When you go home, you discover your dog is sick and vomiting. After bringing them to the animal hospital, you find out they have ingested one of your socks and need immediate surgery, saving you many thousand dollars. Are you able to come up with the money to pay the bill? If not, getting insurance for your pet could be something to consider.
Insurance for your pet may assist in covering the expenses of veterinary treatment for your four-legged pal. It may compensate you for expenditures such as treatment for cancer, emergency medical care, surgery, and drugs prescribed by a doctor. So, does pet insurance pay for vaccinations?
In the most desperate circumstances, having pet insurance might save an animal's owner from having to put it to sleep because they cannot pay for medical care for their pet. On the other hand, if your animal is healthy and seldom gets ill, you can find yourself shelling out thousands of dollars in premiums for not much in return. So, should you get insurance for your pet? The following data is provided for your consideration as you make your choice.
The increasing popularity of pet insurance
An increasing number of owners are opting for insurance for their animal companions. According to NAPHIA, there was a gain of 28% from the previous year in the number of dogs and cats in the United States insured by pet insurance in 2021, reaching over 4 million. Since 2017, the number of cats and dogs covered by insurance in the United States has more than doubled.
That's impressive growth, but the pet sector only serves a few of America's animal companions. According to APPA, there are 69 million families in the United States who have dogs, and there are 45 million households that have cats.
How much does insurance for pets cost?
According to NAPHIA data from 2021, the most currently available information, the yearly cost of an accident and sickness coverage for dogs is around $584, while the cost for cats is $343. This comes to around $49 per month for dogs and $29 for cats.
The yearly cost is reduced to $239 for dogs and $130 for cats if you choose accident-only insurance as your coverage option. These plans will pay for care for your pet if they suffer an injury, such as being struck by a vehicle or swallowing something toxic, but they won't pay if they get unwell.
Your pet's age and breed, the expense of veterinary treatment in your area, and the insurance policy you choose may all have a big impact on the premiums you pay.
Be aware that prices increase as your pet ages and is more likely to have health problems. If the plan becomes unaffordable for you at any point, you risk terminating your pet's coverage just when they are beginning to need it the most.
We investigated sample prices from Pets Best, one of the leading businesses offering pet insurance, for a Labrador retriever living in Katy, Texas, to get an idea of how much the premiums would increase. The following is a list of the monthly costs that we discovered for insurance that has an annual maximum of $5,000, a deductible of $500, and a reimbursement level of 80%:
- Three months: $31.27
- Two years: $31.27
- Four years: $34.88
- Six years: $50.75
- Eight years: $74.52
- Ten years: $108.02
The cost of veterinary care
According to a study conducted by the APPA in 2021-22, the annual cost of surgical veterinary appointments for dog owners is an average of $458. In contrast, annual veterinary visits cost an average of $242. Cat owners had lower yearly costs on average, paying $201 on visits to the veterinarian for surgical procedures and $178 on visits for basic checkups and preventative care.
What does pet insurance pay for
So, what do you receive after paying all of those premiums? Although insurance might be a blessing if your pet is given a costly diagnosis, it is very unlikely that your policy would pay you for every dollar you spend at the veterinarian.
Deductibles, limits, and payouts
Most plans include a yearly deductible, which is the amount you are responsible for paying before the insurer begins to make payments. After reaching your deductible, most plans will pay out a specific proportion of your veterinary bills, often between 70 and 90 percent of the total amount. In addition to this, you can be subject to an annual payment cap.
Let's say you have a plan that covers up to $10,000 a year and reimburses you for 80% of the expenditures you incur. Your deductible is $500. If your dog has surgery that costs $2,000 and you haven't contributed anything towards the deductible yet, your plan will pay for just $1,200 of the procedure.
You may often modify your plan by choosing a lower deductible or a greater reimbursement rate, but doing so will typically increase your monthly cost.
