Buying pet insurance can save on vet bills
Would you spend $20 or $30 a month for pet insurance?
Sales of pet insurance in the United States topped $160 million in 2005, up nearly 25 percent from $129 million in 2004, according to Packaged Facts, the publishing division of MarketResearch.com.
Pet insurance covers the veterinary expenses of primarily cats and dogs, although coverage is available for other animals such as birds, reptiles, and certain exotic pets.
Sixty-three percent of US households own a pet, and last year they spent an estimated $38.4 billion on them, reports the American Pet Product Manufacturers Association. Of that, about $9.4 billion was for veterinary care.
Still, only 3 percent of dog owners carry insurance on their animals, says the association. Even fewer cat owners have pet insurance, just 1 percent.
For a while, Jen Popovic, a District of Columbia resident, had health insurance for her two cats, Toby and Maddie, and her dog, Sadie .
Popovic said she kept the insurance on her cats for about four years, paying about $20 a month for coverage on both, until they each died. Both were covered by Veterinary Pet Insurance, the nation's oldest and largest pet insurance provider.
She used the policy for a major surgery for Toby, who swallowed a red string he pulled from one of her dresses. His surgery cost nearly $1,500. The insurer paid about 40 percent the bill.
She used Maddie's policy for the removal of a cancerous tumor in her leg. That surgery cost almost $1,600, of which the policy covered about 45 percent, she said.
In Popovic's case, the insurance did save her some money. Typically pet insurance reimburses from 80 percent to 100 percent of a covered expense. However, there are maximum limits per health incident.
The range of coverage can vary widely by provider and the type of plan you choose. Plans can cover many different medical treatments, routine visits, vaccinations, flea control, and teeth cleaning. You can even get a policy that will compensate you for the death of your pet, Packaged Facts found.
Pet insurance, which is considered property insurance and is state regulated, doesn't work quite like health insurance for people. You have to pay the vet bill first and then you're reimbursed. But like our health insurance, there is usually a deductible.
Monthly premiums can run as high as $50 to $60 but are generally in the $20 to $30 range for policies that cover preventive care, accidents, and treatment of an illness, according to Packaged Facts.
As with choosing your own healthcare policy, the devil is always in the details, as Popovic found out with her dog. Sadie also was covered from about age 1 until she was 5, for a monthly premium of $26.
"The catch about Sadie's coverage was that she had a pre-existing condition," Popovic said. "I had taken her to the vet for allergy-related symptoms before ever enrolling her in an insurance program. I did not know about pet insurance at that time. When I enrolled her several months later, the medical records they requested revealed her allergy visit."
Since the insurer would not cover anything related to the dog's allergies, Popovic dropped the coverage.
"I kept her coverage for as long as I did, somewhat out of fear that she would have a catastrophic event, as my cats had," said Popovic. "Over time, I realized that it didn't make financial sense ."
The key to finding the right insurance policy is to shop around. Veterinary Pet Insurance (www.petinsurance.com or 800-872-7387) is the largest provider, with about 80 percent of the market. But the market is growing. There's Pets Best Insurance (www.petsbest.com, 888-899-0402) and PetCare (www.petcareinsurance.com, 866-275-7387). Even the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has jumped into the business (www.aspcapetinsurance.com, 866-861-9092).
If you're the kind of pet owner who treats Fifi like she's family, and you'd pay just about anything should she become ill, then this insurance might make financial sense.
Michelle Singletary is a columnist for The Washington Post. 
