Dog Insurance Essentials
With a constant tail wag and boundless energy, a dog will let you know when it wants something.
Maybe your old mutt knows it’s feeding time, or maybe your cuddly puppy wants to play around with its favorite toy.
Whatever the case, a dog will make sure to get your attention.
However, that isn’t necessarily the case when your dogs is sick or ailing.
Their unbridled enthusiasm gives way to a sullen disposition, and all its playfulness suddenly disappears.
One look into your dog’s eyes and you can tell something’s wrong, and that a visit to the vet is in the cards.
But veterinary care can get expensive quickly, no matter if your dog is a full-grown golden retriever or a six-month old Frenchie.
If your dog or puppy suffers an accident or if it needs constant medical attention, lab tests, surgery, or medical imaging (MRI, x-rays, ultrasounds), the process can easily run into the thousands of dollars.
As pet owners, we want to provide our dog with a better, healthier life, but sometimes it’s beyond our financial means to do so.
Pet insurance can help absorb some of the economic blows that vet bills strike on your wallet.
But to understand what it is, how much it can cost, what it covers, and which one best suits your needs, we need to go over the basics of pet insurance for canines.
What Are the Types of Pet Insurance for Dogs?
In much the same way health insurance works for humans, pet insurance exists to help cover medical expenses in case your dog or puppy falls ill or suffers an accident.
Owners pay a monthly premium to receive coverage, of which there are three main types:
Accidents and Illnesses
Also known as Comprehensive coverage, this type of pet insurance is broad and covers injuries sustained during an accident as well as any illnesses that may befall your furry friend, as long as these conditions aren’t classified as pre-existing or listed as exclusions.
For example, comprehensive insurance can cover x-rays and surgery for broken bones or swallowed objects, as well as treatment for cancer or diabetes.
It won’t, however, cover conditions such as hip dysplasia.
Comprehensive is the most often recommended type of coverage because of all the conditions it covers.
Accidents Only
This is a more affordable version of the previous policy.
As the name implies, this type of coverage only extends to accidents and doesn’t provide relief for illnesses or diseases.
Although comprehensive coverage is a better option overall, this policy is useful for cost-conscious owners.
Wellness Coverage
This type of policy is designed to cover routine procedures for your dog, such as regular check-ups, vaccines, heartworm treatment, flea and tick prevention, and spaying or neutering, among other things.
This coverage is also referred to as preventative care.
Although it seems like a helpful policy to have, you might be better off just paying for these procedures out-of-pocket.
In a general sense, you want to get as broad a coverage as possible for your dog, so it should include the following:
- Surgery
- Emergency care
- Medical imaging (x-rays, MRI, ultrasound)
- Hospitalization
- Diagnostic and laboratory tests
- Specialist care
Nonetheless, the coverage you select should always be based on your dog’s specific needs and your financial circumstances.
What’s Not Covered by Pet Insurance?
You should always keep a close eye when it comes to pet insurance, since most plans carry a list of exclusions.
Insurance providers define pre-existing conditions as injuries or illnesses that your pet exhibits before the coverage’s effective date, and can include:
- Hip dysplasia
- Allergies
- Ligament or joint injuries
- Cancer
Insurance companies are very meticulous when determining what is or isn’t a pre-existing condition, so before enrolling your dog for insurance, they’ll first ask you to complete a medical history questionnaire for your dog.
This gives insurance companies a sense of what symptoms your dog currently presents and any potential red flags for future health problems.
Because of this, the sooner you enroll your dog into a pet insurance plan, the less likely a pre-existing condition can be identified and excluded from coverage.
Some pre-existing conditions, like cancer, are covered only if they happen after your dog is insured.
Others, like , no matter if your dog has previously exhibited symptoms or not.
There are other pre-existing conditions that comprehensive or accident-only pet insurance won’t cover, including:
- dental care, unless it’s related to an accident
- vaccinations
- sterilization (spaying or neutering)
- tick, flea, parasite, or heartworm treatments (such as pills or de-worming)
- any type of grooming, including nail clipping and shampooing
To cover these, some insurers might offer riders or add-ons you can purchase to supplement your pup’s standard coverage, while other exclusions might be covered by a preventative care policy.
Additionally, most insurers cover euthanasia in case of severe injury or terminal illness, although its approval might require the dog to be of a certain age.
For these reasons, it’s extremely important for you to read the policy in its entirety and understand what is and isn’t covered by the plan.
If you still have questions, you should clear all doubts by contacting a customer service representative from the insurer you’re interested in; you don’t want to be paying for more coverage than your dog needs, but you also don’t want to be underinsured.
How Much Does It Cost to Get Pet Insurance for Your Dog?
Now that you know the types of coverages available for dogs, you can start.
Monthly premiums for your dog’s coverage can range anywhere from $20 to $100, and several factors can affect this cost:
- The deductibles chosen
- The reimbursement percentage
- The plan’s benefit limits
- The dog’s age
- The dog’s breed
- Your current location
Obviously, you don’t have control over things like your dog’s breed or age (although the younger you enroll it, the less expensive the premiums can be).
