Introduction
Do you know what is pet insurance? We know that pets are not simply domestic animals, they are members of our family. As owners, we must care for them, educate them, treat them well, and protect them. But if an accident happens or your pet gets sick, it’s important to be prepared to give them the care they deserve.
Without unbalancing family accounts. It is not like this? Therefore, today we want to tell you what Pet Insurance is and how it can help you cover some expenses by providing protection against possible risks.
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What is Pet Insurance?
Pet Insurance is a policy that covers expenses derived from possible damages that your pet may cause to third parties. It also provides assistance in case your pet gets sick or has an accident, and additionally, covers funeral expenses (cremation or burial).
What Pets Can Be Insured?
Pet insurance is aimed only at domestic pets: dogs and cats between 3 months and 9 years old. Animals that participate in betting, challenges, or sports, or carry out hunting or surveillance activities cannot be insured. For dog breeds considered potentially dangerous, according to the Police Code, the civil liability policy is mandatory and the dog must have an identification microchip.
Generally, insurance companies have an insurance age limit. Most allow pets to be insured from 3 months to 9 years of age. However, companies such as Mapfre and HDI allow the policy to be renewed up to the dog or cat’s 12th birthday, as long as the pet entered before the age of 9. In the case of SURA, it is possible to continue renewing until the death of the pet or until you decide to terminate the insurance contract.
How does Pet Insurance Work?
This insurance is a means of protection for your pet against accidents, illnesses, and damage to third parties. Through the payment of a certain amount (premium), the insurance company agrees to cover certain expenses that help you take care of your pet.
This way, in case an unforeseen event occurs with your pet, you will have a backup against the expenses you have to incur. For example, if your dog has an accident and requires hospitalization, insurance will help you cover veterinary expenses. Sometimes it is necessary to pay the bills and later request reimbursement from the company. This varies depending on the company.
How much does Pet Insurance cost?
The cost of insurance can vary depending on your pet’s breed, age, and the coverage options you choose. You also have the option of choosing the maximum annual amount you want to cover and, accordingly, the price varies.
You can request a free quote for your Pet Insurance with us and we will show you all the offers on the market so you can buy them and choose the best one for your furry friend.
What does Pet Insurance Cover?
There is a wide variety of coverage on the market that varies depending on the insurer. Among the main coverages are veterinary expenses in case of illness or accident, civil liability or damages to third parties, death expenses, and loss expenses.
In addition to coverage, insurance companies also offer additional assistance or services to take care of your pet. Next, we will briefly explain each of the coverages and assistance that your insurance could have.
Pet Insurance Coverage
Coverage varies according to the selected insurer. However, we can group the coverage into 4 large groups:
Damage to third parties caused by your pet
This coverage is known as non-contractual civil liability. It protects you against any event in which your pet harms a third party. This means that the company will offer financial compensation for personal and material damages to third parties. In addition, it will provide you with legal defense, in case you have to defend yourself against claims from third parties.
For example: if your dog bites someone or runs across the street and this causes an accident, you will not have to pay for the damages. The insurance company will provide legal advice and pay the corresponding damages (up to a certain amount). You must keep in mind that the affected third parties exclude people who live with the pet, people who financially depend on the insured, and family members up to the fourth degree of consanguinity.
It is also important to know that the policy covers up to a certain amount and sometimes has a deductible, that is, a percentage of money that you would have to pay if you used the insurance for this coverage.
Funeral and euthanasia expenses
This is a topic that is difficult to talk about, but it is important to keep it in mind because when the time comes it will be better to be prepared to give him a dignified farewell. With insurance, if your pet dies due to an accident, illness, or old age, the insurance company will cover the funeral expenses. These are the expenses related to cremation or burial.
For this, the fact must be certified by a veterinarian, and in some companies, it is necessary that you make the payment and later request reimbursement. In addition to funerals, some insurers offer sacrifice coverage. In this case, if the veterinarian determines that your pet must be euthanized to stop its suffering, due to physical and irreversible deterioration due to old age, illness, or accident, the company will cover the expenses, up to the contracted amount.
This coverage has a waiting period, that is, a period of time that must elapse before you can access this service from the start date of the policy. For example, at Mapfre 3 months must pass after taking out your insurance to access funeral coverage and 6 months for sacrifice coverage. In Sura, you can use this coverage 15 days after having contracted the insurance.
Veterinary Expenses
This coverage is probably the one that attracts the most attention from pet owners. Well, if your pet suffers an accident or illness, the insurance supports you financially with veterinary expenses. The types of expenses covered by insurance vary from company to company.
But, in general, you will have financial aid to cover the consultation, hospitalization, and exams, among others. In some plans, the insurance is activated only in case of accidents, for example, if your kitten breaks a leg. In others, both accidents and illnesses are taken into account. However, no insurance covers pre-existing conditions.
This means that if your pet had an illness or accident before taking out the insurance, there will be no coverage for veterinary expenses related to this. It is important that you keep in mind that insurance does not work for the prevention and maintenance of your furry dog’s health. So insurance does not cover check-ups, exams, and other mechanisms used as preventive medicine. It only activates when your pet gets sick or has an accident.
