There are two basic types of pet health care coverage that you will be given a quote for:

1. – Benefit Scheduled Method
2. - Usual, Customary and Reasonable (UCR)

It is important to understand the difference between the two.

BENEFIT SCHEDULED METHOD

This type of coverage is based on pre-set payment amounts for specific conditions and medical treatments.   The advantages of this type of coverage are:

1. Full disclosure

You will be given a full menu of items covered and exactly how much the insurance will pay out for each item.  For example if your cat got mangled in a fight with a dog and incurred open wounds  needing anesthesia, surgery and medication as well as an overnight at the Pet Clinic ICU, your coverage might like something like this:

surgery                        $400
anesthesia                   $200

ICU                             $  50 (per night – to a maximum number of nights)

Medication                  $200

Total                            $750

Note: amounts are completely fictitious and in no way an indication of actual figures that an insurance company may use in their quote).

If your cat did have such an incidence, and the costs added up to $1000 you would not be reimbursed the additional $250

2. Cheaper Premiums

Limited payouts may mean cheaper premiums.  If affordability is a major factor this type of insurance may be an attractive alternative.

3. Does Not Vary Location to Location

While this may appear to be an attractive feature, in some parts of the country pet health care may be far more expensive than in others.  Think major cities such as New York and Los Angeles, the vet fees in these cities would be higher than at Small Town USA.  Particularly important to note if you travel with your pets.

4. Not Indexed to Inflation

The good thing about this is that your premiums do not increase, the bad thing is that with inflation the actual cost of pet health care goes up, but the reimbursable amount stays the same.  Frequent updates with this type of insurance are a must or you might end up holding the short end of the stick.

Usual, Customary and Reasonable (UCR).

UCR or Usual Customary and Reasonable is the more traditional insurance method, simply you (your pet) incurs the expense and you submit it for full reimbursement.

This is still not a carte blanche, it is not unlimited coverage so be sure to check what your coverage actually covers.  The amounts that can be claimed vary place to place, depending on the cost of veterinary services.  Also, if you have claims, the premiums are likely to increase.

No matter which option you choose, do be sure to do your research thoroughly.  When you receive a quote it is a good idea to go over every item with the insurance company so that you understand exactly what it means.   A surprise bill that your insurance company only partially covers is enough to put your stress levels into overdrive, but an emergency with no coverage can be a very sad story.

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We love our pets and want the best for them. They give us joy, love, loyalty, companionship, care and protection. Yet, when unexpected emergencies arise, such as an open wound caused when your dog had a not so friendly tussle with another dog, most of us are poorly prepared to deal with situation at hand.

Consider Connie.

Connie had a lifelong friend – Cleopatra, or Cleo for short

Cleo was a beautiful shepherd dog.  At just three years of age she was just out of puppyhood but you’d never know it.  The way she poked her nose into everything, alert to the slightest movement that signaled play, always eager to chase the ball or play frisbee.  Cleo’s favorite however was going for a nice long walk with Connie on the trails in the forest just behind where they lived.

One day after Connie and Cleo got back from their walk, Cleo lapped up a whole bowl of water and as was typical, pranced around the kitchen a bit.  Suddenly something was not right.  Connie couldn’t quite figure it out at first, then she realized that Cleo was in pain.  What to do?

Connie was beside herself.  She realized that Cleo was suffering from stomach torsion.

They say that life is like a bunch of grapes – one bunch after another and when you get one bunch with one sour grape, well the rest of the grapes in that bunch are going to be sour as well.  It seems that Connie had plucked a sour bunch of grapes as first one misfortune and then another befell her in a very short time span.  The worst was that she was completely broke.  Literally not a penny to her name.  While she was going through this agony, she watched poor Cleo die in her arms.

Connie never got over it.  One never does.

