Dog health insurance is probably one of the greatest innovations for dog owners. For a small monthly premium, the health care of your dog becomes greatly expanded and no longer hampered by expensive veterinary costs that are simply unaffordable. While dog health insurance will certainly not foot the entire bill, it does help by reimbursing the dog owner for out-of-pocket expenses related to necessary and preventative care, which can help keep a dog in great health and lengthen its lifespan.
Policy Options and Benefits
Dog health insurance policies are available for both purebred breeds and mixed breeds and culminate virtually every type of medical care that a dog could ever need, including:
This list is in no way all inclusive, but it should give the dog owner a good idea of the type of benefit they can expect to get from dog health insurance plan. Keep in mind that there are a variety of policies; some of them cover preventative care, such as vaccinations and heart worm treatment, while others may only offer incidental coverage, such as for x-rays and cancer treatment.
The most average dog health insurance policy will include a maximum annual benefit of between $10,000 and $12,000, which greatly assists your ability to obtain adequate medical care for your dog. However, the policy a dog is eligible for and the monthly cost will be dependent on the age of the dog, its breed predispositions, and its past medical history. Most policies, however, can be picked up for about $15 to $30 per month.
Pre-Existing Conditions
Before you buy any dog health insurance policy, you must absolutely read the fine print. Pre-existing medical conditions, hereditary conditions, and congenital disorders will usually not be covered on a dog health insurance policy. In addition, some policies even restrict benefit payout on diseases which are preventable by vaccinations, so it is important to make sure that you are getting the best benefit from the dog health insurance policy before you buy it.
Is It Worth It?
For the most part, dog health insurance plans seem to offer many advantages for a relatively low cost; however, they are definitely lacking in some ways. There is absolutely no way to determine what the future of your dog’s health will look like, but breed predispositions can tell you a lot. If you own a dog that is prone to a large variety of health conditions, you may want to confirm which of those conditions would be covered under a dog health insurance plan. Otherwise, you may find that the policy is absolutely useless to both you and your dog.
Overall, there are certainly some viable financial benefits to obtaining a dog health insurance policy, but because each dog’s health needs are different, it is important to determine if the benefits of such a plan would be beneficial to your dog’s individual needs.