There are at least a half dozen pet insurance firms in the United States and each one offers different coverage and different options. How is today's pet parent supposed to navigate their way around all these choices?
These nine questions are designed to give you a headstart and save you time. As you learn more you will no doubt think of other questions .
1. Does the pet insurance company give you a choice of deductibles, maximums, and copays? This is important because more choices mean more opportunities to design a plan to fit your budget.
2. Does the plan cover genetic conditions? Any pet can be in danger of genetic issues. Lots of pet insurance firms do not cover these but some do. For the most comprehensive coverage you need genetic conditions to be covered.
3. Does the plan cover chronic or recurring conditions? So if your pet gets sick in year 1, does it cover the same disease again in year 2? You need your plan to cover chronic illnesses.
4. Does the plan come loaded with coverages that you will pay for but probably seldom use, like "Lost & Found" or "Accidental Death"? Don't pay for coverages that you will seldom use.
5. What is and is not covered? Is it clearly said on their web-site or over the phone? You don't need any surprises when you lodge a claim.
6. Does the plan pay claims based on a restrictive benefit schedule or the actual vet bill? You need to keep away from designs with benefit schedules because they usually do not reimburse a high percentage of your vet bill.
7. Are there per-incident limits that effectively cap the amount you could get back? For example, some designs have a $3,000 per-incident limit. In the event you had a claim for $5,000 with one of these designs then the most you would get back would be $3,000.
8. How long does the company take to pay claims? Obviously the faster, the better!
9. What are the company's rules around preexisting conditions? Are they excluded permanently or temporarily? Keep in mind, no pet insurance plan will cover preexisting conditions straight away but if you are upfront with the company, they can be upfront with you.
10. Will your premium go up in the event you make a claim?
Now that you are armed with these questions, go online or call the companies to make positive that you are getting what you expect from your pet insurance plan.
And as you learn about the different designs more you'll be in a better position to ask the right questions so that you can make the right decision for your budget and your pet.
By: Rashid
These nine questions are designed to give you a headstart and save you time. As you learn more you will no doubt think of other questions .
1. Does the pet insurance company give you a choice of deductibles, maximums, and copays? This is important because more choices mean more opportunities to design a plan to fit your budget.
2. Does the plan cover genetic conditions? Any pet can be in danger of genetic issues. Lots of pet insurance firms do not cover these but some do. For the most comprehensive coverage you need genetic conditions to be covered.
3. Does the plan cover chronic or recurring conditions? So if your pet gets sick in year 1, does it cover the same disease again in year 2? You need your plan to cover chronic illnesses.
4. Does the plan come loaded with coverages that you will pay for but probably seldom use, like "Lost & Found" or "Accidental Death"? Don't pay for coverages that you will seldom use.
5. What is and is not covered? Is it clearly said on their web-site or over the phone? You don't need any surprises when you lodge a claim.
6. Does the plan pay claims based on a restrictive benefit schedule or the actual vet bill? You need to keep away from designs with benefit schedules because they usually do not reimburse a high percentage of your vet bill.
7. Are there per-incident limits that effectively cap the amount you could get back? For example, some designs have a $3,000 per-incident limit. In the event you had a claim for $5,000 with one of these designs then the most you would get back would be $3,000.
8. How long does the company take to pay claims? Obviously the faster, the better!
9. What are the company's rules around preexisting conditions? Are they excluded permanently or temporarily? Keep in mind, no pet insurance plan will cover preexisting conditions straight away but if you are upfront with the company, they can be upfront with you.
10. Will your premium go up in the event you make a claim?
Now that you are armed with these questions, go online or call the companies to make positive that you are getting what you expect from your pet insurance plan.
And as you learn about the different designs more you'll be in a better position to ask the right questions so that you can make the right decision for your budget and your pet.
By: Rashid
No comments:
Post a Comment