Exploring Pet Insurance: A Pet Owner’s Guide

Introduction

Momo, you ready for your tablet? I wonder if pet insurance will help me pay some of these medical bills. You like that? Yeah, peanut butter is good. Taking care of my pets is a big responsibility for me. They need all kinds of things like food as well as pet supplies. I also have my pets’ medical care to think about. Now, touch wood, none of them suffers from anything major right now, but I do have to take care of the odd cut, scrape, maybe a cough or a cold, just like for a human being. And for that, I’ve got my drawer full of first aid necessities, including Momo’s anti-itch tablets. They don’t come cheap, though. Each one is $6. Pet ownership is for life, so I’m here to do some research.

Common Pet Illnesses

Hi there, hello, welcome. Good to see you, Dr. Cho. Talk me through some of the most common illnesses that dogs and cats might actually get. The most common cases that we see in dogs and cats really is like vomiting and diarrhea. That’s quite common. Some younger kittens and dogs sometimes actually swallow things by accident, so that can also cause vomiting and diarrhea. In addition to that, skin conditions are actually really common in Singapore.

Serious Illnesses and Inherited Conditions

What about for more serious illnesses, Dr. Cho? Things that a cat or a dog might actually inherit. Some things that we do see here quite often are what we call brachycephalic breeds, and cats can be brachycephalic as well. What that means is they’ve been bred for the snout to be really short, and these are really popular in Singapore. They actually have some respiratory issues from time to time. So some common ones would be like the pugs, the Shih Tzus, and then you have like the Munchkins for the cats, and so on.

Cost of Pet Care

• I had a K9 named Chester.
• He had a slipped disc, but I did find a specialist who could perform a fenestration on his spine, and he was able to walk again.
• But the surgery itself cost a lot, a lot of money.
• Yeah, these surgeries are not elective procedures.
• If pet owners are not mentally prepared or financially prepared for it, actually, if they’re caught off guard, it’s a huge stress.
• For example, if you have a really long-term cancer patient that needs to go through long-term chemotherapy and supportive treatment, you know, monthly or even bi-weekly blood tests to monitor the situation, it can go all the way up to even $20,000-$30,000 for that period of time.
• Certain surgeries, emergency surgeries, fracture repair, spine repair, hip surgery, all these can go from $10,000 to $15,000, and that’s not to mention the long-term physical rehabilitation, nutrition, supplements that need to go through that they need to go through.

Pet Insurance Options

Today’s bill, I’ll be paying out of my own pocket. Review session because previously, he had care. I’m aware that in the long term, there might be a few conditions that he might have, like especially for cats, like chronic kidney disease. So I just want to have insurance for the future. Brownie has medical conditions which are ear infection or fungal infection. I do not have pet insurance. We have our own personal funds for them. I wish there was better insurance for hamsters. Hamsters are still bad. If you can include like cats and dogs, why not include hamsters?

Types of Pet Insurance

So now that I have a rough idea of what kind of medical expenses I could face, what’s the right insurance policy for my pets? There are actually basically two kinds of pet insurance in the market. One is covering for mainly just accidental expenses. The other is inclusive of medical expenses, like, you know, per se, if a pet were to get cancer. Yeah, so that’s where the cover for chemotherapy as well.

Cost and Coverage

• In Singapore, annual insurance premiums for dogs and cats can range from less than $100 for basic coverage to over $700 for more comprehensive coverage.
• For pet insurance, the surgical claim limits range from $2,000 to some at a max of $15,000.
• But having said that, it really depends on which coverage you are deciding for your pet because pet insurance, there are different tiers for different companies.
• And we have to note that pet parents have to do a co-payment of minimally 20% of the bill before the claims will be paid out.

Additional Coverages

Pet insurance also covers things like accidental injury or death, loss of your pet, funeral expenses, and third-party liability. Firstly, pet insurance only covers dogs and cats. No other small animals like rabbits or even terrapins. Secondly, they must be microchipped, and they must be examined by the vet at least 30 days before the application of the insurance. And lastly, they have to be at the age ranging from at least 8 weeks old to below the age of 9 years old. Some insurance policies don’t cover working or ex-breeding pets and may require your pet to be fully vaccinated.

Exclusions and Discounts on pet insurance

• Now, if the application for the pet is actually up after the age of 6 years old, hereditary and congenital conditions will not be covered by the insurance.
• There are about six hereditary conditions, out of which the four common known ones are your hip and elbow dysplasia, intervertebral disc disease, glaucoma, and cherry eye.
• Routine and preventive care treatments may also not be covered by pet insurance.
• Some of the exclusions that are not covered are some of the pre-existing conditions that they have, like a medical condition, and spaying and neutering.
• These expenses are not covered as well.
• These are all costs that are borne by the pet parents themselves.
• Dental fees, unless it is due to an accident, then yes, that will be covered.

To help policyholders save money, some pet insurance plans come with no-claim discounts, similar to car insurance. So it works the same as for pet insurance. If this preceding year you have no claims at all, there will be a slight discount. So for more years that you have not emitted any claims from the insurer, the higher will be the discount for the premiums.

Conclusion

There is no one-size-fits-all pet insurance, so compare options and pick the best one for your budget. I think pet insurance is a great way to protect your pets against some of these unexpected costs, but you know, setting aside a substantial amount of funds for a rainy day is equally effective too. Paying for annual insurance premiums for three cats and my dog Momo here could cost me at least $1,600 annually if I want adequate coverage. But I could also use an emergency fund or use my savings, and that might be a better option for now.