Torsion is serious and swift and even if Connie had been able to get Cleo to the vet there is no guarantee that a different story would have been written.  What tore at Connie’s heart, and still does till today, is that she simply had no money.  She told me how only a few weeks ago she had a conversation with a neighbor who had just bought pet health insurance for her dogs.  She wonders if had she not taken so much time going over in her mind whom to call for financial help, or just threw Cleo in the car and raced off to the pet clinic, if the outcome might have been different.

“You know,  she tells me

If only I had had the means, a pet insurance.  I just never thought anything so serious would happen to my Cleo.  I just did not think about it!  She was only three years old!”

More pet owners are realizing the importance of taking out pet insurance.  In North America only 3% of pets are insured vs 20% in the UK.  Annual premiums are less costly than an unscheduled visit to the vet, or worse yet, the early loss of your loved pet.

If you are the type of person who doesn’t want to have to choose between going into debt or putting  your pet down, pet insurance is for you.

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Is it any wonder then, that pet health care is one of the fastest growing sectors in the insurance industry. There are an estimated 160 million cats and dogs in the US of which less than 3% are insured. That number is up from a mere 1% as recently as 2005, but pales miserably when compared to the 20% of pets insured in the UK. Veterinary pet insurance is designed to protect the pet owner from having to decide between a pet’s life or financial hardship.

Increasingly dogs and cats are considered as true family members. While pets have always been part of the family scene, it is only recently that their status has been elevated to that of a child. Indeed, owners are now often referred to as pet parents. The empty nester whose own children have flown the homestead, turn their love and attention to Snookie and Pookie and lavish them with gourmet biscuits from the Bow Wow Meow Bakery, book massage sessions at the local pet spa, or book holidays at the local Canine Country Club whilst whisking themselves off to some exotic getaway.

It is no wonder then that these same pet parents want to ensure that their precious pooch or kitty cat is protected with the best pet insurance that they can afford. As with human health care, the veterinary sciences have improved dramatically and vets are now able to save an injured animal that only a few scant years ago would have been sent off to pet play land in the sky.

According to the American Pet Product Manufacturers Association, Americans are expected to spend nearly $11 billion on veterinary care alone. That is an increase of 8.5% from 2007.

Today pet parents are more likely to delve deep into their wallets to pay for costly treatments such as radiation therapy and even transplants where possible. It does not take much to rack up a vet bill of $1000 or more for simple procedures. I recently spoke with a young couple who have spent more than $10,000 this year alone for two of their dogs. One of the dogs developed a rare blood disease and was in the doggie ICU for almost a week. Add to that the cost of follow up visits and the prescriptions.

Veterinarians have access to increasingly sophisticated and costly diagnostic tools such as MRIs.  Such screenings not only boost the cost of exams but often detect problems that once would have gone unnoticed and untreated. Whether it is true love and devotion to our pets or some other emotion that drives us humans, statistically we will do all that we can so that our loyal companion can eke out a few more years of life.

When shopping around for the best pet insurance for you, keep in mind that there are different types of insurance. Things to look for:

-  can you take your pet to any veterinary or are you restricted to only those prescribed by the insurance company?
-  Is there a limit
-  Is there a deductible
-  Will kennel costs be covered
-  Breed specific conditions

There are two basic types of pet insurance:

Benefit Scheduled Payment: This is a fixed amount up front and will not vary no matter how much your bills amount to. If you opt for this type of insurance be sure to review it year to year as the coverage does not automatically keep up with the escalating costs of pet care.

Usual, Customary and Reasonable (UCR): You submit a request for full payment of the medical bills incurred for your pet. Again, the amounts may vary from place to place, depending on the cost of veterinary services. With protracted illnesses you may want to check with your insurance company with each procedure as to just how much of the vet bill will be covered and make sure that you get that in writing along with any specifics that might make it null and void.

As with other types of insurances, claims submitted may increase the cost of premiums.  Judging from the increase in pet insurance policies written, it seems that man is returning the favor to man’s best friend and investing in some good pet health care insurance. Dash the expenses! Pooch deserves the best!

