What Does Pet Insurance Cover and Is It Worth It?

When you adopt a pet, you may wonder whether or not investing in pet insurance is worth it. Learn more about what pet insurance does and doesn’t cover below.

Why Get Pet Insurance?

Insurance plans will differ as will pet owners’ individual budgets and whether or not pet insurance will work within that. But if you have to visit an emergency animal hospital or get a procedure done for your pet, you may find yourself wondering if pet insurance would have been worth it. Considering the fact that 92% of pet owners spent the same or more on their pets during the recent recession period, it’s clear most pet owners won’t cut corners when it comes to the care of their pets.

What Pet Insurance Covers

The amount of coverage that you get in a plan will be dependent on the type of coverage that you purchase. Typically all pet insurance will cover the basics such as diagnostic testing, injuries caused by accidents, chronic and common illness, and basic wellness procedures. Things like surgeries and hospitalizations may also be covered depending on the reason that the treatment or procedure is being done.

What Pet Insurance Doesn’t Cover

Just like insurance for humans, there are certain illnesses and ailments that aren’t covered by insurance. For example, any pre-existing conditions will likely not be covered by pet insurance. So if your dog gets sick and you take them to the emergency animal hospital for treatment, if you sign up for pet insurance the next week and go back to the hospital for continued treatment, it will most likely not be covered.

Things like optional or cosmetic treatments will most likely not be covered by insurance as well as costs for breeding or pregnancy for your pets. Though some insurances will cover these things, a majority of them will not, so make sure to double check your coverage.

Pet insurance may or may not be the right choice for you as a pet owner, and you’ll have to consider the pros and cons to getting coverage in your own life. If you have the room in your budget, it’s always better to be safe than sorry, but if you think you have enough saved up to cover any surprise costs that can come up during trips to the veterinarian’s office, that can be a good option as well.

At Southern Arizona Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Center we are happy to provide a wide range of veterinary specialty and emergency services. It is important to have a “primary care” veterinarian to keep your new family member healthy and happy with routine vaccinations and health checks. But if you find yourself in the midst of a veterinary emergency, our team of experienced veterinarians is here to help. When it comes to visiting animal hospitals, we understand that the experience can be full of stress and worry, so we aim to make things as simple as possible. For more information, get in touch with one of our experts today.