Pet Insurance, A Cheaper Alternative: Save Money and Your Pet's Life!

Our new year did not start out well.  We came home at 4 in the morning Jan 1 after a fun long night out celebrating with friends to find our cat Tybalt crying and having thrown up clear foam several times all over the apartment. We took him to the ER vet and discovered he had swallowed a needle. Their recommendation was surgery which would cost $6,000 - $7,000.  That staggering number forced us to think about how much we were willing to spend on a pet.  Let me tell you, that is not an easy thing to do.  In one of the hardest decisions we have ever had to make, we decided it was too expensive for us to be able to afford. We went with plan B, which was still a few thousand dollars, and luckily they were able to get it out by flushing his stomach. He is all better now and is very lucky that he made it through without any damage.

But all of this forced us to think about getting pet insurance.  We have two indoor cats and I never thought they would have any extreme health concerns that would cost that much.  But anything can have accidents.

In looking at all the options, most companies seemed to have roughly the same cost, between $50-$60 a month for two indoor cats.  Yikes!  That's $700 a year.  Considering the lack of need of health services in the years we've already had them and the amount of previous pets, that actually didn't seem like it would save us money in the long run.  Sure that's taking a gamble, but either way we couldn't afford it at this time.

But then I found out about Pets Best accident only insurance.  It is only $6 a month for cats (I think around $9 a month for dogs) and covers the treatment of pretty much all accidents, including exams, x-rays, surgeries, hospitalization and medications because of trauma, poisoning, bites (animal, insects, snakes), hit by car or moving vehicle, foreign body ingestion, bone fracture, laceration, cut, abrasion, wound, torn nail, or medical problems directly attributable to accidental injury.  It has a $250 deductible and 90% reimbursement (the highest I'd seen for pet insurance) and a $10,000 annual limit which was also on the higher end, especially considering the low rates.  This was exactly what we need at a price we can afford!

Of course if they were to get some serious illness that requires constant medication, that would be different.  This insurance doesn't cover cruciate ligament injuries or any illnesses or diseases, including infectious bacterial or viral diseases, parasitic infection, metabolic disorder, or cancer.

But for those people that want a cheaper option than full accident and wellness pet insurance, I believe this is the way to go.  This should help you for those crazy emergencies that pop up out of nowhere and you have to make a quick decision.  Our Tybalt would have been able to receive the surgery and we would have paid less out of pocket than we did for the cheaper alternative.  In fact, we would have paid less than just for the ER visit and examinations alone which were $700.

PLEASE look into pet insurance if you have pets. We never thought a bill would be that high from indoor cats but I would much rather pay a few hundred dollars each year than have to make a decision on how much our pet's life was worth to us again.

If you are interested in Pets Best accident only insurance, click here.