How much does pet health insurance cost per month?

To get medical insurance for your pet, you can expect to pay an average of $20 to $30 per month for a dog and $10 to $25 for a cat. Pet insurance companies will work with pet owners to provide them with affordable monthly payments. If you have a medical service pet for the disabled, or have a therapy pet used in nursing homes, you may be eligible for a 10% discount.

What does low cost pet health insurance cover?

This type of insurance provides preventative care to avoid serious medical conditions as well as major medical surgeries. It just depends on the plan you choose.

Preventative Care:
• Spay/neuter
• Vaccinations and yearly exams
• Heart worm treatments
• Flea control medications
• Teeth cleaning
• Microchip identification
• Kennel costs when you go on vacation

Medical Operations:
• Surgeries
• X-Rays, MRI, Cat scans
• Serious Illnesses

If you decide to not get pet health insurance, this is an idea of the expenses you could potentially expect to pay at your veterinarian.

• Gastroplexy – A bloated condition in a dog’s stomach due to excessive gas, fluid or food. This can cost anywhere from $1,200 to $5,000.

• Bladder Infections – $2,800

• Hip Dysplasia – $2,400 plus medications.

• Ingestion of foreign body – $4,300 (Your pet gets into the trashcan and swallows a chicken, pork or steak bone)

• Gets hit by a car – $5,000

• Fractured leg – $2,400

• Diabetes – $1,500 – $2,000 (Very common with cats)

• Cancer treatments – $3,500

• Cataracts – $1,500 – $3,000

• Spay/Neuter – cost depends on the weight and age of dog. Average cost is $150 to $200. You could also check on-line with the ASPCA.org. When you type in your zip code, it will give you a location of a pet program in your community that can do it cheaper, like in the range of $75. If you live in NYC, there are actually mobile veterinary clinics that will travel to certain neighborhoods since there’s an overpopulation of stray animals on the streets.

There are a lot more operations pets have, but these are the more common medical conditions that can develop in a dog or cat’s life span. As you can see, you could potentially spend thousands on your pet between preventative care, diagnostic fees, operations, medications, and the costs to keep your pet in pet hospital while healing, or you could choose to get a low cost pet insurance plan that will fit well within your budget.

The amount of people in the U.S. that have pet insurance for their pets is only 1%, but that could be due to the fact that they either don’t know that affordable insurance exists, think they can’t afford it, or just hope for the best that their pet won’t get sick.

Ultimately, getting pet health insurance will give you that peace of mind if anything should happen to your pet and the comfort of knowing you won’t be surprised with unexpected medical expenses. If you decide to get an opinion on pet insurance plans, you could always check with your vet and compare pet insurance, per the health condition of your pet.

Resources: Pet Article courtesy of http://pet-articles.blogspot.com.

If you already own your pet, depending upon its age, it may be rejected by some insurance companies. Just like with buying a life insurance policy, if you have pre-existing medical conditions, then insurance companies can be picky and might reject your pet. On
the other hand, if you have not purchased your pet, you might want to do some research on the typical health problems that your breed of pet may face. You could add up the estimated out-of-pocket expenses that you could potentially spend on your pet, and then decide if pet insurance is worth it to you.

Why purchase low cost pet insurance?

Dealing with the loss of a pet is difficult, but if you had the chance to save your pet without going into debt, pet insurance would give you that peace of mind. It makes it harder when you have young children attached to family pets and then you receive unexpected news that your pet needs a major operation. A few years ago, the bad news may have resulted in your pet being put down, but with today’s veterinary science, it’s now possible to have pet operations that were once reserved for just humans.

Pet insurance covers sky high vet bills. If you own more than one pet, then you’re vet bills are even higher. The purpose of pet insurance is really for the unaffordable vet bills and the unexpected medical bills that will pop-up over the life of your pet.

Kennels costs are covered and will ensure your pet is cared for. Not everyone likes to ask their neighbor, family and friends to watch their animals. It can seem more of a burden and worry for some. With pet insurance, you can put that worry to rest.

