Having a pet is a rewarding experience which many people enjoy. However, it can also be costly. In addition to all of the routine costs such as food and grooming, you may also encounter unplanned expenses such as veterinary bills due to a sickness or accident. Unfortunately, vet bills can be very high. To help cushion these costs, many pet owners decide that obtaining a pet insurance policy is a smart way to curtail these costs. When it comes to a pet insurance policy, there are several considerations to make.
Aspects to Consider
The first thing to think about is what kind of pet you have. The most common pets, cats and dogs come with the least expensive pet insurance. The price for these policies are generally very reasonable. However, if your pet is more unusual, the price you pay will most likely be higher. You just need to make sure that the pet insurance policy you select is priced for the pet you have.
Covering medical treatments is the main reason for considering getting pet insurance. However you should be aware that there are some exclusions you should know about. First of all, your policy is usually not going to cover routine treatments such as vaccinations, flea control or heartworm treatments. In addition to this, you won’t be covered for any pre-existing conditions that you already knew about when the policy was taken out. Be sure to declare any existing conditions when you take out the policy, so you don’t have to worry about risking it being declared invalid when you try to make a claim.
It is also important that you check your policy for claim limits. There may be a time limit on how long a particular condition will be covered. For example, a long-term condition such as arthritis might only be covered for 12 months. This means that after this time is up, you are responsible for paying the bills. Limits will also apply to the dollar amount of medical costs that they will cover in each year, but for most people the bar is set plenty high enough to cover any health issue your pet may encounter.
Another great reason to take out pet insurance is to help get your pet back home to you should they go missing. Most policies will help pay for your efforts to find your pet, such as advertising in your local papers and offering reward money if your pet is found.
Public liability is another element in a pet insurance policy, particularly for dog owners. Even the calmest and most well-behaved pet could possibly cause damage to someone’s property or injury to a person. Should this rare event happen, large legal bills and compensation claims could become part of the picture. To protect yourself, make sure that your policy includes a good amount of third party liability coverage.
Lastly, check if the policy you are considering will cover your pet, no matter what their age is. For example, many policies will only insure cats that are under the age of 8. This is important, since it is in the later years that your pet is most likely to need medical treatment.