Being the parent of a pet brings a lot of joy. Having a beloved furry friend always waiting when you get home can make any bad day instantly better. If you’re a cat lover like us here at Pet Insurer, then you also know this feeling and would do anything to keep it as long as possible—meaning keeping your cat healthy and safe for as long as you can. But as any experienced cat parent knows, it’s not always an easy task keeping a cat healthy. The list of possible ailments, diseases, or injuries they could encounter in their lives—all 9 of them—is seemingly endless, and they all come with their own price tag at the vet that can seem more like you’ve just put a down payment on a house than payed for paw surgery.
What happens if your kitten comes down with a heart condition, and your vet prescribes Pimobendan for treatment. The cost of 50 pills comes to $65, but this particular medication is often taken indefinitely. Let’s say your cat lives another 7 years on this drug, then you’re spending $65 about every other month, which comes to $2,730 just for heart medicine.
What do you do when the day comes that your cat develops severe, chronic dry eye that needs to be treated with surgery? You could spend up to $3,000 per eye to get the problem solved for good.
Or, what do you do if you receive every cat owner’s worst fear diagnosis—cancer? You could be looking at $1,500 for the biopsy of the growth, anywhere from $500-$1,000 per radiation session, or upwards of $15,000 for a full round of chemotherapy. Yes, you read that correctly, $15,000 for one round of treatment. If you’re like most cat parents, we don’t tend to have that kind of extra money just laying around.
A diagnosis like that could seriously damage someone’s savings account and could be the difference between keeping your cat healthy, or having to put it down. These are just a few ailments that could occur, and as technology improves to give our pets longer and healthier lives, so the continually rising care costs are can be devastating.
Of course, just like with our own health insurance, cat insurance can vary between the insurance companies.
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| All Features | |
|---|---|
| Deductible Type | Per Incident |
| Deductible Options | $50 - $500 |
| Reimbursement | 70% - 90% |
| Policy Limit Options | $1,000 - $20,000 |
| Lifetime limits | Unlimited |
| Wellness Cover Cost |
$9-$24 per month |
| Accidents & Illnesses | |
| Vet Exam Fees | |
| Rx Medications | |
| Emergency Visits | |
| Hospitalization | |
| Surgery | |
| Cancer Treatments | |
| Specialists | |
| Outpatient Care | |
| Alternative Therapies | |
| Waiting Times | |
| Policy Coverage Starts | At midnight after sign up |
| Accidents | 1 days after policy starts |
| Illnesses | 14 days after policy starts |
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| All Features | |
|---|---|
| Deductible Type | Per Year |
| Deductible Options | $100 – 1,000 |
| Reimbursement | 70% - 90% |
| Policy Limit Options | $2,500 - Unlimited |
| Lifetime limits | Unlimited up to policy limits |
| Wellness Cover Cost | Not offered |
| Accidents & Illnesses | |
| Vet Exam Fees | |
| Rx Medications | |
| Emergency Visits | |
| Hospitalization | |
| Surgery | |
| Cancer Treatments | |
| Specialists | |
| Outpatient Care | |
| Alternative Therapies | |
| Waiting Times | |
| Policy Coverage Starts | At midnight after sign up |
| Accidents | 5 days after policy starts |
| Illnesses | 15 days after policy starts |
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| All Features | |
|---|---|
| Deductible Type | Per Year |
| Deductible Options | $100- $500 |
| Reimbursement | 70% - 90% |
| Policy Limit Options | $5,000 - Unlimited |
| Lifetime limits | Unlimited up to policy limit |
| Wellness Cover Cost |
$9.95-24.95 per month |
| Accidents & Illnesses | |
| Vet Exam Fees | |
| Rx Medications | |
| Emergency Visits | |
| Hospitalization | |
| Surgery | |
| Cancer Treatments | |
| Specialists | |
| Outpatient Care | |
| Alternative Therapies | |
| Waiting Times | |
| Policy Coverage Starts | At midnight after sign up |
| Accidents | At policy start date |
| Illnesses | 14 days after policy starts |
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| All Features | |
|---|---|
| Deductible Type | Per Year |
| Deductible Options | $100 - $1,000 |
| Reimbursement | 70% - 90% |
| Policy Limit Options | $5,000-Unlimited |
| Lifetime limits | Unlimited up to policy |
| Wellness Cover Cost |
$16 - $26 per month |
| Accidents & Illnesses | (in Plus & Elite plans) |
| Vet Exam Fees | |
| Rx Medications | |
| Emergency Visits | |
| Hospitalization | |
| Surgery | |
| Cancer Treatments | |
| Specialists | |
| Outpatient Care | |
| Alternative Therapies | |
| Waiting Times | |
| Policy Coverage Starts | At midnight after sign up |
| Accidents | 3 days after policy starts |
| Illnesses | 14 days after policy starts |
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| All Features | |
|---|---|
| Deductible Type | Per Year |
| Deductible Options | $250 |
| Reimbursement | 90% |
| Policy Limit Options | Unlimited |
| Lifetime limits | Unlimited |
| Wellness Cover Cost | Included (up to $500) |
| Accidents & Illnesses | |
| Vet Exam Fees | |
| Rx Medications | |
| Emergency Visits | |
| Hospitalization | |
| Surgery | |
| Cancer Treatments | |
| Specialists | |
| Outpatient Care | |
| Alternative Therapies | |
| Waiting Times | |
| Policy Coverage Starts | At midnight after sign up |
| Accidents | 1 days after policy starts |
| Illnesses | 14 days after policy starts |
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| All Features | |
|---|---|
| Deductible Type | Per Year |
| Deductible Options | $0- $1,000 |
| Reimbursement | 90% |
| Policy Limit Options | Unlimited |
| Lifetime limits | Unlimited |
| Wellness Cover Cost | Not offered |
| Accidents & Illnesses | |
| Vet Exam Fees | |
