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Insuring Man’s Best Friend: Is it worth it?

by KREX News Room
by John Dias

Story Created: Feb 19, 2013 at 6:29 AM MDT

Story Updated: Feb 19, 2013 at 6:33 AM MDT

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.- When it comes to our pets, some will do whatever it takes to give them the best care possible. But are you willing to dish out some extra dough for pet insurance?

From major medical plans, to ones with higher premiums, the revenue for all pet insurance plans totaled $303 million in 2009. It’s a figure Packaged Facts research firm expects to more than double and reach $753 million by 2014.

“It’s a wide range. Pet insurance varies dramatically,” said Steve TerLouw, local veterinarian. “Veterinarian insurance for me is really for a major medical thing.”

Just like any insurance plan, the cost of veterinarian insurance differs.

TerLouw says from his experience, he has seen pet insurance as either a hit or miss.

“I’m a little eerie of pet insurance just because a lot of the conditions that they don’t cover and it varies for different animals,” said TerLouw.

He says no matter what you're pet may be, you have to make sure you know what you're getting into before you sign on any dotted line, and too keep in mind that this kind of insurance is very different than human insurance.

“Veterinarian insurance will only reimburse up to 80 percent of the cost of certain conditions,” said TerLouw.

But for dog lover Dara Miller, she says this kind of plan could have come in handy for her years ago.

“After having the diabetic dog, I would consider it more strongly than I would have without having him,” said Miller. “He just required more care and had more things going on once he became diabetic.”

“We had one dog here with major issues and they were reimbursed for many of those issues that their dog had,” said TerLouw. “So it was very successful case for them.”

TerLouw warns that a case like that one isn't as common as one would hope and it’s important to note that you have to start a pet insurance plan when the animal is a baby, before any problems arise.

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