Should you invest in pet insurance?

Being a pet parent means taking on a lot of responsibility. You are in charge of keeping your pet nourished, clean, happy and healthy. The last part can be difficult as so many factors are outside of your control. What if they eat something off the ground while on a walk and become ill? What if they develop a growth or rash? Visits to your veterinarian can be costly when x-rays and blood work come into play. Unless you are independetly wealthy, there may come a time when the price of your pets care is more than you can afford. What then?

A former client of mine was faced with this difficult decision when her dog had to be rushed to BluePearl when he suddenly had trouble walking and was in extreme pain. After emergency surgery and a lengthy hospital stay, the final bill was in the 5 figures. Far more than she could afford. Fortunately they were covered by Trupanion and were only responsible for a fraction of the cost.

Many pets go through life without any major accidents or illnesses, but there's no way to know for sure. If you can't afford the monthly insurance payments, you can always set aside what you can in a separate savings account to help offset any emergency vet visits.

The pros and cons of pet insurance vary from plan to plan. Depending on your pet, the yearly costs may be far more than your actual vet bills. But what is the price of the peace of mind knowing that if the worst should happen, your pet will receive the best of care with minimal impact on your wallet?