| Rx Medications | |
| Emergency Visits | |
| Hospitalization | |
| Surgery | |
| Cancer Treatments | |
| Specialists | |
| Outpatient Care | |
| Alternative Therapies | |
| Waiting Times | |
| Policy Coverage Starts | At midnight after sign up |
| Accidents | 5 days after policy starts |
| Illnesses | 30 days after policy starts |
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|
| All Features | |
|---|---|
| Deductible Type | Per Year |
| Deductible Options | $100 - $500 |
| Reimbursement | 70% - 90% |
| Policy Limit Options | $5,000 - Unlimited |
| Lifetime limits | Unlimited up to policy |
| Wellness Cover Cost |
$9.95 - $24.95 per month |
| Accidents & Illnesses | |
| Vet Exam Fees | |
| Rx Medications | |
| Emergency Visits | |
| Hospitalization | |
| Surgery | |
| Waiting Times | |
| Policy Coverage Starts | At midnight after sign up |
| Accidents | At midnight after sign up |
| Illnesses | 14 days after policy starts |
| Average Reimbursement Time | 14 days after claim |
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| All Features | |
|---|---|
| Deductible Type | Per Year |
| Deductible Options | $200 - $1,000 |
| Reimbursement | 70% - 90% |
| Policy Limit Options | $5,000 - $15,000 |
| Lifetime limits | Unlimited up to policy limit |
| Wellness Cover Cost | Up to $250 included |
| Accidents & Illnesses | |
| Vet Exam Fees | |
| Rx Medications | |
| Emergency Visits | |
| Hospitalization | |
| Surgery | |
| Cancer Treatments | |
| Specialists | |
| Outpatient Care | |
| Alternative Therapies | |
| Waiting Times | |
| Policy Coverage Starts | At midnight after sign up |
| Accidents | 2 days after policy starts |
| Illnesses | 14 days after policy starts |
|
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| All Features | |
|---|---|
| Deductible Type | Per Year |
| Deductible Options | $100 - $750 |
| Reimbursement | 60% - 90% |
| Policy Limit Options | Unlimited |
| Lifetime limits | Unlimited |
| Wellness Cover Cost | Not offered |
| Accidents & Illnesses | |
| Vet Exam Fees | |
| Rx Medications | |
| Emergency Visits | |
| Hospitalization | |
| Surgery | |
| Cancer Treatments | |
| Specialists | |
| Outpatient Care | |
| Alternative Therapies | |
| Waiting Times | |
| Policy Coverage Starts | At midnight after sign up |
| Accidents | 15 days after policy starts |
| Illnesses | 15 days after policy starts |
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| All Features | |
|---|---|
| Deductible Type | Per Year |
| Deductible Options | $50 – 500 |
| Reimbursement | 70% - 100% |
| Policy Limit Options | $2,500 - Unlimited |
| Lifetime limits | Unlimited up to policy limit |
| Wellness Cover Cost | Not offered |
| Accidents & Illnesses | |
| Vet Exam Fees | |
| Rx Medications | |
| Emergency Visits | |
| Hospitalization | |
| Surgery | |
| Cancer Treatments | |
| Specialists | |
| Outpatient Care | |
| Alternative Therapies | |
| Waiting Times | |
| Policy Coverage Starts | At midnight after sign up |
| Accidents | 5 days after policy starts |
| Illnesses | 14 days after policy starts |
So, what is the mom or dad of a new little kitten to do? There is an increasing amount of literature about starting an extra savings account specifically for pet-related medical needs. While this can definitely be a great starting point, it might not be enough if the vet bill is still more than you have been able to save thus far. It’s for this reason that pet insurance can be extraordinarily helpful. Just like with our own health insurance, we buy it hoping we never need it for anything too catastrophic, but the peace of mind of knowing it’s in your back pocket can really make a difference. For all the difficult points of picking a provider, buying insurance, dealing with less than stellar customer service representatives, and trying to understand the convoluted language of a policy, the assistance of a reimbursement coming when you need it the most is an amazing benefit.
Fortunately, there are numerous providers to pick from today as the need for payment assistance with vet bills and costs increases with each new advancement in veterinary care. Between all the different providers, you can obtain a policy that covers what you need the most at almost any price point. Once you figure out what is most important in a policy for you and your specific cat, and what is a reasonable monthly premium, copay, and deductible for your budget, you can then pick from a range of policies all offering different content. Typical coverage from almost any provider includes surgeries, cancer treatments, imaging and x-rays, laboratory tests, prescriptions, and sometimes even preventative care. However, just as with medical insurance for people, the sooner you sign up, the better so as to decrease the chance of being denied due to pre-existing conditions. We at Pet Insurer like to recommend researching companies beforehand and then signing up for a policy as soon as you come home with your new cat. That way you can avoid being denied coverage and get any waiting periods over with as soon as possible.
Thankfully for you, though, you don’t need to go from site to site trying to find the best cat insurance for your furry friend and reading the insurer small print. We’ve done all the hard work for you so you can see it all in one place. You just need to answer a few quick questions, and just like that, we’ll compare all of your options quotes for you. You’ll see prices, full plan details, reviews scores and tons more information to help you make the right choice. The best thing of all – we even offer a price promise, that guarantees you won’t buy any policy you see on our website for less anywhere else. After all, who doesn’t like to get the best deal?
Pet Insurer offer a price promise, that guarantees you won’t buy any policy you see on our website for less anywhere else!
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