I have been wanting to write about this for a while now…

Since I am on social media quite often on a daily basis, I can’t help but notice all the requests for help for pets who are ill or injured. It breaks my heart to see that money is sometimes the only thing keeping some people from getting the life saving treatments needed for their pets. They try their best but who has thousands of dollars laying around on a whim? Some treatments costs several thousands over a long period of time and this cost is not bearable for many people.

This got me thinking about insurance. I am a big believer in the preparing for emergencies. And since both myself and my husband have life insurance and critical illness insurance, why would I not look into the same thing for Kitty?

As soon as we adopted Kitty 4 years ago, the first thing we did was get insurance. She was a year old and the premium cost was around $30 a month. Sure, that was affordable and it covered a lot of ailments and injuries with the exception of any pre-existing conditions. We decided to pick Trupanion due to the previous mentioned reasons and also for the fact that they didn’t put a limit on how many times you can make a claim for the same condition and covered 90%.

Fast forward a few years……

Kitty is 5 years old now and although we never had to use insurance (knock on wood!), her premiums are now at $63 a month. Many people have asked me why I am paying so much for pet insurance. They ask me why I don’t just save that monthly $63 in a savings account for Kitty.

I will tell you why ….

1. If I saved $63 a month for a year, I will have $756. If you know how much vet’s charge, this will certainly not be enough to cover tests, xrays, medication, vet fees.
2. If, god forbid, Kitty has an accident and requires surgery or any extensive treatments, I will not have enough cash to cover things upfront if I didn’t have insurance.
3. The $63 is a price I will gladly pay for my peace of mind knowing that if something were to happen, I will not have to compromise on getting her the treatments she needs. Her well-being is worth far more to me.

To anyone who is still not sure about getting insurance, I say please do some research and get the coverage that works for your pet. Here are a few tips to keep in mind.

• Take time to do some comparisons of insurance companies. Don’t always go for the cheapest option. See what is and what is not covered.
• Try to get insurance when the pet is young. Like human insurance policies, the earlier you purchase it, the most affordable the premiums are.
• Don’t be put off by the premium cost. If your pet is 8 years old and the online insurance quote is $80, give them a call. They will be able to work with you to get the best coverage needed.

So, in conclusion, I would like to say that I am all for pet insurance. You can make it work for you. Even though it might seem a lot and you may not think it’s worth it, I say it is TOTALLY worth it! I have never had to use it and if I had to do it all over again, I would still pick having insurance over having none!

(This is just my opinion and have no way been influenced by any pet insurance companies)