As anyone who loves one will tell you up front, your pet is more than an animal. It's like a very young family member, and as such, it relies on you, its human, to provide it with food and shelter while above all keeping it healthy. This will involve a steadfast dedication to its medical needs.
What happens, though, when veterinary bills run sky-high and no money exists to pay them? Even the pet who rarely leaves home can meet with medical problems. If you and your furry friend spend any time shopping at Downtown Summerlin or doing a time-honored meet-and-greet at a favorite dog park, the chance of illness or accident can only multiply. Unfortunately, this may call for a trip to the vet, but if you can’t afford to pay the bill, what will you do then?
Why Pet Insurance Matters
At All Kinds of Insurance, we understand that veterinary care is rarely inexpensive. If your pockets aren’t sufficiently deep, an accident or illness suffered by your pet could put you into serious financial difficulty. In the worst of cases, the prospect of an over-the-top veterinary bill could force you to make the untenable choice between letting the animal suffer or having it put to sleep.
Fortunately, there's a better way. It's pet insurance, and it will see you through the difficult times when accident or illness demand the care of a veterinarian.
Depending on your specific needs and the rates you want to pay, your choice of pet insurance can cover a multitude of situations. Your various options include:
- Wellness coverage. This arrangement will usually reimburse you up to a predetermined amount for such things as vaccinations, tests and yearly exams.
- Accident coverage. If your pet should be hit by a car, swallow a foreign object, break a bone or encounter another sort of unexpected mishap, having this option in place could save the contents of your wallet as well as the animal's life.
- Illness coverage. This will prove particularly useful if your pet should happen to fall victim to such ailments as stomach upset, thyroid trouble, ear infection, diabetes, cancer or any one of innumerable potential illnesses.
- Dental coverage. Although most such policies do not reimburse for preventative procedures like cleanings and routine dental care, most will compensate you for accidental injury and dental reconstruction as well as for periodontal treatment.
- Continuing care coverage. This will be of invaluable assistance in meeting the needs of an eligible pet afflicted with diabetes, allergies, cancer or any other chronic, ongoing condition.
- Coverage for congenital and hereditary conditions. Owners of breeds with a particular predisposition toward such costly health problems as epilepsy, hip dysplasia, cancer and the like will benefit from this option.
- Alternative therapy coverage. This will include hydrotherapy, acupuncture, physiotherapy and other unconventional methods of treating a covered condition.
- Behavioral coverage. The dog who exhibits separation anxiety or engages in obsessive or destructive behaviors can often benefit from reimbursement for treatment to diagnose and correct or alleviate the condition.
Pet Insurance Exclusions
No pet insurance plan that hopes to remain cost-effective can possibly cover every eventuality. In addition to pre-existing conditions, most of them will exclude claw removal, ear cropping, tail docking and other elective procedures that some believe to be both unnecessary and inhumane.
Other common exclusions include:
- Excessive veterinary fees and charges.
- Certain chronic conditions for ineligible pets.
- Breeding costs.
- Vaccination tags.
- Special diets.
- Boarding and grooming.
- Multiple surgeries for foreign-object removal within a certain time frame.
In addition, most suppliers of pet insurance will decline to cover organ transplants or treatments that they consider to be experimental, holistic or homeopathic in nature. There may also be a waiting period for coverage of some illnesses, congenital or hereditary conditions and certain injuries to the pet's knees or ligaments.
The Overall Benefit of Pet Health Insurance
Whether you think of your pet as a best friend, a fuzzy child or simply a treasured family member, you want to see that it always receives the level of care it deserves. Don’t let a lack of financial ability thwart your efforts. With luck, your pet may never require expensive medical treatment, but you cannot predict that in advance. If the worst should happen, adequate pet insurance coverage could allow you to authorize the treatment that could not only save but also extend the life of your pet. For such a beloved and valued creature, do you really want anything less? Call All Kinds of Insurance today at 702-534-4697.