Pet health insurance has become more popular in the past decade, and has been available in the United States for almost 30 years. Examples include Banfield and VPI Pet Insurance (VPI Pet Insurance at petinsurance.com or 866-VET-PETS). Recently, pet health insurance has become progressively more accepted. However, less than 1% of the pet owning population has it. Considering 30-40% of Americans lack their own health insurance, this isn’t all that surprising.

That said, pet insurance really isn’t that expensive. On average, it costs approximately $1 a day and is accepted at almost all veterinary hospitals. If you have multiple pets, there is typically a 5-10% discount for each pet. Since pet health insurance providers are third party companies, owners have to pay the veterinarian up front and seek reimbursement by the insurance company at a later date. While some veterinarians do recommend pet insurance, it is important to carefully review your policy. Some companies will only cover a portion of routine vaccines and elective surgery, but will not cover Fifi for congenital or inherited diseases. In other words, if you have a German shepherd that is predisposed to heart problems or hip dysplasia, none of these medical problems will be covered. However, pet insurance becomes helpful if Fifi swallows an entire beer can and needs stomach surgery or gets hit by a car. While pet insurance may only cover 10-50% of the costs, it may pay off if Fifi is more accident prone. Or, it may be cheaper for you to just build a fence with bumpers. And give Fifi a helmet. Being that veterinary medicine can be expensive as the quality of care improves, pet insurance may be a good option for all you pet lovers out there!