Pet Health Insurance - Ask us about a free trial !
The following is an informative article we've created on pet insurance. We've taken the liberty of including average costs for similar type plans for a cat and a Labrador Retriever (Nov 2015) to give you an idea of what insurance costs on average (as that is the most frequent question we get!). However, it can be very challenging to compare apples to apples as each plan has its subtle differences! Please remember that veterinarians do not sell insurance, we are simply advocates of it! If you have specific questions about a particular plan, we encourage you to use our list of questions at the end of the article to ask your insurance provider.
Pet Insurance, What is the best one?? What does it cost?
The answer to this question is that it really depends on many factors such as breed, budget and desired inclusions. Pet insurance provides your pet with veterinary care they need in the event of accident or illness. Some insurance plans also have coverage for regular wellness care such as dentistry, vaccinations, blood testing and preventative medications. We've created the following article to help ease some of the confusion surrounding pet insurance.
We should start the discussion stating that insurance for pets is meant to be a safety net in the event that one must face large veterinary bills for an unforeseen accident or illness. It is therefore very important that if you are considering pet insurance, that you sign your pet up as soon as you acquire them to eliminate the chance of any pre-existing conditions. We recommend starting with a free trial of insurance so that your pet is covered immediately! The trials give you some much needed time to do your own research and pick the plan that suits your needs while resting assured that your pet has coverage. Trials are available immediately after any veterinary exam for pets who are no currently covered by an insurance plan and who are 8 weeks and older (max age depends on the trial chosen).
We highly recommend obtaining either a plan or a free trial for puppies and kittens as they are the ones most at risk for issues such as accidental ingestions, foreign bodies, toxicities, fractures, escaping from the house and congenital conditions (which have not yet been made apparent).
Next you may be wondering if pet insurance is right for you? We recommend you do your homework and see which breeds are at risk for congenital and acquired illnesses. Certain dog breeds such as Bull dogs,Great Danes, Daschunds, Miniature schnauzers, Boxers, Sharpeis, Labradors and Golden Retrievers (among many others) carry a higher rate of conditions requiring veterinary treatment and thus we wouldn't recommend owning these breeds without it! Similarly certain breeds of cats can be predisposed to heart disease, diabetes, asthma, behavioural conditions, dental disease and cancer and male cats can be more prone to urinary blockages. Most of these conditions also require expensive medication to sustain them in the long term.
In contrast to home, car and life insurance (which we all have! and rarely need to use), pet insurance is often used at some stage in most pets life and avoids you having to make medical decisions based on your current financial situation. A very common quote we often hear after a pet as an accident or an illness is "I wish I had pet insurance" at which time it is too late to sign up for that particular condition (but not for others!). Most companies also have a waiting period by which even if your pet has a pre-existing condition, it can be re-evaluated and re-included after a time has passed without making claims for that particular illness/injury (typically 6 months to 2 years). We have insurance for ourselves....so why not for our pets?
So why not just put money aside in a bank account instead of investing it into an insurance plan? Although this is also a good method, most individuals are not disciplined enough to routinely put money aside for their pets care. In addition, and more importantly, the money will accumulate much slower and may take several years to acquire enough funds that may be required in the event of an expensive emergency.
The answer to this question is that it really depends on many factors such as breed, budget and desired inclusions. Pet insurance provides your pet with veterinary care they need in the event of accident or illness. Some insurance plans also have coverage for regular wellness care such as dentistry, vaccinations, blood testing and preventative medications. We've created the following article to help ease some of the confusion surrounding pet insurance.
We should start the discussion stating that insurance for pets is meant to be a safety net in the event that one must face large veterinary bills for an unforeseen accident or illness. It is therefore very important that if you are considering pet insurance, that you sign your pet up as soon as you acquire them to eliminate the chance of any pre-existing conditions. We recommend starting with a free trial of insurance so that your pet is covered immediately! The trials give you some much needed time to do your own research and pick the plan that suits your needs while resting assured that your pet has coverage. Trials are available immediately after any veterinary exam for pets who are no currently covered by an insurance plan and who are 8 weeks and older (max age depends on the trial chosen).
We highly recommend obtaining either a plan or a free trial for puppies and kittens as they are the ones most at risk for issues such as accidental ingestions, foreign bodies, toxicities, fractures, escaping from the house and congenital conditions (which have not yet been made apparent).
Next you may be wondering if pet insurance is right for you? We recommend you do your homework and see which breeds are at risk for congenital and acquired illnesses. Certain dog breeds such as Bull dogs,Great Danes, Daschunds, Miniature schnauzers, Boxers, Sharpeis, Labradors and Golden Retrievers (among many others) carry a higher rate of conditions requiring veterinary treatment and thus we wouldn't recommend owning these breeds without it! Similarly certain breeds of cats can be predisposed to heart disease, diabetes, asthma, behavioural conditions, dental disease and cancer and male cats can be more prone to urinary blockages. Most of these conditions also require expensive medication to sustain them in the long term.
