Thank you to Nick Braun of Petinsurancequotes.com for this informative post on what you need to know about Pet Insurance. Pet Insurance is something that most people are not even aware that it exists. If you have a Dog, Car or other Pet, it’s something that you should learn more about and consider if it makes sense for you. Please note that the following are the views of the author and not necessarily those of The Insurance Literacy Institute. This post is provided to give consumers information to become educated on Pet Insurance and is not an endorsement for Pet Insurance. No compensation was received for this guest post.
Pet Insurance Overview:
Pet insurance, or pet health insurance, covers your dog or cat from unexpected health issues. It can save you thousands of dollars when your pet needs expensive veterinary care.
So if your pet needs emergency care, surgical treatment or expensive medications to treat chronic illnesses, pet insurance can pay up to 90% of your total, actual vet bills.
Pet insurance is not managed care, there are no networks and any policy can be used at any licensed veterinary clinic with no restrictions.
History of Pet Insurance:
Most American pet owners haven’t heard of pet insurance. Today less than 1% of U.S. pets are insured but over 23% of pets in the U.K. are insured. The primary reason we’re so far behind our European counterparts is that pet insurance in America is relatively new.
Here is a brief history of pet insurance to give you some additional context.
- The first pet insurance policy in the U.S. to TV dog Lassie in 1982
- The first pet insurance policy was issued in the U.K. in 1947
- The first pet insurance policy was written by Claes Virgin in 1890 in Sweden
Three Coverage Options:
There are three levels of coverage to choose from, however accident & illness policies make up for over 90% of all plans sold in the U.S.
- Accident Only – These plans are less expensive than accident & illness Policies but only cover vet bills related to accidents. We don’t recommend these plans because illnesses are more likely and more expensive to treat.
- Accident + Illness – The most popular plans. They account for over 98% of all purchases. An accident & illness policy covers everything but routine care.
- Wellness & Routine Care – You can add a wellness & routine care plan to a regular pet insurance policy. These plans cover expenses for annual exams, heartworm medication and dental cleanings.
Learn More: Pet Health Insurance 101
Incidence Rates:
Don’t think you need pet insurance for your pet because they’re young or healthy?
Consider these facts:
- A pet receives emergency medical care every 2 ½ seconds
- Every 6 seconds a pet owner is faced with a vet bill of more than $3,000
- Two out of every three pets will experience a significant health problem during their lifetime
Companies:
There are currently 12 pet insurance companies in the United States. The first company was founded in 1982 but over the past 10 years a half dozen new entrants have entered the market.
Here is a complete list of licensed, pet insurance companies selling plans in the U.S.
- Healthy Paws
- Petplan
- Pets Best
- Embrace
- Nationwide
- Trupanion
- ASPCA (Hartville Group)
- AKC (PetPartners, Inc.)
- PetFirst
- PetPremium
- Figo
- 24PetWatch
Learn More: Pet Insurance Companies
Company Rankings
Not all 12 pet insurance companies are created equal. In fact, some are excellent and well worth the investment and others aren’t worth enrolling in.
Coverage is the most important criteria when shopping for pet insurance because that’s what you’re paying for.
The second most important aspect is price. You should not choose the cheapest plan, but if a plan doesn’t fit your budget, you won’t buy it.
The third big bucket of importance is customer satisfaction. Sometimes the best way to evaluate whether or not a company has quality coverage and service is to read customer reviews.
The good news for pet owners is that there are a lot of options in the market. Just make sure you take the time to evaluate your options and focus on the top rated companies.
Learn More: Best Pet Insurance Companies
Customer Reviews:
Reviews are a great way to learn more about pet health insurance. Quality reviews give you a sense of which companies do a good job and bad reviews give you a sense of which companies to avoid.
However, reviews should only be one small factor in how you make your decision.
The fact is some pet owners get disgruntled by a company for not paying a claim in time or making a billing mistake. Unfortunately, like many other industries and services, the majority of pet insurance reviews come in two extremes.
With that said, customer reviews are some of the best ways to sift through the good and bad pet insurance providers.
Here is a sample review from the owner of an English Bulldog.
Learn More: Pet Insurance Reviews
About PetInsuranceQuotes.com: PetInsuranceQuotes.com is America’s largest quote comparison website for pet insurance. The company is fully licensed in all 50 states and offers plans from over a half dozen different providers. Fully independent and 100% free for pet owners to use.
Get Free Quotes for Your Pet Today!
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