3 Pet Insurance Facts Which Will Save You Money!

Have you ever tried to compare pet insurance companies from the information they provide on their websites? It’s impossible! The first time I tried to do this I found out just how good they are at separating important information in different sections of their websites. This makes it very hard for clients to find everything they need to make the right choice.

The first piece of information which will always guide your decision is coverage. Every pet has specific needs and only you, the pet owner, knows what they are. If you have a healthy young pet which is not overweight and you live in a peaceful neighborhood, you probably don’t need to spend too much money for pet insurance. The lower coverage limits will be ok for you. Other people might own an older pet, or a pet which is a bit overweight, or live near a busy street. All these things increase the changes of your pet needing veterinary help. Thus, higher coverage limits will give you more security. But what are lower/higher coverage limits? You will see different types of limits, which will make the most difference in the end. A pet insurance policy may have a lifetime limit, yearly limit and even per accident limit. Lifetime and yearly limits are ok, but the per incident limits can be a problem. It is quite often to see a vet bill over $3000 which is too much out of pocket if your policy has a per incident limit of $1500. Comparing the coverage limits will save you a lot of money in the end.

Deductibles are also very important. All pet insurance companies and plans have different deductibles ranging from $0 to over $1000. What is more important is the type of deductible. An yearly deductible of $500 is still a good option when you are faced with that $3000 bill. But let’s say you chose a plan which has a per accident deductible. That means every time your pet needs veterinary help you need to pay that deductible plus the co-insurance. If you think your pet has a relatively low chance of needing costly veterinary help, then an yearly or even per accident deductible will work ok for you. On the other hand, if you expect more than one of those huge bills per year, you must definitely choose an yearly deductible. Also keep in mind that often choosing a higher deductible reduces the monthly premiums and vice versa.

Finally, the only way to save money using pet insurance is if you are actually receiving money from them when your pet has an accident. With almost all policies you are only covered for conditions which are not pre-existing. Most of the time this is not a problem, but some companies have an interesting opinion about what is pre-existing and what is not. In most cases, anything which occurred before signing up is pre-existing. Sometimes a policy will say that any condition which occurred before the policy start date is pre-existing. AND the policy start date is renewed each year! In other words, if you pet suffered a condition in the first year of coverage, that condition will become pre-existing in the next year of coverage. And this is how pet insurance companies make profit. Make sure that you know exactly what a company considers pre-existing and how much time has to pass before that condition is no longer considered pre-existing.

Comparing pet insurance policies using these three tips will save you a lot of money if you pet ever has an accident. Be prepared because your pet’s life depends on you.

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