by hummingbird » Sat Jan 05, 2008 04:35 pm
You have decided to obtain pet insurance for that special member of your family, but that does not mean that you have to give up all the finances that you have. Yes, pet insurance can be expensive, but if you can shop a little sensibly, then you can find various ways to get cheap pet insurance.
What affects the cost of pet insurance?
The cost of pet insurance can be affected by several factors:
Here are few simple tips to help you lower the cost of pet insurance:
Your pet is your family member and you are responsible for its well being. Pet care can be expensive and pet insurance can save you when you suddenly need to take your pet to the vet for treatment. So if you have pet insurance, your provider can pay for the cost of treating your pet (s) for any kind of illness.
- The kind of insurer you get pet insurance from
- The place where you stay
- Sex of your pet
- The policy limits that the insurance company offers
- The type of pet that you own
- Age of your pet
Here are few simple tips to help you lower the cost of pet insurance:
- The first thing that you need to decide when looking for pet insurance is the type of insurance to buy for your pet. Find a policy that suits your pet's needs and provides the coverage that you have been looking for.
- It is important that you find out how much you will have to pay out of your pocket before your insurance provider reimburses the cost of treatment. You must also find out if there is any annual cap to the existing policy and also how much will be the maximum amount paid by the insurance company per treatment.
- Veterinarian costs can vary significantly from one region to another. Small towns usually have lower pet care costs as compared to big cities. This affects the reimbursement rates and some insurance providers base the pet insurance premiums on your zip code and some may base it on the state you reside in.
- Dogs are said to suffer more injuries than cats and hence need to be taken to the vets more often. Due to this insurance for dogs is comparatively more expensive to cats. Purebreeds are subject to specific ailments and hence they too attract greater premiums. Insurance companies may simply exclude certain illness or medical conditions that are considered hereditary within certain breeds of animals.
- Pets at the age of 8 weeks through 5 years old get the best insurance premium rates. Usually insurance companies do not agree to write policies for older pets. However, even if you have insured your pet at a younger age, the premiums may go up as your pet grows older.
- Having too much pet insurance won't help. However, the excess in pet insurance is the amount that you need to pay before you can make your claim on pet insurance. If you want to pay lower premiums then the deductibles that you choose must be high. Higher the deductibles lower the premiums. Again if you choose a lower deductible, your premiums will go up. Striking a balance between what you and your insurer pays for the veterinarian’s bills is of utmost importance.
- Another way you can try to get low pet insurance quotes is to shop online. Not only can you find cheap pet insurance online but you can also find them quickly and without wasting too much of your time. You may collect quite a few insurance quotes from different internet sites and compare the price of each to find the best deal.
- Say you think that the very first pet insurance quote that you have got is affordable, you should still look around for more quotes. You never know, you might come across a different company that offers you the same pet insurance benefits at a lower price. You may even look for available discounts or even an introductory discount from your insurer.
Your pet is your family member and you are responsible for its well being. Pet care can be expensive and pet insurance can save you when you suddenly need to take your pet to the vet for treatment. So if you have pet insurance, your provider can pay for the cost of treating your pet (s) for any kind of illness.
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My sister has 2 maltese that she treats like her children. I told her she should get dog insurance.She says she would but there is no such thing.I would have thought there was like pet insurance.Is she right ?There is no pet insurance?
Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2008 04:57 pm Post Subject:
I did some research for a friend not too long ago on this very subject, I found that ukc/akc has information on their webpages about different insurances. See if your vet or clinic accepts them. I listed what we researched below for you, hope this helps.
A policy should cover your preventative as well as long-term care; you will want to have a list of questions prepared before contacting the company. Some questions you will want to ask are: (1) does the policy cover accident, illness and preventative visits? (2) does it cover lab fees, testing, x-ray, surgeries, etc? (3) what medicines and treatments are covered, (4) is dental cleaning covered? (5) are there other perks available such as discounts, newsletters, clubs or other literature that concerns your pet's health and behavior? (6) What is the claim filing process, how long does it take? Is there a waiting period? Is it reimbursement or direct pay? (6) Is there an age limit or breed restriction?
Once you have you have all your answers make a comparison chart. Discuss your concerns with your veterinarian, talk to friends that have pets and carry insurance on them.
In conclusion, your pet is part of your family, purchasing good quality health insurance is important. When you are weighing out all your options, a good approach will be to act as if your are purchases insurance for yourself. Gathering all the important information and making an informed decision will pay off in the end.
Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2008 04:59 pm Post Subject:
We spent alot of time researching this, she can start also by asking her vet or breeder what they recommend. We found tons of information just by using a google search engine, becareful, there are alot of scams out there.
Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 04:19 am Post Subject:
Did you go and see if this insurance is on the 150+ insurance types? I would visit there and see if you can get information on it there. It is right at the top righthand of this page.
Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 11:42 am Post Subject:
I ''happen'' to know, that if you have Progressive insurance (first if you have collision coverage they cover your pet free up to 500 bucks IF hurt in an accident...how cool is that?)...anyway if you are prog. insured there are a couple of pet ins companies that will give you a 5% discount...this is on progressives site.
Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 08:44 pm Post Subject:
Thnaks I will check that out. I don't think my sister is fond of that insurance company I do think that is the one that a woman had who hit her car in a mall parking lot. That company tried to force after market parts on her and she didn't want them as her car was quiet new at the time.
Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2008 11:19 am Post Subject:
That company tried to force after market parts on her and she didn't want them as her car was quiet new at the time.
yeah, all companies have 'guidelines' re:(well everything really!) a/m part useage..ie none on same year with 15k or less, and so on...just depends really on the year/mileage and which parts we are talking about.Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2008 12:25 pm Post Subject:
She is better able finacially to afford better insurance than I. She said she would never use that company because of that fact.
Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2008 01:44 pm Post Subject:
she would never use that company because of that fact
that's too bad...i hate to tell her though ALL insurance companies do it...(a/m parts)...now there are a few (and i wish all did) that sell an endorcement at a much higher cost of course, that mandates ONLY new oem parts in the case of an accident...what she should do is call the CLAIMS DEPT NOT THE AGENT of her company and ask about their guidelines regarding a/m part useage, (assuming she isn't endorced as i said, and that endorcement is very very rare, state specific and only a few companys offer it)....I'm afraid she is going to be very disappointed....and :xPosted: Tue Jan 08, 2008 03:58 pm Post Subject:
Thanks for the info I will pass it along. I think for the time she is happy with the company she has though.I will give her the info and she can do with it what she may. Thanks
Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2008 06:44 pm Post Subject: I have horse insurance
from farm bureau. It covers my horses if they die from anything other than natural sickness. They are insued for theft, vadalism, FRIGHT, car accidents, trailer accidents, even being hit by lightning. It's called an inland marine policy.
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