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Don’t Leave Your Best Friend Without Insurance, Here’s Why Pets Insurance Is Necessary For All Pet Owners

Don’t Leave Your Best Friend Without Insurance, Here’s Why Pets Insurance Is Necessary For All Pet Owners

Pets quickly become just like family, and when it comes to looking after your loved ones, they deserve nothing less than the best pets insurance. Looking after a pet is not just about grooming and feeding them, and making sure that they have enough exercise – it’s also about taking care of their health needs when they crop up. Even the healthiest pets are going to need to see the vet for immunizations and check-ups, and over time, these can become very costly.

Managing these costs with the appropriate pet insurance is a smart move and one that you’ll likely thank yourself for further down the line.

Before you pick a pet insurance policy, it’s best to take some time to find out what’s on offer – as well as what types of policies you should be looking out for. Our handy list of questions and answers will help you to do just that.

Pets quickly become just like family, and when it comes to looking after your loved ones, they deserve nothing less than the best pets insurance. Looking after a pet is not just about grooming and feeding them, and making sure that they have enough exercise – it’s also about taking care of their health needs when they crop up. Even the healthiest pets are going to need to see the vet for immunizations and check-ups, and over time, these can become very costly.

Managing these costs with the appropriate pet insurance is a smart move and one that you’ll likely thank yourself for further down the line.

Before you pick a pet insurance policy, it’s best to take some time to find out what’s on offer – as well as what types of policies you should be looking out for. Our handy list of questions and answers will help you to do just that.

What Level of Cover Should You Get?

Just like medical insurance for humans, pet insurance policies provide varying levels of cover. Basic policies will offer cover in the event of accidents and even sickness, while others – the more comprehensive cover – will pay out for everything from vaccinations to routine check-ups.

The type of policy you should will depend on your pet’s needs, as well as your budget, so it pays to compare these against each other.

Golden Retriever lying on bed

What Costs Should I Expect to Pay for Pets Insurance?

There are usually two types of payments you’ll need to make when it comes to pet insurance policies; deductibles and monthly premiums. Deductibles are usually those payments made when you make use of the policy, and the amount will depend on the policy itself.

Keep in mind that by paying higher deductibles, you’ll usually benefit from lower monthly premiums, but you need to make sure that these are affordable, otherwise what would be the use in having the cover at all? The monthly premiums are your monthly payments to the insurance company in order to benefit from the cover.

How Do I Make a Claim?

The way in which you will claim from your pet insurance provider will generally depend on the type of company with which you’re signing.

In most instances, you’ll usually be expected to claim back from the insurance provider, rather than them covering your bills upfront (as would usually be the case with human medical insurance). It’s important that you make yourself aware of the processes expected of you before you sign up with a company so that you can rest assured you are happy with the process.

Are Their Annual Limits for Pet Insurance?

Human insurance policies will usually have a maximum amount that can be claimed within any one year, and perhaps unsurprisingly, so do pet insurance companies. This means that you’ll need to keep an eye on how much you are claiming throughout the year so that you don’t get caught out at the end of that period.

Before you decide what that amount should be, you need to consider how much your pet will likely cost you throughout the year. According to the experts, $20,000 each year is about the average cost of veterinary support for a pet with medical issues, so if this sounds like your furry friend, you’ll need to ensure your policy can cover this.

white, brown, and black cat on brown wooden table

When Should I Sign Up?

The best time to sign up for cover is as soon as possible – this is because pet insurance companies usually won’t cover you if you sign up when your pet falls ill, or is involved in an accident.

These companies will usually put waiting periods in place of up to 14 days before any cover will kick in and that’s to prevent people from signing up for insurance, having their vet bills covered, and then cancelling the policies almost immediately.

Are Their Conditions that are Excluded?

Once again, as with human policies, certain conditions might be excluded from cover when it comes to insurance, so be sure to read the details of the policy you’re signing up for.

These conditions will differ depending on the pet you are insuring and the cost of the actual policy, so if you’re not sure, ask the insurance consultant.

Can I Get Insurance for Older Pets?

The older a pet is, the more likely they are going to require veterinary assistance, and this also means that policies become more expensive – or difficult to purchase at all.

Some companies won’t accept older pets, while others might charge an arm and a leg for cover. While this shouldn’t put you off getting cover for an older pet, it does mean that you need to be shopping around when it comes to purchasing this type of insurance.

What’s the Average Cost of a Pets Best Plan?

The average Pets Best insurance plan will cost about $38 each month. While this might be really well priced, you need to take note that the company is known for having low annual maximums.

What makes this company appealing, however, is that they offer a variety of insurance plans, including accident-only.

Which Policy Has No Annual Limit?

Healthy Paws offers a very comprehensive plan without annual limits, making it one of the most appealing options on the market. What is more, the company will pay out the entire vet bill, rather than expecting you to cover part of it.

How Much is a Nationwide Policy for Dogs Compared to Cats?

It is no secret that policies for cats are much cheaper than those for dogs, but just how much of a difference can you expect from a company such as Nationwide?

Turns out, it’s nearly half. You should expect to pay about $60 per month for a policy covering your dog compared to the $32 you will pay to cover your cat.

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