What does pet insurance cover?

Depending on your pet insurance policy's covered benefits, it can cover a lot of expenses related to your pet.

Most pet insurance policies provide cover for some or all of these benefits:

• Medical bills:

  This includes your veterinarian's fees, x-rays, surgery for covered illnesses or injury, vaccinations, prescription medicines and other preventive treatments and procedures.

  Other medical expenses payable includes ultrasounds, MRIs, CAT scans and other laboratory tests. It can also cover costs of euthanasia, veterinary specialists, chiropractic veterinarians and alternative therapists.

• Accident:

  This will pay a certain amount if your pet is injured or dies because of an accident.

• Bites, animal attacks and related legal liability:

  This will pay for liabilities the owner is legally required to comply with due to the acts of his pet. The owner is required to be responsible for damages or injuries resulting from dog bites or animal attacks.

  For example, if your dog bites a person and that person sues you as owner, the pet insurance will help you pay for the damages, up to a specified limit.

• Loss:

  This will pay a specified amount in the event that your pet gets lost and is not recovered by a specified time limit.

• Recovery costs:

  This will pay for expenses related to recovering the pet in case that it has gone missing.

Some pet insurance policies may also pay for boarding kennel fees, prescription food and wellness plans. Depending on your pet insurance coverage, the policy may also pay for castration, spaying and vaccinations.

There are also travel insurance products for pets.

Pet Insurance Exclusions

Pet insurance will not cover pre-existing medical conditions or conditions that are common to a certain breed.

Pre-existing medical conditions are conditions which your pet has already exhibited symptoms before the start of the coverage or conditions where your pet is already receiving treatment. This may be an illness or an injury. Often, pregnancy is also considered as a pre-existing medical condition, particularly if the date of inception is before the policy becomes effective.

Essentially, what the pet insurance covers will be your own sense of peace, since you know that the insurance will help you with unforeseen costs related to owning your pet.

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