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What Does Pet Insurance Cover?

by Kimi

The North American Pet Health Insurance Association has reported that the pet insurance industry has doubled between 2018 and 2021. This industry has provided relief to pet owners around the world.

If you have a pet, you must want it to be healthy and active. You have to spend tons of money on their medical bills to keep them away from any type of disease.

The routine checkups of pets can put you out of budget, or you can’t afford heavy hospital bills in case of pet accidents or any serious illness.

In this scenario, a pet insurance agency can be a lifesaver for you and your pet. Pet insurance covers every aspect of your pets’ health.

There are different types of pet insurance, and each type covers a different aspect of a pet’s health expenses.

Let’s discuss these types in detail so that you can choose the right one for your pet.

Types of Pet Insurance

There are three types of pet insurance:

  • Accident and illness coverage
  • Accident Coverage
  • Wellness Coverage

Each type covers different aspects of a pet’s health, which you should know before taking any type of insurance.

Let’s see what each type of pet insurance policy covers.

Accident and Illness Coverage:

This insurance policy covers specific breed diseases, chronic illnesses, and injuries from accidents.

If your pet receives injuries in an accident, the health costs will be covered by this insurance policy.

If your pet has been diagnosed with a specific breed disease, such as blood disease, eye disease, or hip dysplasia, this insurance policy will cover all hospital bills and surgery bills.

If your pet develops a chronic illness such as hepatitis, diabetes, arthritis, skin allergies, dysplasia, inflammatory bowel disease, or kidney disease, it will be treated under this insurance policy.

It helps pay for prescription medicine, diagnostic tests, surgeries, and other medical bills. You can pay medical bills for different procedures, such as chemotherapy.

But, different insurers can provide limitations or not cover specific diseases in this policy, so be clear about the policy’s terms and conditions before applying.

If your pet has been diagnosed with a disease before enrollment in this insurance policy, that disease will not be covered by it.

Some policies also have specific waiting periods which you have to endure before surgery or treatment.  For example, the insurance policy will give you money for surgery for hip dysplasia, but only if treatment of your pet has been started for at least six months after applying for the insurance policy.

The major drawback of this insurance policy is that it is highly expensive and doesn’t cover routine medical check-ups. So, if your pet doesn’t have any hereditary issues, you shouldn’t go for this type of insurance.

Accident Coverage:

It is an affordable insurance policy that only covers medical bills related to accident-related injuries. It covers almost every type of mishap that is either inflicted by the pet itself or the fault of the pet’s owner.

This policy covers broken bones, motor-vehicle accidents, sprains, ingesting foreign objects, lacerations, and X-rays for diagnosis.

This policy is best for healthy pets that don’t have breed-specific illnesses, as it doesn’t cover those. It is also best for owners of older pets who have outgrown accident and illness insurance coverage.

This policy does not cover hereditary issues, routine checkups, illness, or self-inflicted injuries. It doesn’t cover poisoning, intentional harm to the pet, or injuries your pet gets in organized fights.

Wellness Coverage:

It is also known as “preventive care” coverage, which covers routine checkups, vaccinations, broken bones, microchipping, spaying, teeth cleaning, certain tests, neutering, and flea and heartworm preventatives.

It usually has a zero deductible, and can’t be taken as a standalone policy.  The negative point of this insurance policy is that you can’t use it with an accident-only insurance policy. It can only be taken with an accident and wellness insurance policy.

This policy does not cover grooming, training, routine anal-gland expression, pregnancy, or other breeding-related expenses.

Wrap Up

These are the three main types of pet insurance policies that cover different aspects of a pet’s health.

Do remember that different insurers have different policies and cover different aspects of diseases and medical bills, so you should be clear about the policy before applying for insurance.

The accident-only policy is the most affordable one among the three, and comprehensive coverage is the most expensive one.

So, do check the different aspects of different insurance policies before applying for one.

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