Pet insurance can provide coverage you need for your pet care, but it also comes with exclusions, restrictions, and conditions that are not covered, depending on the policy type. Pet insurance, for example, seldom covers pre-existing conditions. Some restrictions apply to all✅ pets, while others apply only to certain species and breeds.

3 Main Types of Pet Insurance Coverage

Each of the three main types of 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:pet insurance—wellness, accident, and comprehensive (accident and illness)—provides a specific set of coverage. It’s important to understand that the coverage pro💙vided by one type of policy may not include coverage offered by another type.

Wellness coverage, for example, is for r🌜outine and preventative care, including annual checkups, vaccinations, and some dental work such as teeth cleaning. It provides no accident or illness coverag🧸e.

Likewise, an accident-only policy doesn’t cover wellness or illness. Comprehensive policies cover both accident and illness, but rarely provide wellness coverage.

Common Costs Not Covered by Pet Insurance

When you consider pet insurance, make sure you locate and review the list of exclusions before signing the contract. Exclusions are typically found on the insurance company website. They can often outnumber what is covered.🐎

Here are some of🍌 the most com🧸mon exclusions found in pet insurance policies.

Waiting Period

Almost all pet insurance policies have a waiting period (usually 10 to 30 days) during which there is no coverage, although you may be able to use optional wellness benefits immediately. In addition to no coverage during the waiting period, most policies provide that, once the waiting period is over, any problem that began to present itself during the waiting period is also not covered.

Pre-Existing Medical Conditions

A common exclusion is for pre-existing medical conditions. Anything in your pet’s medical history before the policy starts is generally subject to exclusion. This also applies when you cancel one policy and take out another. However, in many cases, an insurance company may provide coverage for a condition after it has been "cured" for a certain period of time. The time period varies depending on the insurer's policy.

Pregnancy and/or Birth

Most pet insurance policies offer coverage in the event of complications during a pet's pregnancy, but most providers consider pregnancy excludable. So, if your pet becomes pregnant, 🐓you will most likely have to pay for any associated costs.

Death of a Pet

Costs associated with the death of a pet such as euthanasia, cremation, or burial costs are not always included in a pet life insurance policy. Although some companies may cover end-of-life costs such as euthanasia or end-of-life care under their accident and illness policy. Or, for example, a company's wellness policy may reimburse for cremation or a memorial keepsake.

Bilateral Condition

A bilateral condition is a condition that can happen to both sides of your pet’s body, such as (hip) dysplasia, 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:cruciate ligament issues, or cataracts. Normally, these conditions are covered unless your pet has already suffered the condition on one side of its body. In that case, it’s excluded.

Preventable Diseases

If you fail to have your pet vaccinated for a preventable disease—such as canine influenza, kennel cough, giardia, and parvovirus—and your pet gets that disease, treatment costs will likely be exclude♊d from coverage.

Breed Exclusion

Some breeds of dogs and cats are predisposed to certain medical conditions such as diabetes or ligament injuries and those conditions are often excluded by breed by an insurer. For example, a company may exclude coverage of degenerative myelopathy for German Shepherds and Golden Retrievers.

Age Exclusion

Insurers may refuse to cover pets that they consider too old or too young for coverage. For example, an insurer may not cover a pet younger than eight weeks or one that is considerably older, depending on species and breed. Even if coverage is provided for older pets, it will likely be much more expensive the older the pet gets.

Elective Procedures

Most elective procedures, such as those for cosmetic reasons, are often among the pet insurance exclusions. Examples include anal gland expression and removal, tail docking, ear cropping, nail trimming, feline declawing, and dewclaw removal.

Nonstandard/Non-Veterinary Services

Procedures or activities not normally associated with veterinary services or those services not part of standard care are excluded. This includes waste disposal, food, nutritional supplements, boarding, transportation, grooming, and bathing. Other services that are not covered include behavioral training, or experimental care.

Cost vs. Value

How much pet insurance costs and 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:whether you think it is worth it depends on a variety of factors, including how important🗹 what is not covered i🍬s to you.

The 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:average costs of dog insurance is about $17 to $53 for a dog and the average cost of cat insurance is about $10 to $32, according to the North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA).

Insurance costs vary with coverage and policy, but in gene🌺ral accident only-insurance is significantly cheaper than comprehensive insurance. Wellness insurance is typically not as expensive as 𒈔comprehensive insurance, but more expensive than accident-only insurance.

However, you should weigh the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:cost of pet insurance versus the value yoꦬu will get depending on your pet's expected health and your financial situation. If you believe your p💙et may be prone to illnesses and you want to avoid those out-of-pocket expenses, a comprehensive policy may be a better fit than an accident-only policy, even though the premiums will be more expensive.

The Bottom Line

Each type of pet insurance 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:provides coverage for different costs. Understanding what a pet insurance does not cover is just as important as understanding what it does cover. When you search for a pet insurance policy to meet your needs, first determine whic💃h costs you want covered by pet insurance, such as costs related to injuries or routine care.