This article was written by The Zillennial Zine’s spring editorial intern Eli Casas. Find them on Instagram at @elicasasnow. If you would like to share an article with The Zillennial, send us an email at thezillennialzine@gmail.com.
Pets, commonly known as our fury babies, are everything! For many of us, they are the equivalency of having a child. I am convinced that pets know how to remind us daily that we are their parents. Anything from being vocal through behavior to flat-out expressing their needs and wants, but the ultimate moment of parenthood comes when they get sick. This is when they tend to be extra vulnerable and, at times, helpless. That’s where you make all the adulting decisions, and your money turns into parent money! Over the years, I have learned that unexpected vet visits hurt the most, but maybe it doesn’t have to be that way. Is pet health insurance worth it?
Breaking It Down
Similar to medical insurance plans, several pet health insurance plans are available, with different providers and rates.
According to Forbes, Pets Best offers the best pet insurance for cats and dogs. This company is comprised of several individuals with different backgrounds associated with pet care. In fact, co-founder Dr.Stephens immersed himself in pet insurance to help owners provide the proper care for their furry friends. He witnessed owners having to decline care due to costs, which often led to the euthanasia of their companions.
Thus, I took it upon myself to test the waters and see how accurate Forbes Advisor’s projection of the cost of pet insurance with Pets Best aligned with my actual quote. It was close. On average, for one cat, the price comes out to about $24 monthly, but that’s only for their Essential package, which includes coverage for accidents, cancer, hereditary conditions, surgeries, illnesses, emergency care, and medications. However, it does not cover accident and illness exam fees or rehabilitative treatment. Their Elite package provides the most coverage but does not include preventative care. Luckily, they offer the option to add to your plan, so for an additional fee, you can purchase coverage for routine care as well.
Some things to keep in mind are that your monthly payment depends on your annual deductible and reimbursement level. What does that mean? Let’s say you’re paying $24 for the essential package with no add-ons, which leaves your deductible at around $500 annually, and your policy allows for you to get reimbursed for 70% of your vet bill expenses but only includes whatever is covered in your plan. So, you pay less monthly, but for the policy to cover anything, you must pay $500 before the insurance kicks in. Therefore, you may have to pay more monthly if you wish to have a lower deductible and higher reimbursement level.
You may be wondering how drastically the monthly payment would change for a lower annual deductible and higher reimbursement level, but don’t worry, I got the quote to give you an idea. Going based on the same plan, the Essential package, the monthly rate would go up to around $64 a month, but to paint you a picture, if I were to splurge and go for the Elite package with a routine care add-on, it would amount to a little over $96 a month with a $100 deductible and 90% reimbursement. Oh my gosh, that’s not as bad as I thought it would be going into this.
Also, in case you were curious, the prices vary depending on the breed of your cat or dog and any pre-existing conditions they may have. In fact, depending on your pet’s needs, you may want to compare different quotes to make sure all their needs are met.
Comparing Plans
Granted, the first quote I received was not bad, but I decided to check out Figo Pet Insurance, which was named Best For Wellness Plan Options by Forbes. The equivalent package to the one we reviewed before this one that Figo Pet Insurance provides is their Value Plus, which they quoted me for $21 a month, covering up to $10,000 annually with a deductible of $500. They, too, provide add-on options for exam fees as well as routine care. However, this differs from the Essential package because it has a limit, which may present some challenges for pet owners.
During my research, I found that CarePlus by Chewy has a package within the same range, again the standard one, the Base Plan, which I got quoted for around $27 a month. The Base Plan covers 70% of expenses with a $20,000 annual limit, but let’s not forget the yearly $500 deductible.
Although all these quotes are decent for their coverage, I decided to look into more affordable plans. For example, ASPCA Pet Health Insurance has plans to start as low as $14 a month with a $500 deductible and 70% reimbursement rate. Even with the annual limit set at $5,000, this is an excellent option for anyone trying to save money. The plan covers broken bones, toxic ingestion, illnesses, ultrasounds, bloodwork, and more. Consider that these numbers can be tailored to your pet’s needs, meaning you can adjust the annual limit, reimbursement rate, coverage, and annual deductible. Still, it will be reflected in the overall monthly costs.
Putting Everything Into Perspective
Is pet insurance worth it? Take it from someone who spent over $1,000 in the time span of less than a week on just one pet. Pet insurance is worth it. Reflecting on all those quotes, even with the lowest coverage, I would have spent less than I did on multiple exams, bloodwork, and other preventive care. Typically, pets visit the vet annually for their vaccines and checkups, but what about accidents or unforeseen circumstances? That’s where pet health insurance comes in and reduces the cost of unplanned vet visits. Overall, there are various options, and the prices fluctuate depending on the coverage plan, but it’s an investment worth making in the long run.
Trust me, you don’t want to spend over $1,000 just to learn that your pet is stressed out about you moving furniture around. I’m not crying, lol.
What do you think? Is pet insurance worth it? Let us know in the comments below.
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