Is it Worth the Money to Purchase Pet Life Insurance for Your Pooch?
Are you considering dog life insurance plans? If your furry friend is closer to you than your actual blood relatives, especially if your pet baby is a rare or expensive breed, dog life insurance might be a valuable investment for you.
So what in the world is dog life insurance? Many dedicated pet owners invest a lot of money into their pets: for care, training, vet visits, and grooming. Even though the time, money, and care you dedicate to your four-legged companion is out of love, rather than the financial benefit of it, dog life insurance just protects the investment you’ve made in your animal. However, having life insurance for pets, especially if you are caring for senior dogs or animals with pre-existing conditions, just offers you a reimbursement for these costs (depending on the extent of your life insurance plan) in the event of their death. Some pet health insurance plans cover costs related to the animal’s death, such as cremation; other insurance for pets covers additional costs, such as bereavement expenses. Figuring out the pet life insurance policy that meets your needs best is an important part of pet ownership.
When is dog life insurance worth the cost?
We don’t want you to make the investment unless it adds value to your life. Pet life insurance is not beneficial to every pet owner. However, pet life insurance might be something that you should consider if your dog (or any other animal for that matter) is a rare or expensive breed that you made a hefty investment in. This is particularly true if your pet actually generate income for you or your family, perhaps because they are used for breeding, or they win contests at animal shows.
Choosing the Best Life Insurance Policy for Your Animal
Just as with human life insurance, or any major purchase for that matter, not all pet life insurance is created equally. Unfortunately, some pet life insurance companies are more interested in taking your money than offering any sort of real protection for you your financial well-being in the event of your pet’s death. In our experience, you should take into consideration the following factors while looking for the best pet life insurance policies:
- The animal coverage policy. Animal life insurance companies are often happy to cover young and healthy animals, but as the puppy ages past eight years, or develop health conditions, you lose your coverage. Make sure to consider the company’s coverage policy for older dogs when considering your life insurance for them.
- The causes of death covered. We know, as a pet owner, it is painful and stressful to consider losing your dear fur-baby. However, this is something that you should extensively consider when researching your life insurance plan. Some pet and life insurance plans only cover accidental death or dismemberment. This means that if your animal develops an illness or disease that their breed is prone to catch, you are not covered. The most comprehensive life insurance plans cover death in any circumstances.
- The reimbursement policy of the life insurance company. As we mentioned, some life insurance policies only cover expenses related to your animals death, such as their cremation. Other life insurance policies will cover expenses related to moving on with your life and replacing your pet, particularly if your animal generated income. There’s not necessarily a right or wrong answer with the subject, you just need to consider what meets your lifestyle best.
- The policy on any other pet wellness plans your animal has. Some life insurance companies consider the payment you get from other life other health insurance plans towards the amount that they owe you. This basically makes the expenses that you paid to provide life insurance for your animal a waste of money.
- Licensing of the pet life insurance company. Animal life insurance is extremely valuable, but has far less regulation than other insurance companies. Ensuring that the pet life insurance company you use has a license is a good way to make sure that they are legitimate.
Do you have pet life insurance? Do you have any other tips to share while looking for coverage? Please share your wisdom in the comment section below.