Should you get Pet Insurance? Is it worth it?

Someone asked me about pet insurance the other day, and what my thoughts were about it from when I worked at an emergency vet hospital.

We didn’t have many clients with pet insurance. Honestly pet insurance isn’t worth the cost unless you have a pet that goes to the vet regularly. And by regularly I mean monthly, not once a year for vaccinations.

In a summary, pet insurance works by you paying the Vet out of pocket, and submitting a claim to the pet insurance company for reimbursement. In addition to that, you pay a monthly fee for the service. It’s not a huge fee, like most insurance policies, so it’s well worth the investment if you’re going to use the insurance regularly.

Plans have probably changed since I worked at at Vet Hospital, I’m hoping they’ve improved. Personally I’ve never had the need for pet insurance, but would invest in it if I had a pet diagnosed with diabetes or an illness that would force regular prescriptions and medical visits. I take my dog for his vaccinations and if he hurts himself, but I personally do not take him for anything else. No regular check-ups beyond the vaccinations, no nail clippings or anal gland maintenance. I just don’t think they are necessary, and I’ve owned dogs since I was born and worked at an emergency animal hospital.

That’s my 2 cents 🙂