Well, it's been some time since I've bemoaned the cost of pets. I was getting sentimental for the topic (second only to my love for "how to save on gas" posts) when I saw this article and knew I had to share it with you. It's from MSNBC and offers their thoughts on how to choose the right pet health insurance as well as several other useful bits of information. Let's start with why the cost of pet medical care is so high:
“From 1994 to 2003, expenditures for veterinary services rose 76 percent,” says Carol McConnell, manager of veterinary education and services for Veterinary Pet Insurance, in Brea, Calif.
That rise may correlate with higher disposable incomes and the elevation of pets to "family member" status, along with longer animal life expectancies. But McConnell also notes that owners of ailing pets now have more options as veterinarians have added many diagnostic and treatment capabilities borrowed from human medicine. Taking advantage of those new options can quickly run vet bills up into the thousands of dollars.
I've read article after article where a pet has had some sort of complex treatment/medical work done and it's cost the owner thousands of dollars. This is where the cost of a pet REALLY explodes -- in the last few years of a pet's life when costly medical procedures are often required.
Next, the piece gives an overview of pet insurance:
Because pets are technically a form of property, the insurance is structured more like a homeowner’s or auto policy.
“With a car, you have a fender bender and look to insurance to cover the repairs after meeting the deductible. As crude as it sounds, this is how pet insurance works," said McConnell. "The point of treatment remains getting the pet ‘back on the road,’ so to speak.” The main purpose of pet insurance, like auto insurance, is to manage the risk of a potentially costly event.
Is this post surreal for anyone besides me? What happened to the good old days when we simply said, "Yeah, old Buck just ain't what he used to be," and allowed our pets to age naturally? Now we have hip replacements and the like to make them live longer, "happier" lives. And, as such, we need things like pet insurance. Sheesh!!
Ok, I'm off that tangent now. Let's get on with the article from MSNBC.
It goes on to list the four major pet insurers (none of which I've ever heard of) and then gives these tips for evaluating a pet insurer as well as the pet insurance policy itself:
- Look at the underwriter behind the policy and verify its "Best Rating," which reflects its financial health and ability to pay any future claims. Compare coverage to actual and probable needs given the animal’s breed and its associated health risks.
- Understand the costs.
- Know what the coverage limits and more importantly what it excludes.
- Before buying, check with your company's human resources department. Many companies, including Home Depot, Procter & Gamble and numerous restaurant chains, offer pet insurance as an employee benefit.
What!!!!!!??????? Pet insurance as an employee benefit????!!!! I'm selling my Home Depot (HD) stock!! Bob Nardelli, what are you thinking????
As with any sort of product you buy, I recommend that you pay particular attention to the cost of pet insurance and what you get for that premium (points 2 and 3 above). That's really the heart of the issue. One other thing I'd add is that you want the insurance to cover you from big expenses (like a few thousand dollars), so having a high ($500 to $1,000) deductible may save you some money on premiums and still cover you for any really big pet medical bills you may face.
It's true some companies get discounts for pet insurance. We have VPI which I would recommend our Boxer dog Rosie has had a few costly trips to the vet and the insurance paid for a large portion
Posted by: G | May 24, 2006 at 11:00 AM