When life happens to our pets, there can be a lot of choices and challenges to consider when making decisions about your pet's healthcare. You wouldn’t be reading this article if you didn’t want the best care for your furry friend. That is why we want to quickly explain the costs of pet insurance, as well as how deductibles work. At Embrace Pet Insurance, we want you to understand your options and what is available to you. So that if accidents or illnesses do happen, you’ll know what your pet insurance covers, how much healthcare will cost, and how much you save.
Article Contents:
Factors That Determine the Cost of Pet Insurance
How Much Is Pet Insurance?
Is Pet Insurance Worth the Cost?
What Our Pet Insurance Policies Cover
How do Pet Insurance Deductibles Work?
Policy Terms
Annual Pet Insurance Deductibles
Per-Incident Pet Insurance Deductibles
Get a Quote On Pet Insurance Costs at Embrace
Factors That Determine the Cost of Pet Insurance
Whether to purchase pet insurance or not is often related to the anticipated cost savings in order to justify and validate the cost. For those who have paid outrageous vet bills, pet insurance premiums are an absolute must, while others still have doubts. The insurance premium is the price you pay for your pet insurance policy on a monthly or annual basis. How those pet insurance premiums are calculated is determined by both pet-based and policy-based cost factors.
Pet-based cost factors for insurance policies include species, breed, gender, age, and vet location. While policy-based factors include the level of coverage chosen, deductible options, and your reimbursement percentage.
The lower the deductible you choose, the higher the premium you’ll pay, while a higher deductible will lead to a lower premium. Personalizing these variables allows pet owners to maximize their coverage while staying within their budget.
How Much Is Pet Insurance?
Statistically speaking, dogs seem to get themselves into more precarious and unfortunate situations than our feline friends. Resulting in more insurance claims and higher veterinary costs. Dogs and cats also have different health needs, and those differences can affect your pet insurance costs. Naturally, for these reasons, dog health insurance is often more expensive than cat health insurance. Regardless of any of that, we always seek for ways to provide the best healthcare for pets at affordable costs.
Our dog health insurance typically costs between $30-$40 per month, while our cat insurance costs an average of $15-$20.
Is Pet Insurance Worth the Cost?
When considering the costs of pet insurance, a common question is often “is it worth it?”. So let’s start with what an insurance policy does for you.
Pet insurance reimburses you for veterinarian bills related to accidents, illnesses, and injuries. The reimbursement percentage of your policy is the percentage of the bill your insurance provider will pay you back for eligible expenses, up to your policy limit, in accordance with your policy’s terms and conditions.
Depending on the severity of your pet’s affliction, that can be a substantial amount that people without pet insurance are forced to pay out of pocket. If you never need your pet insurance policy, you may consider it unnecessary, but for those who do, it can be a lifesaver.
What Our Pet Insurance Policies Cover
Embrace Pet Insurance gives pet owners the best possible insurance coverage we can. Covering pretty much everything to ensure you are covered for all the things your pet might get into. You can read a full overview of our pet insurance coverage in our blog, below highlights some of the ways a pet insurance policy can help with:
Injuries (ligament tears, broken bones, and more)
Cancer (osteosarcoma, cancer diagnosis, and treatments)
Unexpected illnesses (skin allergies, gastrointestinal issues, glaucoma, and more)
Chronic disease (diabetes, arthritis, heart conditions, and more)
Dental illnesses (extractions, gingivitis, root canals, periodontal disease, and more)
Hereditary conditions (hip dysplasia, allergies, intervertebral disc disease, and more)
Surgery (parvo, tumor removal, foreign body ingestions, bloat, and more)
Prescription medications used to treat or manage covered conditions
Diagnostic testing (biopsies, X-rays, MRIs, and more)
Emergency care (emergency vet clinic, exam fees, and after-hours care
To speak with a dedicated representative about policy details and more specific coverage options for your pet, please visit our pet insurance coverage details and request a quote. When you get a quote, you will receive a detailed overview of what a policy for your pet will cost and everything it will cover.
How do Pet Insurance Deductibles Work?
While the cost of monthly premiums is important, for pet owners making a claim on their pet insurance policy its the deductible, reimbursement rate, and payout limit that will have a much bigger impact on cost savings. A pet insurance deductible is the portion of the cost you're responsible for before reimbursement for eligible expenses begins.
In a real life example of a dog insurance claim, a Rottweiler puppy named Jensen could not recover from a strange ailment despite multiple trips to the vet. Because Jensen had Embrace Pet Insurance, he was able to undergo an explorative surgery through a specialist and found a colonic fistula which was keeping him sick.
Jensen’s vet bills totaled $9,781.00 for this puppy’s unexpected surgery. His owner Laura’s pet insurance policy included a $750 deductible and an 80% reimbursement rate. That means she was responsible for $750 before her reimbursement started, and then Embrace Pet Insurance covered 80% of the remainder. Laura saved $7,225 and was able to make an easy decision to spend $2,556 and save her puppy’s life versus what would have been a much more difficult decision of paying $9,781.
Policy Terms
The next cost consideration is the maximum payout limit. You'll generally have one of two options for pet insurance deductibles depending on what company you choose: annual deductibles and per-incident deductibles.
Annual Pet Insurance Deductibles
The best plans are annual limits, which means you need to meet your deductible each year, but once you do your coverage reimburses you. With most high level insurance companies, you receive unlimited payouts after meeting your deductible. At Embrace Pet Insurance, we offer primarily annual limit payouts.
Per-Incident Pet Insurance Deductibles
A per-incident pet insurance deductible means you pay the deductible each time your pet goes to the veterinarian for a new condition. You could pay more out of pocket if your furry friend has multiple health issues throughout the policy term.
What is a Pet Insurance Waiting Period?
Lastly, your waiting period is the amount of time you must wait before your pet insurance coverage starts. This is often in the fine print and not a point of emphasis but is something you should be aware of when considering pet insurance. Different plans and insurance providers offer different waiting periods, and can even vary based on the condition your pet experiences.
Always read the fine print of your pet insurance policy to ensure you are maximizing your healthcare and your policies value for you and your pet. Different plans may have waiting periods of 30 days, 6 months, and 12 months. If everything else is equal, you would want your pet insurance coverage to start in 30 days after purchasing your policy instead of waiting an entire year before your coverage begins.
Get a Quote On Pet Insurance Costs at Embrace
When it comes to choosing best pet insurance provider that is worth the cost, consider the important cost factors we discussed in this article. Embrace Pet Insurance works with you to provide the best healthcare for your pet while working with you to find the premium, deductible, and reimbursement rate that works for your budget. With flexible and customizable policy options, we make it easy for you to find the perfect plan for your pet's needs and budget. Plus, our annual pet insurance deductible model makes it easy to predict your out-of-pocket costs for veterinary care. Don't just take our word for it – see how our prices stack up by requesting a free quote today.