Many American households include a family dog.  These animals are not just creatures who cohabitate within the dwelling, but are considered legitimate members of the family.  Therefore, it is reasonable that these family members would need to be protected with some type of health insurance.  Dog health insurance for your pet is available, with monthly premiums from as little as ten dollars.  The amount of premium is determinant upon the type of coverage chosen for your dog.  However, these policies do not typically cover routine veterinary visits, but rather are for events out of the ordinary.  A tragic diagnosis or medical emergency, though, could demonstrate that health insurance for your dog was a necessity. 

What does dog health insurance mean for your pet?  Basically, these policies are designed to give the pet owner peace of mind that should their dog become ill, and they are faced with extraordinary pet medical bills, the insurance would alleviate a potentially financially debilitating situation.  However, even the lowest annual premium for comprehensive health coverage will eventually cost the consumer at least three hundred dollars, which would be money well spent if Fido were to develop bone cancer.  The typical healthy household mutt, though, will normally not incur this amount of veterinarian bills in an average year.  One must also remember that this premium is in addition to the annual physical, rabies vaccine, heartworm medication, and other recommended “wellness” care normally associated with responsible pet ownership. 

Americans also like to take the family dog on road trips.  However, should there be an accident; the pet is not covered under any insurance policy.  That has recently changed, though, with Progressive Insurance and their new auto policy which covers your pet while riding in the vehicle.  This health insurance for your dog will pay for injuries received or even the death of your pet that is involved in an automobile accident.  The consumer does not have to pay any additional premiums for this advantage, but the coverage is limited to $500 per dog.  In addition, the policy holder’s liability coverage would then cover any other pets that are in the car in addition to the insured’s.  To date, no other auto insurance companies have announced plans to offer the same type of policy. 

Health insurance for your pet is not available in all areas, and the trusted family veterinarian may not even accept the insurance at their place of business.  This would leave the consumer with the responsibility of paying the veterinarian out-of-pocket and then submitting the claims for reimbursement.  In addition, just like human heath insurance, a deductible may apply and all treatments may not be fully reimbursable.  The health insurance policy for you dog may also be subject to a “cap” for veterinarian services.  This could mean that although your dog’s treatment will be ongoing, coverage from the insurance plan will be limited to a dollar amount or time frame.  However, when faced with the agonizing choice of euthanasia for the beloved family dog simply due to finances, the premiums paid for the dog health insurance could be the best money every spent on your pet.