You can buy your beloved pet by paying a small amount of money, but in case of any illness or accident, you may need to pay big. Owning a pet is a massive commitment-practically, financially, and emotionally. Getting suitable insurance for your beloved pet would be the right way to go. But you should not buy an insurance policy without proper research because you might end up buying a more expensive or irrelevant policy plan.
Before buying an insurance policy for your pet, contact different insurance companies to know about their policies and facilities they can provide. You should do proper research and find out which insurance company can give you maximum payout and medical coverage.
Here are the 5 things you must consider before making your decision to buy an insurance policy for your pet.
- Enrollment rules and a good understanding of pet insurance policy
- Check out, compare the insurer’s track record and the pricing
- Types of treatment and incidents covered
- Deductibles and pre-existing conditions
- Ideal insurance for your pet
Enrollment rules and a good understanding of pet insurance policy
Make sure you know what the best age for your pet is to buy an insurance policy. A healthy and young pet can qualify for any insurance plan, but some policies would not allow you to enroll the senior pets. The best time to enroll your kittens and puppies is when they are 6 to 10 weeks old. Once you get enrollment for your pet, most plans offer life-time coverage for your pet as long as you continue paying the premiums annually.
Most of the insurance plans require the past year’s health history of your pet. These plans help you in providing good healthcare to your pet and off-set cost for unexpected injuries, illnesses, and routine care.
Check out, compare the insurer’s track record and the price
You must compare pet insurance plans from different insurance companies before you buy an insurance policy for your pet. In the contrast between policies of different companies, you would be able to see the difference in their premiums, co-pay, sample reimbursements, plans including additional features and exclusions.
You need to check the track record of the insurance provider to know if you can count on them or not.
Every insurance company has a different price for the pet insurance plan. The average annual premium policy for pets covers illness and accidents. The cost for a pet insurance plan depends on the breed, age of your pet, the area where you live, and the kinds and amount of coverage.
The cost of insurance plans for pets is higher in the urban areas as compared to rural areas. Talk to your veterinarian to give you the worst-case scenario cost for situations like chronic diseases and in case of any other emergency.
Types of treatment and incidents covered
Some insurance companies cover only accidents in their pet insurance plan, but some offer both illness and accident coverage plans.
There are three types of coverage plans
- Accidents only
- Non-lifetime
- Lifetime coverage plan
In the accidents only coverage plans, companies cover accidents, they treat injuries after any casualty like poisoning and car accidents. During the non-lifetime cover plans, the insurance company covers accidents and any illnesses for a limited period. The lifetime cover plan is a complete plan that covers accidents or any illness throughout the lifetime of your pet.
Different insurance companies offer other treatments for your pet in the insurance plan. Such as
- Frequent treatments
- Behavioral and Alternative treatment
- Expenses bills
- Wellness and routine care
The pet insurance companies provide you all the above treatments if you pay an extra amount than your pet insurance plan.
Deductibles and pre-existing conditions
Deductibles are the amount you have to pay before buying an insurance plan for your pet. With some plans, you give deductibles every year. You can renew your policy every year to reset the deductibles.
Once you pay the deductibles to treat injuries or a particular illness, the insurance provider will reimburse you for covered expenses. You can choose any deductible according to your budget; it may be mid-range, high, or lower range. For the mid-range deductible insurance company will give you 90 percent, in the high range, it will give 100 percent, and for the lower range, it will provide you an 80 percent payout of the claim.
The pet insurance companies do not cover pre-existing conditions like injury and routine treatments, birth or pregnancy, and any other illness.
Ideal insurance for your pet
According to the age of your pet, you can choose the best insurance plan. Puppies having no health issues are less expensive to insure as compared to the old dogs. Adult dogs or cats face many serious health issues like cancer, diabetes, and arthritis. So, you should plan accordingly.
Before buying any insurance policy, you need to take care that you buy an insurance plan for a 6 to 10 weeks old pet and contact several insurance companies so you can get accurate information about the policy plans.
