Health & Fitness
Caring for Your Pets: Why Pet Health Insurance is a Good Idea
After practicing veterinary medicine for 33 years I've seen big changes in the care and cost of having pets.
I want to begin and end with the same compelling statement: "owner's that have pet health insurance spend half as much and get twice the care of non-insured pets".
All of you that have cared for your pets over the years have noticed how the cost of pet care has risen. Not just veterinary care, but the cost of food, flea and tick preventative, and all the fun things we buy them at the pet stores. Not a day goes by that I'm not shocked at the cost of the new lines of "gourmet" dog and cat foods. Some are upwards of two to three dollars per pound! It's now a fact that pet owners spend more money on ancillary products for their pets than they do on veterinary care.
And veterinary care has risen dramatically over the last decade for many reasons. Every aspect of owning a veterinary hospital has inflated dramatically, from insurance, supplies, drugs, labor, and health insurance. So, your best hedge against these continuing rising costs is pet health insurance. Just a few years ago, there was only one or two pet health insurers...now there are many. In general, the earlier you get insurance, the better. Most insurers do not cover pre-existing conditions. However, unlike our health insurance, the process is pretty simple. And they really cover the entire spectrum of illnesses and surgery. Most are now paying for hip replacements and chemotherapy, for example.
