Let’s face it, good pet insurance is not cheap.
It’s hard to know if or when pet insurance is worthwhile. That can seem especially true if your pet is healthy right now. Let's unpack the facts, and look at your choices.
Just like us, pets are at greater risk of health issues as they age. At some point in his/her life, your pet is practically guaranteed to create expensive medical costs for you. It's basically unavoidable. By the time your pet is a senior citizen, you definitely need a game plan for medical expenses.
"...we can (very) easily miss health issues that don't come with obvious symptoms."
I’ve heard stories of pets who appeared totally healthy until the day they passed away. Unfortunately, that is as rare in animals as it is in humans. What's a lot less rare is pet parents missing the fact that their pets are ill or injured, through a totally innocent oversight. Since animals can’t tell us when they don’t feel good, we can (very) easily miss health issues that don't come with obvious symptoms.
It’s also not unusual for pets to have some minor to moderate health issues before they reach their golden years. As veterinary medicine advances, we are better able to detect problems and treat them earlier. But, everything comes with a cost.
Your pet’s species and breed also plays a huge role in the likelihood that your pet will rack up big vet bills.
How much money are we talking about here?
A minor incident can run up to $1,000 for thorough testing, diagnosis, and treatment. A significant emergency can easily top $10,000. So the question is, how much can you afford, and how often?
How Much Can You Afford For Vet Bills?
Less than $1,000
$1,000 to $5,000
$5,001 to $10,000
I can (and would) pay any amount.
If you are like most of us, your answer is that even the $1,000 would be hard to come by on short notice. Keep in mind that medical costs tend to accumulate over time, as well. That means you are likely to get hit with frequent expenses of varying size, rather than needing to come up with a big one-time bill.
Does that mean you need pet insurance? Let’s have a look at some brief highlights:
+ Pet insurance Pros
You get some protection against large pet medical expenses.
Pet insurance guarantees that you will receive reimbursements for eligible expenses.
If you purchase pet insurance for a 100% healthy pet, you could be set for her/his lifetime when it comes to pet medical costs (depending on how good the policy is).
Most pet insurance companies send your reimbursements relatively quickly.
- Pet insurance Cons
Pre-existing conditions are not covered by pet insurance.
Certain other exclusions limit your coverage, which varies by insurance company.
Insurance premiums can increase drastically over your pet’s lifetime.
Pet insurance companies won’t volunteer the amount your pet’s premiums will increase over his/her lifetime, even though they probably already have a ballpark idea of at least your minimum increases.
And by the way: There are ways to get future premium increase information from pet insurance companies. You just have to do your research.
Sometimes pet insurance is the best (and cheapest) answer.
I can wholeheartedly recommend a high quality pet insurance policy for totally healthy young pets, for example. With the right pet insurance for your puppy or kitten, you can reap the benefits for years to come.
However, you usually can’t get the best coverage if you wait until your pet is elderly (or already sick) to sign up. And let’s face it, most of us don’t even think of pet insurance until our pet is already in need. But by that point, you will be paying a pretty penny to get (usually more limited) coverage on your senior citizen.
Pet insurance is one option, but thankfully it’s not the only option.
You could also choose to start a savings account, apply for a Care Credit card, or (our favorite option) join our nonprofit Pet Medical Cost Share program.
Having a plan for big vet bills will make the difference between providing necessary care, and facing “economic euthanasia” if your finances run dry - which is every pet parent’s worst nightmare.
How We Can Help
Medical Cost Sharing is a community of people who rely on each other to pay their medical bills. We provide the first Pet Medical Cost Share, where pet parents combine forces to improve their pet’s lives on a long term basis.
Check out your Pet Membership options to join our community today.
As a 501(c)3 nonprofit, we do not accept compensation for our blog posts, nor for reviewing, recommending, or linking to others.
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