Do I Need Dog Insurance? Can I afford it?

All dog lovers love their dogs, right? I know the vast majority do, but if that is true why do so few insure their dog? I believe the main reason is we just do not think about it. Life is busy and there are so many more important things to think about, right? Well, the truth is NOT having you dog insured is something to worry about and definitely something that has the potential to complicate your life.

First misconception about dog insurance: It costs too much, I can't afford it. A strong case can be made that you cannot afford to NOT have it. You can get an accident policy for as little as $10 per month. A typical policy like this would have a low deductible, probably around $50. There is usually no waiting period and no surcharges for specific breeds.

What is typically covered in an accident policy?

Motor Vehicle Accident

Bone Fractures

Lacerations

Burns

Allergies to insect bites

Accidental Death

An accident policy usually tops out at $2000 coverage. The accidents listed above are all pretty common. Would you have the $2000 tomorrow if your dog needed treatment?

The next level of coverage is usually a more complete type dog insurance. This will typically cost around $50 per month, and there may be surcharges for some breeds. The coverage amount will be higher, usually around $5000 for accident or illness. This plan would have a deductible of around $100. This type of policy would cover all the same things as the accident plan, plus:

Wellness Plan - vaccinations, spay, neuter, heartworm testing, teeth cleaning

Boarding should your pet need it for medical reasons

Recovery - A reward you can pay if your pet gets lost

Euthanasia

Finally, there is a top level plan available from most pet insurance companies. Ironically, this plan is much more affordable that the previous plan. The reason is because although this type of plan is cheaper per month and usually covers everything the previous plans did, the coverage amount for some categories will be less. The deductible is still around $100. For around $25 per month, your dog can have total coverage, but your limits might be $3000 for certain things rather than $5000. Other benefits are usually things like:

Unlimited Accidents

Any Illness with no maximum coverage amount

I hope you know more about dog insurance now than you did before reading this article. The point of it is that there is cheap dog insurance available and we all need to take advantage of it. If your dog was injured tomorrow, and it was going to cost a few thousand dollars to get him the treatment he needed, are you prepared to pay it? If so then perhaps you do not need dog insurance. But in most cases, if we are being honest, people do not have thousands of dollars laying around just in case something happens. Why not pay a small monthly amount and be able to take care of the dog you love?

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