Insurance isn’t exactly top of mind for many pet owners. In fact, if you are anything like the typical dog owner in the US or Western Europe, you might be thinking that insurance generally, except maybe for certain types of life insurance, is an unnecessary and costly option. It’s something you’d rather buy when you are sure you absolutely need to or if you are forced by your job, local regulations, or business realities to take. Other than that, you’d rather not sign up for insurance. You are hardly alone. A lot of consumers think along these lines. Not surprisingly, most pet owners are not exactly excited at the prospect of having to pay for dog insurance.
Let’s get one thing out of the way: dog insurance can cost a pretty penny. There are no two ways about this. By and large, pet owners don’t take out dog or cat insurance. Too many dog owners think that this is an unnecessary expense. Well, if your canine friend develops problems later on, you might quickly regret your decision.
Unfortunately, by that time, it would be too late. You need to be proactive. You need to make sure of the eight signs that indicate you might need dog insurance. Ignore these eight signs and you might end up with a very nasty vet bill and, at the end of the day, still end up losing your pet.
Your Vet Bills Increase Over Time
If you notice that your vet bills significantly increase over a short period of time consistently, it might be a good time to get dog insurance. Dog health insurance can go a long way in defraying increasing vet costs. There are many different dog insurance packages available. Look at them as investments against fast-increasing vet bills. Of course, this doesn’t apply to all pet owners. You need to look at your vet bills over the course of a couple of years. If you notice a sharp rise, you might want to seriously consider getting dog insurance.
Your Pet’s Breed is Prone to Certain Conditions
Certain dog breeds are historically prone to certain genetic conditions.
For example, German Shepherds are known to suffer hip dysplasia. Due to bad breeding practices from several decades ago, a lot of German Shepherds actually carry the gene for hip dysplasia. Not only is this a very painful condition for your pet, but it also inflicts a tremendous amount of financial pain to pet owners.
If you have a pet of a certain breed that is known to suffer from a certain range of genetic or congenital health conditions, you might want to protect yourself from hefty vet bills in the future.
Your Pet is Accident Prone
Pets come in a wide range of sizes, shapes as well as differing considerably in personality. Some pets are very coordinated while others are cute but tend to fumble around. If your pet is accident prone, do yourself and your pet a big favor and take out dog insurance pronto.
You have Certain Unavoidable Hazards in Your Home
If you live in an area that is semi-industrial or has certain natural hazards, it’s probably a good idea to avoid those places. Unfortunately, if you have a four-legged companion, your pet might naturally stray to those areas. Be a bit proactive by taking out dog insurance to insure against the possibility that your pet ends up being exposed to nearby hazards.
Your Pet is Getting Older
Larger breeds tend to have a shorter lifespan than smaller dog breeds. On average, a Chihuahua lives far longer than a Great Dane. With that said if your pet is a little advanced in years and you want to make sure that you would be able to financially shoulder whatever age-related health conditions your dog might develop, you might want to consider getting dog insurance. Of course, get ready for larger premiums the older your pet becomes. In fact, in certain situations, your pet might not even qualify for dog insurance because it’s simply too old.
Your Pet has a High Chance of Needing Fairly Costly Surgery in the Future
Based on a combination of any of the factors listed above, if you think your pet has a high chance of needing some type of costly surgery, you might want to get insurance. Pet surgery is no joke. It can set you back quite a bit. Most pet owners take some time to recover from credit card charges they had to make because their dog had to under the knife. You might want to lessen the financial pain of costly dog surgery by taking out canine insurance.
You will be Going on a Fixed Income Soon
If you are an older citizen and going on a fixed income system like social security, you might want to take out dog insurance. Once you go on a fixed income, you might have such a reduced budget that if your pet meets with an accident, you might be out hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.
You Want Maximum Peace of Mind
Even if you’re not retiring soon and even if your pet is not accident prone or genetically predisposed to a wide range of painful medical condition, you might just want peace of mind for both yourself and your pet. In this case, taking out dog insurance makes all the sense in the world.
Let’s get one thing clear: peace of mind has no price. Seriously, it doesn’t. After all, all sorts of things can go wrong. You probably already know that often, the worst things happen at precisely the least expected times. They also tend to happen during the worst times. Crazy stuff, right? Well, it’s true. A little bit of dog insurance can go a long way.
Pay Attention to the eight signs above if you are serious about avoiding financial pain in the future. Take care of your pet and ensure that it’s properly taken care of by reducing your exposure to any potential sizable vet bills in the future.
