Should you consider pet health insurance?

The costs of veterinary care for your pet are not getting any cheaper. One of the reasons for this is that many of the drugs and supplies used in the treatment of animals actually come from the same manufacturers and suppliers that provide these products for people, and the prices for these items keep rising dramatically. (One recent example involves an eye ointment from a well-known company that raised the price of the product more than 1,400 percent virtually overnight when it acquired the manufacturing rights for the medication.)

Most pet owners take their pets to see a veterinarian once a year or so for a physical exam and updates for immunizations. These routine visits, while not inexpensive, are small when compared to an emergency visit due to an accident or sudden illness. Chronic illnesses, such as heart or kidney disease can also become very expensive over time, as can the management of conditions such as diabetes, which requires the purchase of insulin and more regular visits to your veterinarian to help monitor treatment. In these cases, pet health insurance could be very worthwhile.

Pet health insurance has been around for more than a century. In Britain, 23 percent of all pets are covered by insurance. It is a more recent phenomenon in the U.S., although it has been in existence for almost 30 years, with Lassie being the first dog to be insured in 1982.

Insurance for pets is more comparable to the type of insurance you have for your home or auto than it is to the medical insurance that people may have. In most cases, a percentage of your expenses for veterinary care are reimbursed to you after you submit your receipt for the services your pet received. Within the last 10 years, more than a dozen insurance companies that provide policies for pets have started, and it has become very confusing for the average consumer to sort it all out. Each company has different plans and reimbursement schedules as well as exemption policies, especially for pre-existing conditions.

As a rule of thumb, the younger your pet is, the less expensive the insurance costs will be. Waiting until your pet gets older or actually needs the medical insurance means that you are probably too late, as most companies will not extend coverage in those situations. One strategy to help you lower the costs for insuring your pet may be to consider a policy that only covers major medical expenses in the event of a serious injury or illness.

To find out whether or not pet health insurance is right for you, I recommend visiting the following websites: www.petinsurancereview.com and www.pet-insurance
university.com. These are information sites for veterinarians to learn more about insurance, but the information is valuable for any pet owner.

Dr. Kiel is the U.S. Army veterinarian currently supporting NAS Whidbey Island and Naval Station Everett. His columns appear the first and third Friday of each month.

Please send questions or comments to Dr. Kiel at
joseph.kiel@navy.mil.