Visits to a vet clinic are common for pet parents because you know that you can’t put a price on your furry fellow’s happiness. But not every visit is a scheduled vaccination appointment or a simple, routine checkup. A typical day in most animal hospitals involves accident cases, toxic substance ingestion, urinary obstructions, and various unexpected illnesses.
In case of an accident or severe health problem, you’ll have to rush your furry friend to a veterinary clinic in New Hamburg. While you could get away in some cases with just a couple hundred dollars, more serious medical conditions or injuries can raise your bill to thousands of dollars.
But did you know that there are many ways to save money while still being able to afford necessary medical treatments for your furry friend? One of these ways is pet health insurance. For some families, this may be the only way they can provide the best care for their pets. Even so, only 3% of 14 million pet owners in Canada have their cats and dogs insured.
The question is, “Is pet insurance worth it?” Read on to find out if pet health insurance is right for you!
What Does Pet Insurance Cover?
The insurance coverage for your pet depends on the type of plan you choose. While the policy labels could differ from company to company, any pet insurance plan would fundamentally fall under one of the following typical categories:
Wellness
A pet wellness plan covers the “expected” routine and preventive-care visits to a vet clinic, such as vaccination, deworming, dental checkups, screening, and tests. Wellness plans don’t usually require paying deductibles, but they don’t cover illness or accidents.
Accident
Accident plans are best for pets full of vim and vigour and those that get into trouble more often. This type of coverage includes accidental injuries, such as getting hit by a car, poisoning, or ingesting hazardous materials.
Accident and Illness
This is the most comprehensive pet insurance policy you can get for your furry friend. It covers accidents, injuries, illnesses, and diseases that a pet might experience.
How Does Pet Insurance Work?
Animal health insurance pretty much works like human insurance. You are required to pay a monthly or annual premium for the insurance as well as deductibles and co-pays.
The premium amount depends on the type of package you choose and what it covers. A deductible is an amount you pay (per-incident or annual basis) to render coverage.
On the other hand, co-pay is the percentage you contribute to your vet bill. For instance, a deductible amount of $200 with a co-pay of 20% on a $1000 bill means you’ll be required to pay $160 ($1000-$200 X 0.20).
In most cases, you are required to pay the treatment cost out of your pocket and then submit a reimbursement claim to the insurance company.
When choosing a plan, one factor you must consider is the maximum amount the insurance company is willing to pay. Research indicates that the maximum annual cap for pet insurance in Canada is $10,000. Pet insurance policies include annual, lifetime, or incident caps, just as in human insurance.
Coverage Constraints
Having a pet insurance policy can involve quite a bit of intricacy. Here are some essential points to consider while purchasing a pet policy.
- Some insurers require a health examination beforehand and want the pet to be under a certain age bracket.
- Most insurance companies don’t provide coverage for a pre-existing medical condition. But some support euthanasia and end of life care in case of a terminal illness.
- Bilateral condition exclusion can be a part of some insurance policies. This means that medical conditions that can happen on both sides of the pet’s body are not covered.
- Under vaccinatable diseases exclusion, you don’t get coverage for diseases that could have been avoided by vaccination.
- Your animal’s breed, gender, and location are factored in when deciding the premium amount you’d be paying.
- Most insurances don’t cover spaying and neutering as it comes under elective surgery.
Consult a Veterinarian Clinic
Whether you have opted for insurance coverage or not, you can always consult a veterinarian to get the best advice for your pet’s specific needs. If you are searching for a vet clinic in New Hamburg, feel free to give us a call.