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The Solution?

Liability Pet Insurance.

There are many situations that can arise that could get you very worried about your liability. For example your dog may bite the post man when he tries to deliver a letter, or your horse becomes startled and jumps over the bush hedge into a car. When something like this happens you cannot even begin to imagine the amount of trouble that you could be in.

My friend Jane and her toddler daughter, Anna, were visiting at a friend’s.  The friend had a dog, a well trained dog but one that was not used to small children.  While Jane and her friend were enjoying a cup of coffee Anna wandered off to play with the dog.  Suddenly there was a great commotion.  The dog barked and Anna was screaming.

Perhaps Anna unintentionally hurt the dog or made a movement that the dog mistook as threatening.  Minutes later Jane rushed Anna to the emergency.  There were bites all over Anna’s head and face and lots of stitches by the time she and mom left emergency.

Anna grew up to be a lovely girl.  The scars were barely visible anymore.  But Jane sued and was awarded enough money that took Anna through her college years and paid for her living expenses as well.

Something like that if you don’t have pet liability insurance can even lead to bankruptcy.

More than likely your pet insurance will not completely cover all damages or the expenses you incur if you are sued. You need to be able to defend yourself in court which costs money. Sometimes the court will not see eye to eye with you and will require that you actually pay the money because you were responsible as opposed to it being an accident. It is then best to pick a plan that will pay the greater share of the money that may need to be paid out for damages. Also try to choose one that will keep your premiums low each year. It is hard to find a good insurance plan that is both comprehensive and inexpensive, but if you do your homework you are bound to find a good insurance plan that you can be happy with.

You cannot drive a car without insurance. You also wouldn’t have a valuable piece of artwork in your home or a priceless artifact without it being insured. Accidents can and do happen no matter how careful you are. We tend to think that only other people have accidents – you know that is not true.

The same goes for pet insurance. If your pet causes a lot of damage you will want that insurance when the time comes. It could even possibly save you millions of dollars if your pet severely injures a human. Don’t take the risk and be left to fend for yourself. Be smart and get pet insurance today.

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It just makes sense to have pet health care insurance. That is why what I was hearing made my hairs stand on end.  My built in hearing radar had picked up words that it was programmed for, alerted my brain and instantly perked up my ears.  The words were “pet insurance.”   I looked in the direction from where the words were coming and did the only honorable thing I could:  I made myself inconspicuous and eavesdropped.

I was in a highly reputable pet store in a very affluent part of town  The manager was in conversation with a customer and what I heard, sent my head spinning and my senses screaming.  The manager was telling her customer “… that is why I do not carry any pet health insurance.  I just put money in the bank and if I need it, I use it…”

Adhering to this logic, why would you then carry health insurance for yourself, car insurance on your car, property insurance on your house and contents?  Why not just put money away in the bank every month, and if you have a car accident, well you have the money to pay, if your house burns down, well you have the money to build another, if your health suffers … you get the drift.

Even if the above made sense, human nature somehow eschews prudence in “putting money in the bank” … why else are so many on the brink of financial disaster, no matter at what point of life they are in or how much money they make?   The idea behind insurance is that for a small monthly or annual payment, you protect yourself against huge layouts of cash should an unlikely or unexpected event present you with a bill larger than all your bank accounts combined.  Insurance provides you with peace of mind

As with anything else, one model of pet insurance does not cover all.  When shopping for your furry friend there are several things to consider.  Type of Insurance: write up a list of all the things you want covered.  Here is a list to begin with

-           pet health care insurance

-           veterinary  insurance

-           holiday/travel insurance

-           breed specific hereditary conditions

-           accidents – think not only of vet bills but liability

-           kennel costs

Include as many items as you can think of, categorize them in order of priority and then go shopping.  Approach several insurance companies so that you can make comparisons.  You might want to ask your vet for a referral or two.  Submit your list in order of importance and ask for a quote.  Let each company know that you are  shopping for the best pet insurance and are submitting the same list to a few of their competitors — in this way they may be more inclined to sharpen their pencil. A good thing is to get several pet insurance quotes and then take the quotes to your vet so that he can help you assess and select the best one for your and your pet’s needs. It’s always good to check with the professionals who deal most with what you are looking for and then you will be secure in the knowledge that you have the best pet insurance

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The puppy has arrived, the essentials have all been taken care of.   A visit to the vet, follow up scheduled, a nice little bed for Tuffy to lie on,perhaps a

Pet Insurance!

