Pet health insurance absolutely makes no sense if you’re one of those people who, when facing a veterinarian bill over, say, $300, tells himself “it’s just a pet” and then grumps that it’s cheaper to shoot the animal than have the veterinarian perform a humane euthanasia.
Fortunately, these kinds of pet-owners are fewer all the time.
For many of the rest of us, though, the time is here. Look at pet insurance. There have never been more choices, and the business is growing so there’ll be more. Personally, I honestly can’t imagine NOT having pet insurance. Seriously. And that has nothing to do with the fact that a major insurer is one of our banner sponsors. In fact, most of the bloggers at Pet Connection all have pet insurance, and we pay for policies from five different companies.
Why? Because we each have diffent kinds of pets of different ages, and we’re in different financial situations. So we all looked for what fit us best.
It’s pretty funny that whenever I write about adopting a new pet — as with Pip last year from German shepherd rescue and Ilario, the kitten coming later this month — I get a note from my pet-insurance company letting me know what the new premium would be, because the folks there read the blog. Would I like to add Pip and Ilario to my policy? Why, yes, thanks, I would! Swell!
On the Main Street site, there’s an article on pet health insurance. Headline: “How much do you love your pet?” which is unfortunate because, for me, it’s not about loving my pet at all. It’s about economics, and the advancement of veterinary medicine. When I started writing about pets more than 20 years ago, there just weren’t a whole lot of options for many pet illnesses. You had a very sick pet, and you ended their suffering. In many cases that was all you could do, and so you did it.
But now! Nearly all the options of human care are available in veterinary medicine. My pets aren’t on my HMO policy (gotta talk to HR about that!), so I have to pay for the choices I make. And since “economic euthanasia” — putting down a pet because you cannot afford available care — is not a decision I care to be making, I carry pet health insurance.
It’s not about “love,” it’s about “money.” And for me it’s about never walking away from a veterinary hospital with an empty collar in my hand knowing I could have done more … if I’d only had the money. Pet loss is hard enough without a pile ‘o guilt on top of it.
From the piece:
Given the emotional and monetary investment of being a pet owner, and with the breadth and cost of veterinary care increasing every year, pet insurance is an increasingly popular option. While still far from the norm, less than one-half of 1% of U.S. pet owners enrolled in some form of coverage, pet insurance is a growing industry. There are currently ten major companies offering pet insurance, and pet-food giant Purina is launching their own plan this spring. “When larger brands come into the space you know it’s gaining some traction,” says Laura Bennett, CEO of Embrace Pet Insurance.
But does pet insurance make sense for you? It all depends on the attitude you have towards your furry friend. “There’s a subset of pet owners who treat their pets like their children,” says Bennett. “If you’re the kind of person who would pay whatever it takes to make them better, pet insurance really is for you. If your pet’s disposable, then it’s not. You have to ask-are you a pet owner, or a pet parent?”
Bennett stresses that insurance is really intended for unexpected medical emergencies—the animal equivalent of “catastrophic coverage” for humans—and generally is not designed to cover routine check-ups or basic preventative care. For most pet owners, it makes more sense to pay out of pocket for these occasional visits. What becomes prohibitively expensive are the unexpected mishaps, like an infection or a broken limb. And as advanced treatments like CAT scans, prescription drugs, and specialized surgery are becoming more available for pets, it’s easy to rack up thousands of dollars in veterinary costs.
“It used to be if your dog got cancer, there wasn’t much you could do. Now there are all sorts of choices,” explains Bennett. This might be great news for your pet, but it can be catastrophic for your budget.
The Wall Street Journal took a look a couple weeks ago. If you’re a WSJ subscriber, you can get that article here.
Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
We made it to Oregon after nine hours of driving (including about three potty stops). Went through everything except a sandstorm — bright sun, rain, sleet and snow, mostly rain, buckets of rain. Fortunately, I’m here with three dogs who don’t mind getting wet, and I have plenty of foul-weather gear. And the Honda Element I’ve got for the trip doesn’t seem to much mind which element it’s rolling though — it handled it all with no problem, a pleasure to handle.
