the Cost of Health Insurance for Pets

At $20/month it covers catastrophic incidents like broken bones, accidents, and emergent diseases. It doesn't cover recurring items like maintenance vaccinations or booster shots, checkups, teeth cleanings, grooming, etc. It also doesn't cover medications. However, the insurance company did negotiate reduced rates with a variety of vets in the area for the recurring services and medications, with between 5% and 50% discount depending on the procedure.

Considering that it covered the cost of removing a cancerous tumor, followup checkups, and five rounds of chemotherapy with a total billed cost of $5000, the $240 we paid for the coverage before the dog was diagnosed with cancer was a bargain. It couldn't have been easier. We signed off on the vet's paperwork, the vet sent it into the insurance company, the insurance company called us to confirm the paperwork, and paid for the treatment.

Be sure you're only paying for what you need. Some programs are like human health insurance coverage and cover everything down to clipping toenails. The thing is, if you know you're going to have to pay for something regularly, like teeth cleaning or grooming, it's actually cheaper to pay for it yourself because regardless of insurance the vet or groomer still gets paid the same, and there's an extra layer of processing on the money since it goes from you paying premiums, to the insurance company who ultimately pays the vet or the groomer.