How Much is Pet Insurance – Is it Worth it for Your Wallet?
So how much is pet insurance? Is pet insurance worth it? To be honest, these are some very loaded questions. Today, I will attempt to answer them as my wife and I are trying to answer these exact same questions.
There are so many variables that determine how much pet insurance is and if it really is worth it for your family. I am not an actuary so I am going to give you my best answer by looking into it for my own dog.
Some Context
To give you a little background as to why my wife and I are looking into how much is pet insurance and if it is worth it.
Within the last six months, we have spent about $3,600 in vet bills for our dogs, one who did not make it.
These expenses have essentially emptied out our emergency funds.
As we plan on building those funds back up my wife and I started thinking if pet insurance would be a good umbrella to have.
Here is what we found out…
How Much Is Pet Insurance?
Like I mentioned earlier, there are several different variables to take into consideration when you are looking to see how much is pet insurance. Let’s walk through those different variables.
Breed
Different breeds have different health issues. Some breeds are more likely to have health issues versus others.
If your pet is a pure bread that will move the costs around. It is said that mix breeds have a “unique genetic markup and a lower level of inbreeding, mixed breed dogs are generally among the healthiest.” (PetMD).
Our dog, Yuri, is a Siberian Husky. According to several sources, Siberian Husky’s are supposed to be one of the breeds with the least amount of health issues. (PetMD, CertaPet, and Life Vantage).
Yuri in Telluride
Age
Age is an obvious variable that will affect the cost of pet insurance. We, as humans, even deal with this.
The older your pet is, the more likely they are to have health issues.
Siberian Huskies have an average lifespan of 11-14 years. (PetMD). Yuri just turned 8 so he is in the later years of his life. Because of this, he is more likely to start having more health issues.
Location
Sadly, where you live will affect how much you pay for pet insurance. This is very simple to explain. Vets in different parts of the country charge different rates.
For example, we had a family friend who had to have their dogs toe removed in Iowa. This cost them only $300 to have the whole toe amputated. Yuri had to have a wart removed on his toe in Denver, Colorado. This cost us $1,500.
I know, it is kinda depressing to think about.
Deductible
The deductible is how much you must spend before the insurance provider will start paying any expenses. The higher the deductible, the cheaper your pet’s monthly insurance premiums will be.
If you believe your pet is at a higher risk of coming down with some sort of illness or injury than a lower deductible will probably be better. If you believe your pet is on the healthy side and you want pet insurance to cover for unexpected emergencies than a higher deductible will probably be best.
Since Yuri is on the healthier side, we will go for a medium-high deductible, $750. I will make sure we have this additional $750 in our emergency fund.
Reimbursement Amount
Even after you have met your deductible, insurance companies will not pay you for ALL of your expenses. While purchasing your plan, you can usually choose between 60% to 90% reimbursement. The higher the percentage you select, the more you will pay each month.
For Yuri, the difference in cost from 60% to 80% reimbursement is $16.66 or basically $200 annually. This means in one year, our vet bills need to add up to $1,750 (After the deductible has been met) for us to break even with that $200.
As I have learned over the past year, vet expenses can add up really quick. So it is very plausible that we will make up this extra expense.
Exam Fees Included
Some pet insurance companies will ask if you want to include exam fees or not. They will pay you back for 100% of those fees but this typically does not include routine wellness/preventive visits.
I do not think I will include this for Yuri.
This will cost us an extra $120 a year for Yuri. In my experience, those exam fees are usually only about $60. Our vet makes their money on the other services they offer. I do not see us visiting the vet more than twice a year for non-routine exams.
This might be a good route for you though. Maybe the exam fees at your vet are much higher.
Other Factors
Each insurance company will have their own unique way to calculate your pet insurance premiums. With so many different companies out there offering insurance it is tough to tell what they will ask you.
Just remember to think logically through all of the questions as to whether the extra expense is worth it or not. Just like what I did with the reimbursement amount.