Pet theft is also covered. If your pet is stolen, pet insurance will assist in covering advertising expenses and will provide financial assistance for the replacement of your pet, should something end the life of your pet.

Pet claims average between $3,000 and $5,000, depending upon the operation. Again, knowing the background medical conditions that your pet could potentially face, will save you from being surprised in the future.

Fortunately, there are a variety of insurances available for all ages of dogs and cats. You can now get dog health insurance and cheap cat insurance. There are starter programs where a certain number of illnesses are covered per year. There is comprehensive coverage
where a life time coverage may cover up to 90% of all illnesses. Complete coverage may be another option where you would be responsible for paying an annual wellness cost of $150 and the insurance would cover around 75% of the costs. If you have older pets, senior care insurance will cover geriatric ailments. You may also be able to mix and match some of the coverage just like you would with your health insurance plans. You never want to pay for more coverage than what you need.

Low cost pet insurance can be as low as only $10 to $20 per month

Paying this amount of money is a sure way to keep your out-of-pocket medical expenses within your control. No one wants to go into debt with their pet, especially if the operation doesn’t work. Finding a plan that works for your budget is as easy as searching on the internet. Key in the term pet insurance quote or affordable pet insurance programs and compare with a pet insurance comparison. Once you find a quote you agree on, you’ll be on your way to having the security of knowing your pet is protected.

When should you purchase pet health insurance?

Get insurance for your pet when your pet is still young or at least healthy with no pre-existing medical conditions, or your pet will not qualify for all programs. When you do purchase your pet insurance, this is also a great time to find what the estimated increase in premiums will be as your pet grows older.

Resources: Global Pet Insurance.com – Providing the best pet insurance for dogs and cats.

Every medical insurance plan is different. There are health discount cards and many plans to choose from for everyone. There are plans for a family, a group, an individual, the self employed, student health plans, child-only policies, and senior citizens.

Next you'll want to decide on which type of policy to choose from. You have the option to choose from an HMO plan, a PPO plan, Flex Spending Account, or a Health Savings Account. In order to decide which is best, you'll first need to educate yourself on what each of these plans are about separating the pro's from the con's.

Suggestion Option #1 – Health Savings Account

A Health Savings Account is a great idea to get through your employer. It's kind of like a tax deferred 401K retirement plan savings account, that is transferrable wherever you go. Ofcourse, it can only be transferred to another Health Savings Account when you move onto another employer. The money you put into the account is contributed on a tax preferred basic, and any early withdrawals receive penalties. The good news is, if the money is withdrawn for qualified medical expenses, then they are tax free. The potential bad news is the custodial fees could be high. You don't want to be paying fees higher than the amount of interest you're earning on your account.

Suggested Option #2 – Flex Spending Account

A Flex Spending Account is a little different. It's an account that reimburses you for expenses that your regular health insurance plan will not cover. This plan allows you to pay for medical bills on a pre-tax basis. The good news here is you can lower your taxable income and increase your spendable income. Expenses that are eligible for reimbursement by the Internal Revenue Service are the only expenses that a Flexible Spending Account will cover. To figure this out, just look at your health plan booklet. Whatever expenses are not covered by your health care plan, is usually what the FSA will cover. Another thing to keep in mind is, calculate your out-of-pocket medical expense in advance. If you over calculate and put more money in this type of an account than you plan on spending, then you lose it 3 months after the calendar year is over.

Guaranteed ways to get low cost medical insurance

Like most types of insurance, paying a higher deductible will give you the lower insurance rate. If you're fairly healthy and are doing all the right things such as eating healthy, exercising, going for regular check-ups, this shows you're motivated to stay healthy. If you're reasonably healthy, then you only should get the health coverage that you need. So many people make the mistake of over insuring by purchasing health insurance coverage that they don't need. Why pay for all the bells and whistles insurance when you only need the basics?

Resources: Insurance CoverageDiscover how you can save on all insurance coverage