Tips On Selecting Health Insurance For Your Pet

Increasingly, pet owners are going the extra mile to make sure their pets are happy and healthy. For many, that means protecting their pet’s health-and their own bank account-by purchasing pet health insurance.

Such insurance has been available in the United States for more than 25 years, and it continues to grow in popularity. For example, from 2006 to 2007, the growth rate of pet insurance policies jumped from 13 percent to 23 percent.

Over the last decade, it has grown to become a strong, viable and expanding segment of the insurance industry. For instance, since November of 2005, more than a half dozen new companies have entered the marketplace with different pet health insurance products.

With this growing number of providers to choose from, selecting the policy and provider that are right for you and your pet can be a real challenge.

Here are some tips on what to look for when selecting a policy from the experts at VPI Pet Insurance:

Company Stability

When researching a pet insurance company, it is important to know how long it has been in business and if it is financially stable. What is the rating of the company’s underwriter and how long has it been with that underwriter?

Veterinary Recognition

Is your veterinarian or his or her staff member familiar with the pet health insurance company he/she recommends? Inquire if the person making the recommendation is receiving financial incentives for suggesting a particular company.

Wellness Coverage

Preventive care is critical to the long-term health of a pet. In order to encourage and remind pet owners to take their pet to the veterinarian on a regular basis, the company should offer coverage for common preventive treatments and procedures: wellness exams, vaccinations, heartworm protection, spay/neuter, teeth cleaning, prescription flea control, etc.

Continued Coverage for Chronic Conditions

Companies should continue to cover conditions as long as the policy remains continuously current, without charging you an additional premium.

Coverage Away from Home

A policy should be effective whether your pet is in your home, traveling with the family or accidentally lost.

Full Transparency Regarding Reimbursements

Does the company use a schedule of benefits or a usual and customary fee list? It should be clearly communicated to policyholders which of the two reimbursement programs is being used.

Transparency in Coverage

If the company claims to cover hereditary and congenital conditions, are the benefit limits for these conditions enough to cover treatment? For example, a company may claim to cover hereditary conditions, but then only offer a $200 lifetime maximum benefit.

Physical Exams

How often does the company require physical exams? Some companies, for example, require a physical exam every year in order to maintain coverage.

Preauthorization

for Treatment

If a condition or treatment is covered under the policy terms, no preauthorization for treatment should be required.

Claims Submission

Companies should allow policyholders to fax or mail claims, and there should be a reasonable time limit on submitting claims. If a claim is denied, there should be a review process in place available to the policyholder.

Premium Increases

Premium increases should be based on your pet’s age and not on the dollar amount or number of claims filed.

Policy Cancellation Penalties

There should be no penalty for canceling your policy, whether because of choice or loss of the pet.

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Do the research before buying pet insurance.