This veterinarian, Dr Clayton Greenway, covers the three major points, as I see it, about pet insurance and he does it very succinctly. The first point is that pet insurance is more likely to suit a person who is risk-averse. It suits people who worry more about health issues and whether they can afford to pay for treatments. And they want to get their dog or cat straight into the veterinary clinic for the best possible treatment without it being restricted by their budget. Some people do carry lots of insurance covering various matters because they are risk-averse. Other people are more inclined to take risks and therefore have less insurance in general. You decide which sort of person you are in this regard. It’s about peace of mind and for some the price of premiums is good value for this reason alone.
If the video does not work I apologise. Sometimes they stop working but this is out of my control.
The second point is that you should read the policy details carefully. You should decide what sort of policy you want, be it a limited one or more comprehensive one. You should also read the details which covers such things as the excess and those health issues which aren’t covered. I’m sure that there are many people who are disappointed with their policy because it didn’t cover the health issue which affected their cat or dog and they only find out about it when it’s too late. And note that normally you can’t take out pet insurance “after the fact” i.e. to cover and injury or illness that has already happened. A UK pet insurer Bought By Many says: “Up to £500 cover for pre-existing conditions in the first year of your policy”. They seem to be an exception but this does not apply to pre-existing conditions that have been treated by a vet in the three months prior to taking out the policy.
The third major point as I see it is that an alternative, which cuts out the administrative fees of pet insurance companies, is a self-insurance scheme which a dog and cat owner can set up themselves. It simply means saving a certain amount each month and assigning those savings to veterinary bills only. It takes self-discipline to save money and not to dip into the fund for non-veterinary bills. If, unfortunately, a health issue arises before the savings have not accrued enough to pay the bill then you might consider a company which I’ve written about based in the UK (and I suspect they have a similar businesses in the USA) which provides credit at low or no-interest rates – Care Free Credit. The credit can then be paid back over time. It allows a companion animal owner who is running their own self-insurance scheme to pay for a large bill for optimal care even though their savings do not cover that bill at that time.