In contrast to home, car and life insurance (which we all have! and rarely need to use), pet insurance is often used at some stage in most pets life and avoids you having to make medical decisions based on your current financial situation. A very common quote we often hear after a pet as an accident or an illness is "I wish I had pet insurance" at which time it is too late to sign up for that particular condition (but not for others!). Most companies also have a waiting period by which even if your pet has a pre-existing condition, it can be re-evaluated and re-included after a time has passed without making claims for that particular illness/injury (typically 6 months to 2 years). We have insurance for ourselves....so why not for our pets?
So why not just put money aside in a bank account instead of investing it into an insurance plan? Although this is also a good method, most individuals are not disciplined enough to routinely put money aside for their pets care. In addition, and more importantly, the money will accumulate much slower and may take several years to acquire enough funds that may be required in the event of an expensive emergency.
Popular Pet Health Insurance Plans
All plans listed below have great websites with quick free quotes to get you started!
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Pets Plus Us (North American Pet Health Insurance Association)
OVMA Pet Insurance (Western Financial Group)
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Trupanion (Omega General Insurance Company)
Fetch Pet Insurance
Fetch (Western Financial Group)
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30 Important Questions to ask any Pet Insurance Provider
1. Are there multiple plans to choose from?
2. Are the maximums per year or per lifetime? are the maximums per condition/accident or total per year?
3. Do premiums increase with claims? with age? inflation?
4. Can I choose my co-pay (70, 80 or 90%)?
5. Do I pay a deductible a) every time a claim is filed? b) Annually? c) per condition once in a lifetime?
6. Are there different deductible options to choose from? Do they change as my pet ages?
7. Are vet exams/professional fees covered? Is hospitalization covered? are therapeutic diets covered?
8. Are taxes covered?
9. Are hereditary conditions like hip dysplasia covered?
10. Are accidents/injury covered - cruciate repairs, bone fractures, accidental ingestion of an object requiring surgery, accidental poison ingestion, being hit by a vehicle, etc
11. Is dental care covered? routine care or accidents/dental disease only?
12. Can I change my coverage level at a later date?
13. Are animal health professionals processing my claims?
14. Is wellness care (vaccines, heartworm testing, bloodwork, parasite prevention) covered?
15. Is alternative care and behavioural conditions covered? What are the fine details surrounding these types of coverage?
16. Are there waiting periods before coverage begins?
17. What isn't covered?
18. Does my coverage renew every year?
19. Are there any restrictions if i choose to not spay/neuter my pet?
20. How many years has the company been in business?
21. How long does it take to process a claim?
22. Who receives payment - the veterinarian or the pet owner?
23. Can claims be filed electronically and/or by my vet?
24. Can I cancel my plan at any time? are there any penalities?
25. Do you offer a trial plan?
26. Do you offer any multi-pet discounts?
27. Do you offer any extras? points? euthanasia/cremation costs? lost pet rewards? donate to animal related causes? boarding fees should I become ill? etc
28. If my pet remains healthy, are there any return of premiums?
29. Do you offer any discounts if my pet is microchipped?
30. If I have insurance with you already (i.e. PC Financial, CAA, RBC etc) do you offer a bundle discount?
2. Are the maximums per year or per lifetime? are the maximums per condition/accident or total per year?
3. Do premiums increase with claims? with age? inflation?
4. Can I choose my co-pay (70, 80 or 90%)?
5. Do I pay a deductible a) every time a claim is filed? b) Annually? c) per condition once in a lifetime?
6. Are there different deductible options to choose from? Do they change as my pet ages?
7. Are vet exams/professional fees covered? Is hospitalization covered? are therapeutic diets covered?
8. Are taxes covered?
9. Are hereditary conditions like hip dysplasia covered?
10. Are accidents/injury covered - cruciate repairs, bone fractures, accidental ingestion of an object requiring surgery, accidental poison ingestion, being hit by a vehicle, etc
11. Is dental care covered? routine care or accidents/dental disease only?
12. Can I change my coverage level at a later date?
13. Are animal health professionals processing my claims?
14. Is wellness care (vaccines, heartworm testing, bloodwork, parasite prevention) covered?
15. Is alternative care and behavioural conditions covered? What are the fine details surrounding these types of coverage?
16. Are there waiting periods before coverage begins?
17. What isn't covered?
18. Does my coverage renew every year?
19. Are there any restrictions if i choose to not spay/neuter my pet?
20. How many years has the company been in business?
21. How long does it take to process a claim?
22. Who receives payment - the veterinarian or the pet owner?
23. Can claims be filed electronically and/or by my vet?
24. Can I cancel my plan at any time? are there any penalities?
25. Do you offer a trial plan?
26. Do you offer any multi-pet discounts?
27. Do you offer any extras? points? euthanasia/cremation costs? lost pet rewards? donate to animal related causes? boarding fees should I become ill? etc
28. If my pet remains healthy, are there any return of premiums?
29. Do you offer any discounts if my pet is microchipped?
30. If I have insurance with you already (i.e. PC Financial, CAA, RBC etc) do you offer a bundle discount?