Over-Insuring Your Pet – Why The Fine Print In Your Pet Insurance Plan Matters

In our series – Why The Fine Print In Your Pet Insurance Plan Matters – we are educating customers on loopholes in their dog insurance or cat insurance plans which could cause disappointment in coverage down the line.

Today’s topic: 
Over-Insuring Your Pet

What is this?

Many pet health insurance companies are enticing pet owners with unlimited annual benefit amounts, but these can come at a fairly expensive price tags.The ideaof having unlimited funds in case of an emergency is definitely appealing, but you may be spending more in premium than you need to because of the potential risk. 

How does this affect you?

To give you some perspective, the average veterinary bill for PetFirst policyholders last year was $244.95. The highest veterinary bill we received last year was $18,320.33 – which can definitely put you in an uncomfortable financial situation. Only 1.3% of claims from PetFirst pet parents was more than $5,000; and 0.01% of claims last year were more than $10,000. So, the likelihood your pet would need more than $5,000 worth of coverage is fairly slim.
 
Let’s take a look at premium prices, and how the cost of over-insuring your pet can really add up. We looked up prices for Dexter, a 5 year-old Pug living in California.
 

Company	PetFirst	HealthyPaws	Embrace	Petplan	Nationwide	PetsBest	Figo	Trupanion
Annual Benefit	$5,000	unlimited	10,000	unlimited	unlimited	unlimited	unlimited	unlimited
Monthly Cost	$48.95	$89.39	$115.36	$166.32	$81.08	$71.79	$114.83	$95.01
Cost of Over-   Insuring for 1 Year	–	$485.28	$796.92	$1,408.44	$385.56	$274.08	$790.56	$552.72

*prices as of September 2016

 
Where does PetFirst stand?

We know it’s an important balance of insuring your pet, and not wasting money. At PetFirst, we encourage most pet parents to insure their pets for $5,000 or $10,000 per year – otherwise, you are spending too much on insurance, and are definitely over-insuring your pet. 
 

In this series, we deep dive into the other following areas where coverage could be lacking if you have another pet insurance company’s plan:

• Exam or Records Required for Enrollment
• Annual Care Requirements
• Spay/Neuter Clauses
• Enrollment by Specific Age for Hip Dysplasia Coverage
• Exam Fee Coverage
• Bilateral Conditions
• Holistic/Alternative Therapies
• Vaccinatable Diseases
• Extended Wait Period on Orthopedic Conditions
• Periodontal Disease
• Dermatological Conditions
• Injuries Caused by Housemates
• Aging Ear & Eye Conditions
• Medical Prescriptions
• Reimbursement Formula

Now that you’ve done your research on pet healthcare plans, you can see PetFirst provides the most comprehensive, best pet insurance plan for dogs and cats. With no “gotchas” in the fine print, you can rest easy knowing you are able to give your pet the care they need.

How much does pet insurance cost?

In less than 2 minutes, you can get a customized quote for your pet.