Health Insurance For The Whole Family, Including Pets

By: Jon Arnold

Nobody would dispute the fact that in these days, you need health insurance for your whole family. But do you also have pet health insurance for those "other" members of your family which are your pets?

That question is not as ridiculous as it may sound. Your pets are a part of your family and you can protect them with health insurance. After all, they are living and breathing animals, and are prone to have health problems just like you are. So it only makes sense to protect them with pet health insurance, and you would undoubtedly agree that this is true after you pay the bill to the vet after your last visit there where Rover had a problem, right? When Rover starts throwing up all night or Kitty gets in a brawl with the neighborhood tomcat, you don't just let them suffer and get over it, do you?

Obviously, pet health insurance is different from the health insurance you get for your sons or daughters. But it still provides you with a level of financial protection when your pet develops a health problem that needs to be treated.

Most of the companies that offer pet health insurance limit their insurance to the most common pets such as dogs and cats. If you want to get health insurance for your pet snake, iguana, alligator or hamster, you may have to look a bit deeper but health insurance, even for more exotic animals is available out there.

Typically, your pet's veterinarian probably has health insurance policies available. This makes the most sense because assuming you have been taking your pet to the same vet for years, they likely have historical records about your pet, which can be very valuable when trying to diagnose a health problem. It is worth your time and effort to compare costs and coverage for the various plans that are available, since the costs and coverage vary widely from policy to policy.

Most of the pet health insurance plans cover the basics, such as the annual shots, and perhaps an occasional checkup. Most also cover things that the vet will need to do in case of injury to your pet. The insurance plans are usually significantly less expensive than human health insurance plans, typically under $20 per month, and some with very basic coverage even under $10 per month. As with human health insurance, the amount of the premium and coverage varies according to what is covered and how much of a deductible you elect with a given plan.

Some of the pet health insurance plans also cover things like baths, grooming, and nail clipping, so you need to decide how much coverage you need, how much of a deductible you are willing to have with the policy, and make a decision accordingly. Like with people, the cost of the insurance is going to cost more for 15 year old Rover than it will for your new puppy Spot, simply because Rover is likely to have more health problems than Spot.

Even with all these different options, you can do the math and easily determine that the cost of the pet health insurance is probably going to cost you less than paying your vet on an "a la carte" basis per visit.

articleclick.com