Pet Health Insurance
Why Consider Pet Insurance?
While pet owners must be prepared to take on the financial responsibility of maintaining a pet, unexpected illnesses or accidents can take a toll on your bank account. Emergency medical procedures and treatments for animals have become advanced, and can be expensive. The cost of delivering procedures and treatments such as X-rays, ultrasounds, CT scans and blood work for animals is comparable to human medicine. While these expenses are covered for humans here in Alberta, pets are not so fortunate. Pet insurance provides a sense of security for pet owners by ensuring that they will have help paying for an expensive veterinary bill in the event that their pet needs medical care.
What kind of coverage do I need?
The type of coverage you will need depends on a number of factors:
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Factors |
Consider this… |
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Your budget Monthly payments, emergency funds |
Are you financially prepared to pay for a veterinary bill that could cost thousands of dollars? If you don’t think you’ll be able to pay for expensive treatments, you may wish to purchase a more sophisticated policy to ensure that you won’t have to pay a large lump sum if/when the time comes |
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Dog breed Medical predispositions of certain breeds Breed-specific insurance premiums |
Some breeds are more susceptible to certain illnesses or conditions. So, before you purchase pet insurance, it’s a good idea to ask the insurance company if these illnesses would be covered in the event that your pet acquires a condition that is predisposed to its breed. Some insurance providers may also charge larger premiums for breeds that are predisposed to specific illnesses. |
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Pet’s medical history and character Health problems Accident-prone Furniture or garbage chewer |
Some pet insurance companies do not cover the cost of treating existing conditions or illnesses resulting from existing conditions. Others will put a limit to the number of claims you can submit for those pre-existing conditions. If you adopted a stray cat or dog, you may not know if the animal has a recurring illness/condition. You may want to consider a broader insurance policy... just in case. |
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Pet’s age Current age of pet Life expectancy of the breed |
Some insurance companies are willing to offer a lower premium rate based on the age of your pet. So, it may be a good idea to purchase your policy while your pet is still a puppy/kitten. Also, a younger untrained, more rambunctious puppy may be more likely to be injured in an accident, whereas an older, obese dog may be more likely to acquire some kind of illness. |
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Where you live Apartment or house Indoor cat or outdoor cat Rural or urban area |
If your cat goes outdoors, he/she is more susceptible to injury from other animals, and is more likely to pick up diseases and parasites. Similarly, if your dog lives on a farm and roams free outdoors, he/she is more likely to be injured by wild animals at some point in his life.You may choose to protect outdoor pets with extra coverage… just in case |
Which company offers the best insurance packages?
Westmount Animal Clinic does not endorse any one specific insurance product or company. As with any product/service you purchase, you should do some research to determine which product best suits you and your pet.
What kind of insurance coverage is available?
There are generally five categories of pet insurance coverage available in Canada. These are:
Accident coverage
Illness coverage
Preventive/routine health care coverage
Death, cremation and burial coverage
Specialty coverage (e.g., advertising and reward benefits for lost pets,boarding and third party liability coverage).Will pet insurance cover regular veterinary examinations and vaccinations?
Most pet medical insurance providers do not cover the expense of regular veterinary maintenance. Please check with your provider to ensure you know what your policy covers.
Do the pet insurance policies cover pets on vacation – out of the province? Out of the country?
Some insurance policies cover pets while out of province or out of the country. Check with your provider to ensure you know where and under what circumstances your pet is covered before you take your pet on vacation.
What is co-insurance?
Co-insurance is your portion of the cost of claims. For example, if your policy has 20% co-insurance, you would be responsible for 20% of the cost of each claim.
What is a deductible?
A deductible is a predetermined amount that you are responsible for paying before accessing insurance coverage. Deductibles can either be charged annually or per claim.
What kinds of questions should I ask the insurance provider?
Make sure you know how your insurance plan works before you need to make a claim. Some of the questions you may wish to ask the insurance companies before you purchase pet insurance are:
What kinds of illnesses are covered under this plan?
What is the difference between your products?
What is the deductible?
Can I increase the deductible and pay a smaller monthly premium?
Do the premiums change over time? (e.g., as the dog ages, or if you make a claim against the policy)
Do you offer any discounts? (e.g., for microchipped pets, for multiple pets, for spayed/neutered pets)
Is there a maximum payout per claim? per year? per household? per policy?
How do I make a claim? Do I need to pay the veterinary bill first, before I can make a claim?
Are injuries caused by automobile or household accidents covered by this plan?
What kinds of medical treatments/interventions are covered by this plan?
What kind of things are not covered by this plan?
Is there a waiting period before I can make a first claim?
How does co-insurance work?
Do the terms and conditions change if a pet owner enrolls multiple pets?
Petsecure http://www.petsecure.com
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