Loss Expenses
If your pet is lost, some companies such as HDI and Mundial offer help in your area of residence to locate your furry friend. This help is provided once a year through the distribution of brochures, posters, and photographs of the pet, with a maximum coverage amount.
On the other hand, with SURA pet insurance, if your pet is stolen or lost, the company will help you cover the expenses you incur to search for it, up to a certain value. To file a claim, 30 days must have passed without you hearing from your pet.
Pet Insurance Assistance
Each insurance company offers a package of assistance or services that help you prevent eventualities and take care of the well-being of your pet. Below we will tell you about some assistance that exists in pet insurance.
It will be important that you verify which ones are included in the plan you want to contract. Keep in mind that assistance has certain limits and to access them your pet must have an up-to-date vaccination and deworming card.
Telephone Veterinary Guidance
The insurance company can offer veterinary guidance by telephone to guide the insured on the basic measures to take according to the pet’s symptoms or discomfort. The companies that offer this assistance provide it in an unlimited way.
Compensation for Accidental Death
If the pet dies in an accident during the term of the policy, some companies such as Mapfre, Equidad, and Mundial offer compensation for the value of a gadget with similar characteristics with a certain limit.
Dog Daycare
In the event that the policyholder becomes ill and is hospitalized, he or she can request a stay in a dog boarding kennel for the pet. This service works through each company’s provider network.
Therefore, to request it you must contact the insurer and they will tell you where to take your furry friend. A differential of Sura is that it also provides daycare service in case the owner travels, whether national or international.
Canine Walker
This assistance is similar to the previous one. If you are hospitalized, you can request a dog walker to take your pet to the park. It will be important that you verify how much time in advance you must request the service, and that you keep in mind that the walker is assigned by the company according to its network of providers.
In Sura it will not be necessary for you to be sick, the dog walker service is available 3 times a year at any time. Only 15 days must have passed since the date you contracted the insurance and you must request it 8 hours in advance.
Bathroom
Your dog or cat’s hygiene is very important for their health. And despite the fact that the recommended frequency for bathing a dog is at least once every three months and for a cat it could be every four months.
Some pet insurance companies provide you with one bath per year through their network of providers. This service with some companies is subject to being used after an accident or illness of the pet. But in others, you can use the service at any time of the year by requesting it in advance.
Telephone veterinary guidance
Pet insurance can offer veterinary guidance over the phone to guide the insured on basic measures to take based on the pet’s symptoms or discomfort. Generally, this service is unlimited and is requested through each company’s helpline.
So if your pet gets sick you can quickly contact a veterinarian in the company’s provider network by phone. He will be the one who will tell you what you can do to help your pet or if you should take him to the emergency room.
Vaccination
Within some assistance plans of these insurances, the annual anti-rabies booster and the annual hexavalent vaccine are offered. The latter immunizes against distemper, adenovirus 1 and 2 (hepatitis and kennel cough), two strains that cause leptospirosis and parvovirus.
As this is a reinforcement, it is very important that you keep in mind that the pet must have an up-to-date vaccination card when entering the insurance. When the time comes to carry out the reinforcement, the company will be in charge of providing the service.
Telephone guidance and references
This is a telephone service through which information and/or references are provided about veterinary clinics, vaccines, dog training daycares, funeral services, and transportation services, among others. Companies such as Mundial, Sura, HDI, and Mapfre offer some of this assistance within their pet insurance.
What Does Pet Insurance NOT Cover?
There are situations in which pet insurance will not be able to respond. For example, if your pet is injured by a natural phenomenon such as a tsunami, hurricane, earthquake, or flood, among others, the insurance will not respond to the damages. Situations such as war, terrorism, strikes, the emission of radiation, and even the fall of sidereal bodies and aerolites are also considered within the exclusions.
All policies include a section with more details about exclusions and cases that are not covered by insurance. However, here we share a list of some situations in which companies do not pay for damages or expenses caused by:
• Confrontations with other animals in competitions, exhibitions, and illegal fights;
• Illnesses, injuries, or accidents suffered before taking out the insurance;
• Pre-existing or chronic diseases, congenital malformations;
• Aesthetic surgical interventions;
• Poisoning and intoxications;
• Bad treatment, overwork;
• Damage caused intentionally by the owner (insured) or with his participation;
• Lack, insufficiency, or poor hygienic quality of food or care;
• Among others.
Conclusion
Having Pet Insurance provides you with protection against possible emergencies that put the life and health of your pet at risk. In addition, you will be protected in case your pet could affect third parties.
Making a good choice of your insurance can make the difference at the time of an emergency or unforeseen event with your pet. Therefore, it is important that you evaluate all aspects of each available option. For example:
• What aspects do veterinary expenses cover?
• Does the insurance work through reimbursement or through a provider network?
• Can you choose coverage or assistance?
• What are the insurance exclusions?
• What are the differentials?
• Does the company offer good customer service?
Remember that at Pérez Lara we can provide you with advice to choose the best option for your pet. Request a free quote now and start protecting your pet.