However, you do have control over how much of a deductible you wish to pay, what percentage of the vet costs you want to be reimbursed, and the benefit limits of the plan you decide on.
Depending on your choices, the monthly premium will either increase or decrease.
Deductibles
A deductible is the amount of money you’ll have to pay before the insurer starts chipping in.
There are 3 different types of deductibles :
Annual Deductible
This includes any condition, injury, or disease during the year.
Once you reach this amount, the insurer will pay out according to the reimbursement percentage chosen.
This deductible resets yearly.
Per-Condition Lifetime Deductible
This includes separate deductibles for different conditions (you might have to pay $100 for allergies and $100 for diabetes, for example.)
However, once these deductibles are met, the company will pay out for the remainder of the dog’s life.
Per-Condition Annual Deductible
This is basically a combination of the two deductibles above; the deductibles for each condition reset each year.
Reimbursement
Your dog’s insurance coverage will typically work through reimbursement.
This means that you pay your vet bill and, after the deductible amount is reached, you fill out a claim so that the insurer reimburses the corresponding amount.
Depending on the reimbursement model used by the insurer, you can choose the percentage for the amount you get back.
Reimbursement can range anywhere from 100% to 70%; the higher the reimbursement percentage, the higher your premiums will be.
Benefit Limits
Finally, pet insurance companies set caps on how much they’re willing to cover after you meet your deductible.
These limits are similar to deductible types and are categorized as follows:
Unlimited Lifetime
Once you reach your deductible, the company won’t establish a cap on coverage and will pay out all the corresponding amounts.
Annual Maximum
The amount the company pays out is capped on an annual basis.
This means that, after you cover the deductible, the company will only pay out up to a certain amount (like $10,000 in a year, for instance.)
Annual Per Incident
The payout is capped annually and per incident, so the insurer will pay out, say, $500 for x-rays or $1,000 towards cancer treatment.
It also resets annually.
Lifetime Maximum
Lifetime maximums can be either per condition/incident or in total.
If your dog suffers from chronic conditions such as diabetes, the insurer will only pay up to a certain amount and then you’d have to pay out-of-pocket for all costs in the future.
For obvious reasons, the unlimited lifetime option is the most attractive alternative for customers, while lifetime maximum plans are the least recommended.
However, this also means that premiums will be higher for the former option than the latter.
Let’s look at a hypothetical situation with all these factors:
You have a two year old Schnauzer named Bingo.
Bingo inadvertently ate some raisins, which are extremely toxic to dogs.
You get in your car and rush Bingo for emergency vet care.
The labs and procedures cost a total $300, and since you have a $100 deductible, you’ll be able to make a claim on the remaining $200.
You had chosen a plan with 90% reimbursement, which means that the insurer will give you back $180 (90% of $200).
The remaining $20 is your co-pay.
How to Choose the Best Pet Insurance for Your Dog
While coverage and pricing are the two main factors when choosing pet insurance for your dog, there are other things you should know and do before making a final decision.
Get quotes from as many insurers as you can and compare prices between them.
You should be forthright and consistent when answering health history questions to receive comparable quotes from them.
Remember, all pet insurance providers offer different coverage packages, so it’s extremely important to know your specific needs.
You should also ask for quotes inputting different ages for your dog to check if premiums will rise as your dog ages.
Check for discounts from insurance providers.
Many companies offer discounts for simple things like purchasing online, insuring multiple pets in your household, or insuring a pet that’s also a service animal.
You can also receive discounts if you’re currently a member of the United States armed services, a veteran, or if you work or study in the veterinary field.
Verify customer satisfaction with the company as well as their history and reputation.
Searching online for customer reviews, particularly for the claims process, is essential to get an idea of how a company works.
Companies that have easy-to-use online claims processing, mobile apps, or 24/7 representatives over the phone are preferred.
Consider enrolling your dog when it’s young, since you’ll avoid having any future injuries or symptoms classified as pre-existing conditions.
Also remember that the younger a puppy is, the lower the monthly premiums will probably be, since the price tends to rise as dogs get older.
In fact, some companies won’t insure a dog after a certain age.
Nonetheless, make sure the provider you choose doesn’t have a minimum age either, as some companies might require that a puppy be at least six to twelve months old before being eligible for enrollment.
It might also be a good idea to bypass wellness or preventive care packages.
Although these options seem like they would save you money, the reality is that, more often than not, you’re better off paying out-of-pocket for services such as vaccinations or regular check-ups.
In the long run, you would pay more in premiums than you would for procedures.
Finally, make sure to read the policy language carefully.
You should understand everything your plan covers, up to what amount, and for how long.
Pay close attention to any waiting period that an insurer might include before your dog’s insurance kicks in.
You might not be able to initiate a claim immediately after acquiring the insurance, since companies have different waiting periods for accidents (a couple of days), illnesses (maybe weeks), or congenital diseases (possibly months).
Knowing all these things will help you choose a pet insurance plan for your dog or puppy that gives them the protection they need, living a full and prosperous life beside you.
For further information, you can check out our 10 Best Pet Insurance companies page.