Choosing a Pet Insurance Plan for Your Dog
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We have made the decision to purchase health insurance for our furry friends. Owning dogs that are athletes, agility competitors, we thought this was a good decision.
There are many companies that have entered the pet insurance market. We selected the policy offered by the American Kennel Club. This is available only to pure bred dogs. It is not the largest insurer of dogs, but from our perspective we thought the coverage was excellent. Once you meet the deductible, which is low, they then pay 80-90%. The A.K.C. Pet Health Care Plan pays well, and promptly. They also will pay for medication, even common pharmaceuticals such as Heartworm preventative treatment, and tick/flea control products. Common inoculations, teeth cleaning and wellness checks are paid at 90%.
Most pet insurers will reward you if you start the dog with them as a young animal, and stay with them through the life of your pet. The internet is full of information and comparison of companies.
Before our association with the A.K.C. Pet Health Care Plan we were with another, larger company, they were difficult to deal with, paid slowly, and amounts varied. We were with this large company as our older dog was dealing with cancer, this group was not very helpful and the amount of payment changed with every correspondence.
Big is not necessarily better.
What to Look For
- When choosing a plan, ask for the following information to make sure it fits your needs.
- What is the deductible?
- How much do they pay after meeting the deductible? Does it vary depending on the ailment?
- What does the plan cover? What doesn’t it cover?
- What are the rates? How do they change as the pet ages?
- How do you submit a claim?
- When a claim is submitted, how long does it take for reimbursements to arrive?
We have definitely made good use of our policy with A.K.C. Our six year old dog developed Polyarthritus, an expensive ailment to treat. The insurance company has been great. I must admit that filing the claims is easy, but you must make sure that all the instructions have been followed exactly as directed.
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About the Author
Judy has raised and trained dogs for over twenty years. She has formal training in both dog agility and obedience. She has been competing in dog agility since 2000.