I am including a recent blog post on the PurinaCare Blog that is very interesting.
There are at least 3 things that pet owners can learn from this true story:
- You never know when your pet could be facing a serious life-threatening (and therefore expensive) crisis. Here is the story of a dog that had a relatively routine surgery that ended up with unexpected complications. What would you have done if your pet faced this sort of crisis with a bill of over $18,000? Would having a pet insurance company help with a substantial part of the bill make a difference in your life or that of your pet?
- Perhaps you can see the importance of recognizing the differences in pet insurance policies. PurinaCare has an annual maximum limit of $20,000 with no "per-incident" limit. If you have pet insurance now, check your policy and see what the insurance company would have paid on this claim and what you would have had to pay. If you don't yet have pet insurance, but you are contemplating it, let this be a lesson that you should get the highest annual maximum that you can afford, and beware of policies with a per-incident maximum.
- Since most pet insurance policies require the pet owner to pay the veterinarian in full and then seek reimbursement from the insurance company, even if you had pet insurance, would you have been able to do that in this case? I suspect that paying $18,000 out-of-pocket is out of reach for many pet owners. You would have to have money in the bank or available credit. Many pet owenrs coordinate a pet insurance policy with a CareCredit card that provides them with no interest payment options. When the pet insurance company reimbursement arrives, they can then pay off the credit card. Some companies will pay the veterinarian directly if the pet owner pays the veterinarian the deductible and co-pay and for any non-covered expenses. But, your veterinarian and the pet insurance company must agree to this type of arrangement. Be sure and ask a pet insurance company if they have provisions to do this in case of a large claim like this one. You might also ask your veterinarian if they would be willing to accept payment from your insurance company if such a situation as this case occurs. However, it is unlikely that your veterinarian or the insurance company will be willing to do this with smaller claims.
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