When it’s time to consider taking out pet health insurance for your beloved pet, it helps to think of the things to consider before signing up for the policy. There are many factors that pet owners should consider before they sign up with any particular pet insurance company.
Some of these factors can influence the amount of money they spend per month and per claim. Other factors influence how convenient the policy would be to have, eg, does the cover apply only to when the pet is in Australia or does the policy also cover the pet when they are overseas?
One of these financial factors is the co-payment, also known as the excess amount, that the pet owner needs to pay before a claim can be settled. This amount is generally a percentage of each claim that the pet insurance company receives and it is an amount that is due over and above any monthly premium payments.
There are some pet health insurance companies that do not charge co-payment fees; however, the vast majority of these companies do charge some sort of co-payment fee when they receive a claim from the pet owner.
These fees are typical to the insurance industry and are there to reduce the cost of healthcare or insurance. The insurer or health care company receives the excess or co-payment amount and pays the remainder of the claim from its own funds. The exact amount of the excess depends on the type of claim as well as on the exact policy that the pet owner selected for their pet.
Some companies allow pet owners to have a higher co-payment in the event of a claim. This means that the monthly premiums are lower, meaning that the pet owner can spend the savings on other things that can contribute to their pet’s enjoyment of life – toys, special classes, and preventative healthcare. Such an arrangement may make sense for pet owners with pets that are young and healthy, as they might not make many claims during this period.
Other pet health insurance policies allow pet owners to select a lower co-payment when they make a claim. This means that their monthly premiums would of necessity be higher, though. The benefit to this is that they would not have to worry about a large excess amount when they do claim. Such a policy might suit pet owners who take care of old or ill pet, as they might make more frequent claims.
It is important to choose the pet insurance policy that suits your pocket as well as your pet’s lifestyle.
Author bio:
Bow Wow Insurance wrote this article on how to ensure the pet health insurance policy is the right one.