Pet insurance is so important that you might want to have Immediate Coverage Pet Insurance in place before you bring Tuffy home. Many years ago when our daughter Vanessa left home to be on her own, she quickly got herself a puppy. She went to the local shelter and picked out a cutie. The pup was spunky, of indeterminate breed, but oh so cute. Those kohl lined eyes hinted of beauty and aristocracy, even if only in the eyes of the beholder. Vanessa named her Cali.

Overnight Cali got sick. The vet diagnosed parvo and suggested that the pup be taken back to the shelter in exchange for another. Asked what the chances would be with treatment, the vet was not very encouraging. Vanessa decided that this pup should have a chance at life, and after some $1500 in vet bills, Cali pulled through.

Vanessa did not have the money. She was just 18. The vet was kind, took pity on her and her pup and let her pay on the cuff. But still, $1500 was a lot of money for a young girl just starting out on her own and it took her some time to pay it off.

Had she had the foresight to purchase pet insurance before taking Cali home, it would have been a different story. Cali, bless her doggie soul, should have been called Trouble because that is what she got into a lot, and the vet bills continued to be a steady line item in Vanessa’s budget.

What are some of the things to consider?

REGULAR COVERAGE

Includes regular things like annual checkups, teeth cleaning, vaccinations and other sorts of preventative care. Ask your vet for a list, and then get a quote from your vet as to what this would cost per year. These are not typically costly expenses and you may opt to forgo this basic care and pay for it out of pocket so as to keep your premiums at a minimum. Some insurance companies may include this as a starter and build up from there.

VETERINARY FEE INSURANCE
This would include more than the basics. What if your puppy gets sick from having eaten something that she should not have, or developed some sort of a reaction to something and may need an overnight or even a longer stay at the vet clinic. May even need to be on IV. Medication. These are real and valid costs that can run up your vet bill into the thousands.

ACCIDENTS
My friend’s dog Gus was kibitzing around with a very rambunctious furry pal. Somehow, the other dog managed to swat Gus’s eye area, rendering a huge gash through the eyelids, miraculously leaving the eye intact. Complications ensued. Almost $2000 later, Gus is fine.

LIABILITY
Rocko might be a lovable and gentle dog, but for some inexplicable reason this most gentle of dogs suddenly takes a dislike to another dog and attacks that dog, or worse yet, a child, and delivers much damage. I personally know someone whose child was attacked in the dog owner’s home. The damage to the child was a scar on her face, a scar that over time became less and less pronounced, yet the award was significant enough that the trust fund that was created not only paid the now grown girl for her college but living expenses as well. A scenario like that could easily bankrupt you.

TRAVEL/HOLIDAY
If you travel a lot and take your furry family member with you, it would be wise to include this option. Most people take their pets with them on road trips. The dog is in unfamiliar territory and in his excitement might get careless and get into some sort of an accident … or, again, just might suffer with a sore tummy, dehydrate or something equally upsetting. Be sure that your insurance covers out of state veterinary coverage.

BREED SPECIFIC CONDITIONS
Some breeds are more prone to certain conditions, such as hip dysplasia, stomach torsion, eye problems, and the list goes on. When buying a breed do some research to see if this breed is predisposed to certain conditions. Include this in your “shopping list” when asking for a pet insurance quote.

For the best pet insurance coverage for your pet – shop around.

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