Pet Insurance 101

Statistics show that 1 out of 3 pets will need emergency treatment every year and 2 out of 3 experience at least one major health crisis in their lifetime. 

Considering the rise in costs for veterinary procedures and with premiums starting as low as $25 per month, pet insurance may be worthwhile for your and your 4-legged family member.

How does pet insurance work?

For starters, pet insurance plans are really not that much different than what we are used to with human insurance plans. Essentially, they cover some of the same benefits we as humans get with our providers such as; accidents and illnesses including some preventative medicine options as well.

List of a few pet insurance providers:

• PetsBest covers accidents and illnesses but has some exclusions. They offer a $20,000 lifetime limit on claims and have a per accident deductible. However, they also have one the fastest claim payouts of 3 to 5 days. They also offer a wellness plan for an additional small fee.
• Petplan also covers accidents and illnesses but have an annual claim limit of up to $20,000 (depending on your plan). They do NOT cover pre-existing conditions but alternative therapies such as acupuncture, physical therapy, hydrotherapy, etc. are covered.
• Healthy Paws covers any and all accident or illness including hereditary or congenital conditions. One thing that makes Healthy Paws stand out is that they are one of only two pet insurance providers that offer unlimited lifetime benefits with no per incident or annual limit limit on claims made.

Know what to ask before you buy!

There are some major differences among the pet insurance policies so make sure you get the right answers to your questions before you buy. To help you, here are a few questions we have compiled for you:

1. How is reimbursement calculated? Be sure to look for those that pay out based on the veterinary bill not on the benefits schedule.
2. What is covered? Not all plans are the same and most have exclusions. For example, if your pet has hereditary or congenital conditions, you may want to look for the plans that cover those specifically.
3. What are claim limits? Understand what caps and limits are applied per incident or claim per year.
4. How is their service? Service is a big part of the insurance industry. Here are epetsure™, we will provide detailed reviews of each provider including their service and response time to customers.
5. How long does it take to be paid? Claim payouts can vary among providers. Be sure to check with each provider on times and verify that with review from their customers.

What to do next?

Research is a pivotal part of ensuring you are purchasing the right plan to protect your 4-legged loved ones. At epetsure™ we are aiming to make this process easier through education and detailed plan comparison for pet owners. Just like you, we are pet parents too and were frustrated by the process of finding the right plans to protect our pets. Stay tuned as we make progress towards our launch!