of $987 in pet insurance premimums. This raises the question, would you be better off to self-insure? A recent Consumer Reports analysis found that pet owners with pet insurance might actually spend more over time on their animals than those without.
If you or your spouse works for one of the 1,600 companies that offer pet insurance as an optional benefit, this equation may change dramatically, depending on how much that benefit costs you.
Saving Money On Vet Bills
If you decide not to buy pet insurance and instead self-insure, there are ways you can save money on your pet care bills.
One of the best ways to save money on care for your pet is to shop around. Believe it or not, some vets charge much less for a standard procedure than others. As an example of this, we have a vet near us who charges $150 for a teeth cleaning and another who charges from $350 on up, depending on the size of the dog.
Second, you may be able to use a low-cost clinic for your dog's or cat's annual shots. Call your local Humane Society chapter, animal control department or veterinary hospital for leads as to when these clinics will be held and their charges.
In many cases, there'll be time to get a second opinion by consulting another vet before committing to an expensive procedure or drugs. There is also a publication you may be able to find at your local library titled The Merck Veterinary Manual where you can learn more about your pet's condition and recommended treatments.
If your pet's condition requires drugs, you can ask your vet for samples. He or she may have a free starter pack you can use to begin treatment. You should also shop around for the best price for your pet's medications. You can buy them at your local pet store or shop online, which is where you are most likely to find the best bargains.
And last, but not least, keep that dog or cat at a healthy weight. Overweight pets are much like overweight people, they are just more likely to have health problems.
Deciding whether you should buy pet insurance for your pet is a personal decision. You can generally save money on pet care by self-insuring. It's something of a gamble, but one that makes sense for many pet owners.
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