Medical Insurance for Pets
Scott A. Krick, D.V.M.
What are the odds of you enjoying a dog or cat through it's entire lifetime without any major illnesses or injuries? Believe it or not, studies suggest that there is a two in three chance that your pet will suffer a major illness at some time during its life. As costs for veterinary care continue to climb, third party payments are becoming a more common reality.
Traditionally, veterinary care has been a "bargain basement deal" when compared to equivalent human care. Since a large majority of the drugs, supplies, and equipment your veterinarian uses are identical to those used by your physician, he or she is forced to charge more as his or her expenses rise due to the upward cost trend in the human healthcare field. Sometimes a client can pay the charges "out of pocket". There have always been predominantly two alternatives for a pet owner who cannot afford the ideal diagnostics or treatments when a major illness strikes. One is to choose less expensive alternatives, and the other is to choose euthanasia. I believe we all agree that the latter two options are less than desirable. Fortunately now there is a third alternative which is pet insurance.
Although it has been available for many years, it is only recently that the idea of pet medical insurance has really caught the attention of the pet-owning public. Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI) is the name of the company who has the leading position in the market. There have been a few other companies who have attempted to enter the market in the past, but who have not remained for very long. The idea of medical insurance for pets is fairly similar to our own medical coverage. An annual premium is collected to cover the pet, a schedule of benefits is established, and a deductible applies to each incident. The most notable difference is that the policy holder is entitled to use any veterinarian worldwide and is not limited to a list of "providers". Also, no pre-authorization is required.
Veterinary Pet Insurance offers 2 basic plans. Annual premiums for the plans range in price from $101 to $146 (depending on age of the pet) for the "Gold Plan" to $171 to $ 251 for the "Advantage Plus Plan". (Rates for pets over 9 years of age are higher.) The plans differ predominantly in their scheduled allowance for each illness. Both have a $40 deductible per incident. VPI also offers "Vaccination and Routine Care coverage for an additional $99. Multiple pet discounts are available.
My limited experience with VPI has been very good. I have been very impressed with the benefit allowances. The policies pay 80% of the first $180 and 100% in excess of the $180 of the corresponding benefits schedule per incident after deductibles are met. The company has a "claims turnaround time" of 1 week or less. I have found that their turnaround time is indeed very rapid, and their staff to be very helpful in answering any questions.
The figures quoted above represent the most current information available to us. Please contact VPI for specific questions and quotes. Veterinary Pet Insurance can be reached with any questions by phoning 1-800-872-7387.
You alone can determine whether the risk of major illness or injury justifies the expense of pet insurance. Obviously, it saves you money only if you have to use it. For many people it may allow a higher quality of care and treatment which would otherwise be unavailable due to expense. For others, the peace of mind knowing your pet is covered is worth the expense.
Traditionally, veterinary care has been a "bargain basement deal" when compared to equivalent human care. Since a large majority of the drugs, supplies, and equipment your veterinarian uses are identical to those used by your physician, he or she is forced to charge more as his or her expenses rise due to the upward cost trend in the human healthcare field. Sometimes a client can pay the charges "out of pocket". There have always been predominantly two alternatives for a pet owner who cannot afford the ideal diagnostics or treatments when a major illness strikes. One is to choose less expensive alternatives, and the other is to choose euthanasia. I believe we all agree that the latter two options are less than desirable. Fortunately now there is a third alternative which is pet insurance.
Although it has been available for many years, it is only recently that the idea of pet medical insurance has really caught the attention of the pet-owning public. Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI) is the name of the company who has the leading position in the market. There have been a few other companies who have attempted to enter the market in the past, but who have not remained for very long. The idea of medical insurance for pets is fairly similar to our own medical coverage. An annual premium is collected to cover the pet, a schedule of benefits is established, and a deductible applies to each incident. The most notable difference is that the policy holder is entitled to use any veterinarian worldwide and is not limited to a list of "providers". Also, no pre-authorization is required.
Veterinary Pet Insurance offers 2 basic plans. Annual premiums for the plans range in price from $101 to $146 (depending on age of the pet) for the "Gold Plan" to $171 to $ 251 for the "Advantage Plus Plan". (Rates for pets over 9 years of age are higher.) The plans differ predominantly in their scheduled allowance for each illness. Both have a $40 deductible per incident. VPI also offers "Vaccination and Routine Care coverage for an additional $99. Multiple pet discounts are available.
My limited experience with VPI has been very good. I have been very impressed with the benefit allowances. The policies pay 80% of the first $180 and 100% in excess of the $180 of the corresponding benefits schedule per incident after deductibles are met. The company has a "claims turnaround time" of 1 week or less. I have found that their turnaround time is indeed very rapid, and their staff to be very helpful in answering any questions.
The figures quoted above represent the most current information available to us. Please contact VPI for specific questions and quotes. Veterinary Pet Insurance can be reached with any questions by phoning 1-800-872-7387.
You alone can determine whether the risk of major illness or injury justifies the expense of pet insurance. Obviously, it saves you money only if you have to use it. For many people it may allow a higher quality of care and treatment which would otherwise be unavailable due to expense. For others, the peace of mind knowing your pet is covered is worth the expense.