Actually, this title is a bit of a misnomer. Insurance for one’s animals/pets is already here. A better question would be: How far are we away from veterinary insurance becoming a normal aspect of having a pet? While pet insurance does currently exist, the vast majority of animal owners still pay out of pocket expenses for their animals’ medical care. But with a society that puts a great deal of importance on its furry family members and veterinary expenses increasing at a rate not far off from human medical expenses, can a similar insurance system be that far away?
Many farmers have been ahead of this curve for a while – insuring large portions of livestock. When a single round of disease can wipe out the income for an entire year (if not longer), this is often a necessity. However, this is closer to insuring property than insuring a pet. There is a monetary advantage to insuring livestock. It makes financial sense when measured against the risk of losing an entire herd (or whatever plural on other types of animals). But, insuring pets is a horse of a different color – if you will pardon the pun. When a pet gets sick, the most financially viable option is to do nothing. Except in very rare cases, family pets offer no financial reward through staying alive. In these cases, veterinary bills are paid for purely because of the family’s desire to keep their loved ones alive and in the best health possible.
Twenty or more years ago, even considering veterinary insurance might not have even been a consideration. There were simply not that many procedures for your standard dog or cat that were available and expensive enough to ask a larger corporation to pick up the tab. But now, vet medical technology is only a smidgen behind that available to humans. For an example, let’s look at hip displaysia. Due to inbreeding (or just poor genetics), hip displaysia is a common degenerative condition amongst canines around their rear joins. It leads to a tremendous amount of pain for afflicted dogs and eventual loss of use of their rear limbs. At a certain juncture, the most humane form of treatment is euthanasia. However, now science has caught up and hip replacement can be done in dogs as easily as it can with people. However, this is a procedure that runs in the tens of thousands of dollars. Should one find that there dog comes from a lineage in which displaysia is an issue, pet insurance would make a lot of sense.
So where would one find vet insurance? There are actually a number of reputable dealers available. As an example: famous for their food brands (even if they tend to make dogs a bit gassy), Purina offers plans that range from anywhere from per month (4 per year) to per month (4 per year) – note that these numbers could be higher or lower depending upon whether one is insuring a dog or a cat and the age of the animal.
The lower range plan covers just accidents (as in medical, not the kinda that your pets make on the floor), the higher range plan covers normal visits and even preventative care (such as flea and heartworm medication). Note that there is a deductible with plans such as these, but when considering that they are not significantly more expensive than many veterinarians out of pocket, pet insurance begins to make a lot of sense.