What does pet Health insurance cover for cats: Best Pet insurance is one of the fastest growing types of insurance. Both the types of policies and the companies that offer them have been expanding in recent years, helping more pet owners get comprehensive, affordable coverage.
Pet insurance not only helps cover the increasingly expensive medical costs for your pet, but it can also help you avoid the difficult choice of life-saving treatment for your pet due to high costs. Moreover, flexible policy options make it easy to get the coverage you need at premiums you can afford.
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How does pet health insurance work?
Historically, pet insurance companies offered a reimbursement type of coverage. This means you pay the vet first, then apply for reimbursement directly from the company. However, if a claim is filed immediately and the veterinarian is willing to wait for direct reimbursement, a growing number of companies are now paying directly to licensed veterinarians.
The cost of coverage will depend on deductibles, co-insurance, and the annual policy limit you choose.
For example, a policy with a $250 deductible, 70%, coinsurance, and a $25,000 annual limit would have a premium of $100 deductible, 90%, coinsurance, and an annual limit of $40,000.
As we’ll explain below, premiums will also be determined by factors specific to your pet and geographic location.
Once you have a policy in place, benefits are payable for any listed treatment or procedure provided by any licensed veterinarian or pet care facility in your state of residence.
However, you should be aware that while some companies offer coverage in all 50 states, there are some companies that do not operate in all states.
In most cases, when services are provided by a veterinarian, you need to submit a claim. There is usually a deadline for filing, which can be anywhere from 60 days to 90 days after treatment is provided. If you fail to file a claim within this time frame, the claim will be rejected.
What does pet insurance cover?
Specific treatments and procedures covered include:
- Common ailments like vomiting, diarrhea, and ear infections.
- Serious diseases include cancer and heart disease.
- Accidents and injuries resulting from collisions with vehicles and other incidents.
- Hereditary condition.
- Laboratory work includes blood and urine tests.
- Surgical procedures and hospitalization.
- Prescription, if specifically listed in the policy.
You should also be aware that pet insurance coverage is limited to dogs and cats and is not available for less common pets such as birds, rabbits, reptiles, snakes, and other pets. Also, only pet names are covered in the policy. If you have multiple pets, you must cover each one in the policy.
Which companies provide pet health insurance?
healthy paws
Healthy Paws is one of the top low-cost providers in the pet insurance industry. An advantage of this provider is that you can manage the policy entirely from your mobile device – the company has done away with paper claim forms.
They provide coverage for both accidents and diseases, including cancer and even genetic conditions. Coverage extends to elective care. Reimbursement is limited to 70% or 80% with a $250 or $500 deductible.
But like other pet insurance companies, Health Paws doesn’t cover pre-existing conditions or health inspections.
Lemonade
Lemonade offers an advantage over other insurance companies in that they offer homeowner’s and renter’s insurance policies as well as life insurance. This will give you the ability to have multiple policies with the same company and get a 10% discount if the company offers both your home and pet insurance.
You can choose from several options for annual coverage limits, which can range from a minimum of $5,000 to $100,000. You can also choose to pay 70%, 80%, or 90%.
Lemonade also offers a Preventive Wellness Plan, an option you can use for wellness visits and proactive treatments, such as vaccines, flea and tick medication, heartworm prevention, and dental cleanings. In fact, this will cover three vaccines per year.
Pumpkin
Pumpkin is one of the newest pet insurance providers, only starting in 2020. But they have some real benefits, including up to 90% reimbursement, as well as a preventive care package.
And like the other suppliers on this list, Pumpkin is 100% digitally powered. There is no paperwork to fill out the form.
Pumpkin also offers dental insurance, but more importantly, they cover pre-existing conditions. H is there. If your pet has been symptom-free for at least 180 days, even if they are in the future, they will cover treatable conditions.
Additionally, they cover prescription drugs, hereditary conditions, behavioral therapy, and even prescription foods for qualifying conditions.
Another great benefit they offer is that your premium will not automatically increase after you make a claim. And while some companies don’t accept pets over a certain age, Pumpkin has no age limit.
Deductibles are available in $100, $250, and $500 amounts. But there is also a 10% discount for each additional pet enrolled in the program.
One major limitation to be aware of: Pumpkin caps maximum annual coverage for dogs at $10,000 (with options up to $20,000), and cats at $7,000 (with options up to $15,000).
Hug
Embrace is one of the well-established pet insurance companies launched in 2003. They have one of the most comprehensive coverage packages in the industry and offer a higher level of coverage flexibility than most competitors. They are one of the few pet insurance companies that will cover wellness visits.
For example, services they cover that aren’t typically part of a pet insurance policy include prescription drugs, rehabilitation, alternative therapies, and even behavioral therapy.
Genetic conditions, cover diseases like dysplasia, breathing difficulties, allergies, and other hereditary conditions.
Reimbursement limits are 70%, 80%, and 90%, and deductible limits are between $100 and $1,000 per year. But keep in mind that this company has a relatively low annual benefit payout limit. It will range from $5,000 to a maximum of $30,000, although they have unlimited options.
Pet Insurance Is It Worth It?
Pet insurance can certainly be worth it, although you’ll get more value out of your plan if your pet is sick or injured and you’ve maximized your annual pet insurance payout.
That said, the cost of a pet insurance plan (Pet Health Insurance Cover) may be worth it for the peace of mind alone. Best of all, pet insurance allows you to pay the monthly or annual fee knowing that you are financially protected from additional vet bills.
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