Pet insurance can save pet owners thousands of dollars on procedures for their pet. It’s important to get pet insurance for your puppy as soon as you bring them home. If owners do their research on both their pet and their
pet insurance, getting pet insurance right away makes perfect sense.
Many pet owners debate whether or not pet insurance is worth it. Pet insurance isn’t that expensive-
most owners pay around $15-$20 a month for their pet insurance. However, it’s pretty well known that pet insurance doesn’t cover everything the way health insurance does.
For many owners, investing into pet insurance seems like a waste if their pet is denied benefits for a procedure.
This means that if your pet has an issue within the first 5 years of life that isn’t covered by pet insurance, owners waste over $1,000 on insurance that won’t even cover a needed procedure.
Pet insurance will not cover pre-existing conditions, but how do you know what a pre-existing condition is? As soon as you bring home your puppy, look into how insurance will effect your puppy.
Pre-Existing Conditions in Dogs
Unlike your health insurance, your puppy can be denied pet insurance if it has a pre-existing condition. This is the biggest reason why pet insurers urge owners to get pet insurance as soon as they bring their puppy home.
If you’re still not convinced, do some research on your puppy’s breed. Certain breeds of dogs, especially inbred dogs, can develop major health issues early on. Before you buy your puppy, make sure the breeder is a reputable breeder with all the right credentials.
After you bring your puppy home, look and see what common health issues the breed often experiences. These health issues can begin even as a puppy or a young dog. Rather than spending thousands on procedures for a health problem that will either eventually or habitually occur, it’s best to prepare before it happens.
Let’s say your pet does develop an extra growth or a benign skin neoplasia after the first year of life. It might not be a big deal right away, it’s a common problem in labs and golden retrievers. However, growths like this can reoccur throughout the life of a dog, and could potentially be cancerous.
Every growth costs around $400 to remove. If you have a golden retriever, your dog is also at a higher risk of cancer. Not only would you save money on removing the growths, you can also have the growths tested to ensure your pup is cancer-free.
Responsible owners will understand that if their pup’s breed has a common or recurring issue, that getting insurance right away ensures they can handle health issues as soon as possible. With pet insurance, even small issues like removing growths can save owners hundreds of dollars, and will also act as preventive care for testing.
What Does Pet Insurance Cover?
Pet insurance does not cover pre-existing conditions. Thankfully, if you get insurance right away, none of your pet’s future health problems will be considered “pre-existing.” In addition to pre-existing conditions, your pet insurance will not cover:
- Preventive, elective, and cosmetic procedures
- Boarding and grooming
- Food, even if it’s prescription
Unlike health insurance, the majority of pet insurance providers don’t work in a network. This means you’re free to go to any vet at any time. Most pet insurance plans will include coverage for:
- Accidents like cuts, broken legs, or ingestion
- Certain illnesses such as allergies, ear infections, and diabetes
- Hereditary and congenital conditions
- Routine care*
*For an additional cost, most pet insurance plans will allow a yearly check up along with other preventive care measures.
After doing research on your puppy’s breed and deciding what kind of coverage you’ll need, take a look at various plans your insurance provider may offer. If you have a breed with a lot of hereditary issues, like a boxer or a bulldog, you’ll want to choose a plan that will cover some- if not, most of the issues your puppy will eventually have.
Type of Plans
When you bring a puppy home, you should look into different types of plans that are available. Even if your dog’s breed doesn’t commonly have a lot of issues or you own a mixed breed, there are several types of plans that’ll cater to your puppy’s needs.
You can find plans that will cover 70-90% of your pet’s needs. Decide how much coverage your puppy might need in the future and pick a plan that covers:
- Accidents and illnesses
- Overall wellness plans
- Preventative care plans
- Just accidents
Depending on your pet insurance provider, you may find the plans and the coverage will change.
Need help finding the best insurance for your pet? Quote Purple works with some of the best pet insurance providers across the nation and can find you the best and most competitive rates.
