As a dog owner, having pet medical insurance can give you a great peace of mind. However, your dog will only be well cared for if you get appropriate and adequate coverage for it. To ensure that this is the case, ensure that your pet insurance policy includes coverage for the following.
Cancer
The first coverage you should look for is for cancer. According to the Pet Cancer Awareness organization, nearly 50% of all disease-related pet deaths are due to cancer. What is more, dogs get cancer at about the same rate as human beings.
Additionally, treating cancer is not cheap; you can end up paying thousands of dollars depending on a number of factors such as the type of treatment and age of the dog. Note that some pet insurers do not offer full coverage for very old dogs, so this is something you will want to confirm first.
Chronic Diseases
Apart from cancer, your preferred policy should also include coverage for chronic diseases. These are diseases that do not end easily (many of them do not even have cures). They tend to attack vital organs of the pet's body such as kidneys, lungs, and heart.
Common chronic diseases in dogs include:
- Chronic renal insufficiency (leads to kidney failure)
- Osteoarthritis (degenerative disease of the cartilage, support tissues, and bones)
- Chronic valvular disease (attacks heart valves)
Research diseases common to your dog's breed since some diseases are more common in some breeds than others. For example, hypothyroidism (natural deficiency of thyroid hormone that leads to various complications) is common with Golden Retrievers.
Since chronic diseases either take a long time to cure or are incurable, your policy should provide your pet with long-term coverage. You don't want a policy that provides one-year coverage because your dog will need more than a year's worth of treatment for these diseases. You may have to pay for this coverage as an add-on, but it is worth it.
Hereditary and Congenital Conditions
The third coverage you should not miss is that for hereditary and congenital diseases. Hereditary diseases are passed on by the genes of the dog's parents while congenital conditions are present at birth even if they are not passed by the genes.
Your pet needs coverage for these conditions because you cannot avoid them even with the highest standards of care for your pet. Again, you should focus on hereditary and congenital conditions common to your pets breed.
In short, you shouldn't buy pet coverage blindly. If you don't understand what is on offer, then you should talk to an agent for clarification. Pet insurance is different from human health insurance so you can't rely on your knowledge of Medicare when buying coverage for your dog. And remember to consider an insurance agent, such as Fishel H N & Associates Inc Insurance, when you're looking for coverage for the other concerns and loved ones in your life.
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