Want to know how to provide the best pet health insurance possible for your cat or kitten?
For about $30 per month, you can have a decent plan to cover potential injuries and accidents.
How many sad stories have you heard where people have gone into serious debt to cover a surgery for their pet?
Or even had to euthanize or surrender her because they simply couldn’t afford treatment?
With the high cost of veterinary services, selecting the best pet health insurance plan for your budget is a smart decision.
Researching the Best Pet Health Insurance Plans
With plans ranging from extremely high-end with lots of coverage to more modest lower cost pet insurance options, there is a policy that is right for every family.
You may be wondering:
- How does pet insurance work?
- Are the various policies really complicated?
- How do I go about selecting the best company?
These questions and more may be going through your mind as you consider whether a health plan is the right choice.
The following is a basic introduction to the industry, and will shed some light on these answers to help you make your decision.
How Does Pet Health Insurance Work?
Pet insurance works similarly to health insurance for humans, but is less complicated and confusing.
Whenever your cat falls ill, the policy will cover a part of your veterinarian’s bill.
With the best pet health insurance policy, you can always have peace of mind that your pet will be taken care of in case of an accident or illness.
Today, you will find many companies in the market that offer many varieties of coverage plans.
After you select a policy and enroll your kitten into it, you do not have to worry when she falls ill or has an injury.
You will only have to pay a small part of the bill and the rest will be reimbursed or paid directly to the veterinarian by your pet insurer.
What Are the Best Pet Health Insurance Companies?
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It is hard to say what the best one is on the market at any given time.
Individual policy coverage fluctuates within various companies on a regular basis.
The good news is pet health insurance is becoming more competitive, so finding a good plan for your budget is relatively easy.
Important Features in a Policy
There is a difference between a basic and a premium plan.
Most often, a basic plan covers sickness, accidental injuries, emergency hospitalization, and general ill health coverage.
For a premium plan, you can get more comprehensive coverage, such as a “wellness plan” which covers more routine office visits.
Do a market study and decide which plan you need, depending on your kitten’s home lifestyle and also your budget.
Some companies’ plans do offer attractive low deductibles, however they often will only allow one deductible per year per pet in this coverage.
Also realize that if you have a kitten that goes outdoors, you may be denied coverage or will have to pay a premium, since the risk factors are much higher for outdoor cats and kittens.
If you have some senior citizen kitties in your household, you should be aware that some pet insurance companies even offer insurance for pets which are older than 10 years.
In such cases your premium rates will be higher but you will get better insurance for elderly pets that are prone to falling sick quite often.
Corrective and cosmetics surgeries are not covered by insurance plans. However, sometimes the best pet health insurance companies will offer a customized insurance plan according to your specific needs.
What Else to Look For When Selecting a Policy
When you decide how comprehensive you want your policy to be, the next thing is to compare rates and lifetime coverage.
Just because your kitten qualifies for an insurance policy while she’s young does not mean that it will cover her in the future when she needs it.
Only a few pet insurance companies allow lifetime coverage, so do your homework carefully. Another factor to compare is whether the policy allows for a choice of veterinarian.
If keeping your regular vet is important to you, then begin your research here.
Generally though, pet insurance doesn’t (or shouldn’t) mean that you have to give up seeing your regular veterinarian.
This is one advantage that pet health insurance has over many human insurance policies!
Another feature that may be important to you are insurance policies that offer multiple pet discounts.
Individual insurance can be a bit expensive and some pet insurance companies do offer discounts for insuring more than one pet.
This will save you the trouble of having to choose individual policies where you could end up paying significantly more than you would in a group policy.
Other Factors to Consider when Choosing the Best Pet Health Insurance Policy
A wellness plan is something to look into if you need a policy that covers beyond basic care.
Often wellness plans play a prominent role in the best pet health insurance policies. It covers physical examinations, vaccinations, regular checkups and more.
When you have narrowed down your choices, try to search for online reviews or customer complaints about the company. From these you will get a better idea about their service and how they handle claims.
Also make sure that your pet insurance policy will begin the same day you buy it without delays. Some pet insurance companies often make you wait up to 30 days.
Now that you have a candidate list of the best pet health insurance companies, you will want to review the main points of selecting a policy and company:
- Basic Plan or Premium?
- Lifetime Coverage Option Available?
- Customer Choice of Veterinarian?
- Multiple Pet Discount Available?
- Positive Customer Feedback?
If you have decided that getting a pet health insurance for your kitten is the way to go, don’t delay! Remember, it is easier to insure a young, healthy pet than one that is older or who has gotten sick.
Besides, you don’t want to be in a situation where providing urgent care for your sweet little kitten is a financial burden.
With all the choices available to you, selecting the best pet health insurance for your kitten (and budget) will also buy you some peace of mind for the duration of your beloved companion’s lifetime.