Also, even actuaries cannot predict the future. We do not know what will happen with our pet’s health in the coming year. We are just trying to make the best guess we can.
Is Pet Insurance Worth It?
Well is pet insurance worth it? Firstly, I cannot answer this question for you. This will need to be a question answered by you and your family.
What I can do, is give you an example as to what my family feels and how we came to that conclusion.
Right now, we are a little shell-shocked after spending $3,600 on our dogs in the past six months. We are trying not to overcorrect by immediately signing up for the best pet insurance program there is.
Instead, we are looking at our one surviving dog and doing a cost-benefit analysis with his health. You have already read some of that analysis above. So if you just skipped down to this section, you really should go back up and read the “How Much is Pet Insurance?” section.
If we look at a quote by Figo Pet Insurance, Yuri’s monthly premium will be $53.52 or $639.84 a year. This is a premium is for an insurance policy right down the middle.
For Yuri’s insurance to be worth it, we will need to have a total bill of $3,127.84 before we even start recouping the already sunken $1,389.84 ($639.84 premium + $750 deductible). It will take a much higher number to recoup all 80%.
I just do not see Yuri having a bill go that high. Maybe I am naive though.
Yuri as a puppy with our other dog that recently passed, Boomer.
Conclusion
I never thought I would have to take a hard look at how much is pet insurance. The recent events in the last six months have forced us to do so though.
Yes, Yuri is getting older and older and he is more likely to have health issues but will they be more than $3,127.84? This is tough to say, only if I could predict the future. I believe, the likelihood of him gathering a medical bill so high for us to recoup 80% of the vet bills is very slim.
Since that is the case, for our family, I do not believe pet insurance is worth it for us. Instead, we will make sure we set up a sizable emergency fund for Yuri.
If we do decide to go the insurance route, we will be looking for a health insurance that covers any dental issues as well. It is amazing how expensive dental work is.
What do you think about pet insurance for your family?
If you answered yes, here is a handy chart by Pet Insurance Review that helps you compare the different policies.
Please let me know if you have any questions below. I will try to help you as much as I can.
Wallet Squirrel is a personal finance blog by best friends Andrew & Adam on how money works, building side-hustles, and the benefits of cleverly investing the profits. Featured on MSN Money, AOL Finance, and more!
Interesting topic that doesn’t get much coverage. I considered getting pet insurance for our dog and two cats but decided to self-insure instead. They’re all relatively young and if you have a healthy emergency fund, I think unplanned pet healthcare costs count as an emergency. Like you, I don’t think it’s worth it.
I really should have purchased pet insurance for my dog when she was a puppy. I learned the hard way that surgeries are super expensive! Will never get another dog without a policy. Good article for dog owners to read and consider.
Great breakdown! I think this is a good idea for people who rescue/adopt mix-breed puppies. The younger your pup and the less “purebred” they are – the more affordable the insurance and the more it makes sense.
I’ve looked into it for me, but I have very expensive dogs – French Bulldogs are one of the most expensive dog breeds to own. That doesn’t bother me financially because a) I don’t have kids and b) I put money away each month into what I call my “doggie college fund.”
Really, it’s just a SmartyPig I ear-mark for vet stuff. One of my rescue Frenchies is very healthy. The other we rescued as a puppy after he had a $3000 heart surgery! So we know he may need lots of vetting throughout his life.
But one thing that’s important to note is that – just like regular people insurance – trying to insure a dog with a pre-existing condition is not going to happen! There’s no way that we could have gotten insurance for our puppy with the heart condition. And between the monthly payments and deductible it is easier for us to just to save money and ear mark it for vetting.
Thanks for your perspective Moose!
– Adam
I can understand getting pet insurance for a young dog Kimi. Thanks!
– Adam
Great addition BB! Thanks for sharing your story. This is another great perspective to look at pet insurance from.
– Adam
I kinda wonder about pet insurance. Some people will go to extremes to protect their pet and make sure they live as long as possible. I agree with that. But having pet insurance in my personal opinion is a little over the head, don’t you think? L 😛 L