Pets enrich our lives by providing welcome companionship and loyalty through our toughest days, as well as our happiest ones. What would you do if yours got sick? Are you prepared to bear the financial burdens of veterinary visits and the associated treatments? If you don’t have insurance for your pet, that could prove to be difficult.
According to statistics from the American Pet Products Association, people collectively spend an estimated $69 billion on their pets, with $16 billion of that going towards vet care. That’s an all-time high.
In fact, taking a pet to the vet is one of the biggest expenses owners face, with only food and supplies costing more.
Vet Care Costs Continue to Rise
Vet costs are higher than ever because there are more medical options if our faithful furry family members get diagnosed with serious ailments, such as cancer. As recently as a decade ago, those treatments didn’t exist, but now, it’s possible for sick pets to receive chemotherapy, cyber knife treatment and even acupuncture.
Furthermore, many people understandably value their pets tremendously. A study conducted by scientists at Georgia Regents University found that, when faced with a hypothetical situation of having to save a foreign tourist or their pet from an oncoming bus, 40% of respondents said they’d save the animals.
Pet Insurance Fits a Cost-Conscious Lifestyle
When it comes to pet insurance, many people ask, “Why should I pay for something I might never need?” Indeed, many people think the same about renter’s, travel, and health insurance, too. But, that’s a very risky mindset.
According to claims data from policyholders of Petplan pet insurance, Californians spend an average of over $1500 per year on veterinary visits. Even in states where individuals spent the least, average annual vet bills were $769 or higher. Contrast those figures with the fact that the average annual premium is just $440.
Pet owners inevitably know that animals can be mischievous and problems can occur just because they’re curious. What would you do upon discovering the reason you can’t find your missing sock after doing laundry is that your puppy swallowed it? What about if your cat chewed your aloe vera plant or got too familiar with one of the other common plants that are toxic to felines? It’s just too risky to assume your pets won’t need veterinary care, even if they’re usually healthy.
Pet insurance policies typically include accidents and illnesses, as well as chronic and hereditary diseases ranging from arthritis to diarrhea, along with even more extensive health problems.
Feel You’ve Done All You Can
The loss of a pet is devastating and many people who experience it go through some or all of the five stages of grief. Data indicates 87% of pet owners report dealing with at least one grief stage and 22% are still grieving after a year.
There’s nothing you can do to bring back a pet that has passed away, but it may be easier to deal with the aftermath of that event if you know you were financially able to pursue all courses of treatment available. Doing that may not be possible without pet insurance, but when your animal family member has coverage, you can breathe easier and not face the difficult decisions associated with trying to afford unexpected expenses.
Because pet insurance represents a consistent, small cost, you can easily work it into your budget. Also, consider that because healthcare is more accessible to pets that are insured, it’s more feasible to take pets to the vet sooner and potentially get problems taken care of before they become life threatening.
Some people argue savings accounts serve the same purpose as insurance but consider the amount of time it takes to accumulate the amount that may be necessary to take care of vet bills. If your pet got sick within the next month, could your savings account cover the associated expenses?
In the Netherlands, 48% of pets have coverage, compared to only 1% of animals in the United States. Workers in the United Kingdom even get offered pet insurance as an employee benefit.
The pet insurance industry is poised for growth. But more education is necessary before the majority of people in this country fully comprehend how high veterinary costs can be, and that insurance makes those expenses significantly more manageable.
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Anum Yoon is the personal finance blogger who started and maintains Current on Currency. You can catch her on Twitter to follow her updates.
Photo Credit: your_mind_aches
You’re probably better off saving the money you would have put into insurance. If nothing happens, then you get to keep the cash at the end of the day. The worst case scenario is that you end up spending that money at the vet anyway to take care of your sick pet instead of giving it to an insurance company in the first place.
I’m with you, Carl!
48% of people in the Netherlands have pet insurance? Talk about a stat that makes you say “wow!”
That is amazing, isn’t it, Briana? It’s almost hard to believe.
Problem I see with pets is if you can’t afford to own one, maybe you shouldn’t ?
I see folks that are living pay check to pay check, renting, etc, and yet feel the need to have several dogs/cats/snakes/ferrets/stupid-pot-mine-pigs/etc….all of which are fine I guess once you have the means to fund them.
My thinking on insurance is you get to the point of self funding as much as possible, only having insurance for the really big disaster stuff that would financially break you. My house insurance, for example, I carry a $5,000 deductible, because if the washing machine overflows and wets my new wood floor (it did), I’m gonna fix the pipe, and the floor myself anyway….and then install a drain in the floor under the washer in case it ever does THAT again !
On pets: We’ve had ‘farm dogs’ here forever. When one gets to the point of going to “good dog hill” (pet cemetery on the farm), we go to the pound and get a new one, or take in a roadside stray. I generally give them their distemper/parvo/etc shots myself (vaccines from the farm store), they get rabies/worm check from the local vet.
Had a GREAT Border Collie once that developed a hind knee problem once, vet says probably a torn crucia ligament….even took him down to UT vet school in Knoxville for a consult, and they scheduled him for surgery in a few months (new school term). I hated the thought of this older, but still high energy dog being laid up for months with that healing.
Wife found some “Happy Jack” brand glucosamine pills for arthritis at the farm store, and we tried them on him while waiting on the surgery date….within a month, you wouldn’t know he ever had a limp….I’m guessing it was arthritis, not a torn ligament. Dog went on for many years after that with a small dose of the pills from time to time.
I had a neighbor who has long since moved away who was struggling financially, but insisted on keeping five dogs and several cats. It is amazing that some people can’t seem to understand that animals are relatively expensive to maintain — especially when you’re struggling to make ends meet.
I tried a pet insurance once and they wouldn’t cover more than just regular shots; called everything a “pre-existing condition.” She needed an xray for her shoulder, that never bothered her before, “pre-existing condition.” It was just nonsense. They weren’t even surprised or apologetic about not covering what they said they would when I called to cancel. Now I found a vet that has a shot/wellness plan for an affordable rate and the pet insurance plan is canceled.
I had insurance on a previous cat and found that it was not worth it. They excluded many things and only gave a small discount (about $3 on a $45 consultation for example) so I got rid of the insurance. I decided to self-insure by saving a small amount monthly in a pet fund that is separate from my checking and regular savings. That way I can cover the cost of something that comes up since the insurance most likely will exclude it. The amount that goes into savings now is the cost of the prior insurance so it works out in my case.
The tend that I see is that the advanced medical services available to pests have greatly expanded. Used to be that if fido had cancer, that was it, now there are cancer treatments for pests.
Also, a lot more pure-bred’s around, so the initial investment is much higher in the pet.
Another scenario that get you is a series of high but manageable expenses. If one knew up front what the total billing would be, fido would not have been long for this world… this has happened to a few folks I know. But once fido is part of the family, feelings take over.
Bottom line for me is, no pet unless you can afford one (w/o insurance). If you need insurance, then you likely can’t afford one.
And one has to know thyself, if you can’t handle putting a pet down, then you likely should not have one unless you have deep pockets.