Once your beloved cat or dog gets sick, seeing a doctor is really expensive! There is no health insurance for pets. If a healthy cat or dog has no major diseases, it will cost 10,000 yuan a year for pet medical expenses. A cat or dog will cost as low as 100,000 yuan and as high as 200,000 yuan. If a major disease or accident occurs, a surgery It costs tens of thousands, which is really a staggering expense.
So what can pet insurance do? Can you save a lot of money? What else is covered besides medical expenses? This article will take you to find out!
💡Pet insurance insurable items
Since pet insurance has a high loss rate in compensation and is prone to disputes in the past few years, the Property and Casualty Insurance Association launched a new version of pet insurance clauses in 2023, which clearly stipulates that the insured items are: “pet medical expense insurance” and “pet tort liability” Insurance”, “Pet Association Advertising Expense Insurance”, “Pet Boarding Expense Insurance while the Insured is Hospitalized”, “Pet Funeral Expense Insurance”, “Pet Retrieval Expense Insurance”, and “Travel Cancellation Expense Insurance”. The following explains the guarantee content of each project:
1. Pet Medical Expense Insurance
As the name suggests, this insurance project is for compensation of medical expenses. The insurance company will make claims based on the actual outpatient, hospitalization, surgery and other expenses. The claims are limited, and different plans have different claims amounts and methods.
2. Pet tort liability insurance
This project means that when a pet’s behavior causes physical injury or financial damage to another person, and the other person applies for compensation according to law, the insurance company will pay the damage compensation.
3. Pet Association Search Advertising Expenses Insurance
If the insured pet goes missing during the policy period, the insurance company will pay for the search advertising costs, usually within a time limit, such as media or printing costs incurred within 30 days from the discovery of the loss.
4. Pet boarding fees
If the insured is unable to care for the insured pet due to illness or accident due to hospitalization for more than three consecutive days during the insurance period, the insurance company will pay for pet boarding.
5. pet funeral expenses insurance
When a pet passes away due to an accident or illness, the insurance company will pay for the funeral expenses.
6. Pet reacquisition cost insurance
If the original pet dies due to illness or injury and the pet is reacquired, the insurance company will pay for the pet reacquisition.
7. Travel trip cancellation fee insurance
During a foreign trip, the insured must shorten the trip and return to his original residence due to a covered accident, resulting in the loss of transportation, accommodation, visa fees, etc. that have been paid in advance and cannot be refunded.
💡Is pet insurance really worth buying?
According to statistics from the Department of Agriculture, pets are actually more likely to get sick than humans. A healthy, young dog is seen on average about 4 times a year. Colds or gastroenteritis are common in puppies, while chronic diseases and joint problems are more common in adult dogs. Purchasing pet insurance can effectively reduce the financial burden on pet owners, and even the most basic outpatient expenses can be compensated. The annual premium ranges from about 2,000 to 5,000 yuan, but if the furry child gets sick, the claim amount can reach tens of thousands of yuan, which is very helpful in reducing high medical expenses. However, since pet insurance is an appointment once a year, the insurance company also has the right to refuse to renew the policy. Especially if you apply for a claim and get the claim amount, the insurance company may not agree to renew the policy the next year. After all, the insurance company wants a claim settlement rate. The lower the better.
💡How to choose pet insurance? What details should we pay attention to?
🐱Insurance age limit
The older you are, the higher the risk, so property and casualty insurance companies have set age limits for insurance, with a maximum age for first-time insurance and renewal. The age limit for first-time pet insurance is from 2 months to 8 years old, and the maximum age for renewal is 15 years old.
🐱A chip must be implanted before taking out insurance
The new version of pet insurance stipulates that the insured pet must be a dog or cat that has been registered and implanted with a chip. The chip number is like the pet’s ID card number, which records the pet’s breed, age, physical condition, medical history and other information in detail. Therefore, remember to bring your pet with you before applying for insurance. Implant the chip.
🐱Pay attention to the claim amount
There are two types of pet insurance claims: “limited actual payment” and “item-limited payment”:
▲Limited actual payment: This means that the amount of the claim is the actual cost, but there is an upper limit, and the insurance company will not pay the excess!
▲Sub-item limit on benefits: This refers to the number limit set by the insurance company for different insurance items in the contract. For example, the outpatient expense claim limit is 5 times. If the number of outpatient visits exceeds 5 times in a whole year, the claim will no longer be paid. Even if The amount does not exceed the limit, so please pay special attention.
🐱Is there a deductible?
The deductible is part of the deductible that the owner must bear, and the rest will be paid by the insurance company. Assume that pet insurance with a deductible of 30% costs a total of 1,000 yuan to take the pet to the outpatient clinic. Then the pet owner will pay 300 yuan himself, and the remaining 700 yuan will be paid by the insurance company.
🐕Claims cannot be settled immediately after taking out the insurance
There is a waiting period for insurance claims, which refers to a period of time after the policy is established before claims can be settled. For general illnesses such as colds and gastroenteritis, the waiting period is 30 days. For major diseases such as cancer and heart disease, the waiting period is 90 days.
🐕Note that items that are excluded from claims are excluded
The cost of oral diseases such as deworming, health examinations, preventive injections, purchasing vitamins and mineral supplements, and dental treatment are usually not covered by insurance because the claim rate is too high.
🐕Restrictions on types of insurance
Pet insurance is usually limited to dogs and cats, and does not cover dogs and cats used for breeding, hunting, or medical purposes.
🐕Insurance period limit
Pet insurance is a one-year contract and can be renewed every year until the age of 15, and the insurance cannot be repeated for different homes during the insurance period.
💡Conclusion
Furry insurance is like human insurance. Although you hope you will never need it, it can effectively reduce financial pressure when you encounter unexpected situations. Since there is no health insurance for pets, medical expenses are high, which is why many owners choose to purchase insurance. However, pet insurance is an annual contract, and the insurance company has the right to decide whether to renew the policy, especially after a claim has been made, it may become difficult to renew the policy. Choosing insurance does provide protection, but owners should also fully understand the risks and carefully evaluate their annual insurance needs.