Pet insurance covers veterinary expenses for your pets and helps save money on expensive treatments. It helps you to save on the money you spend when your pet falls ill or suffers from an accident. Pet insurance is especially useful as your pet grows old and is at risk of facing illnesses.

In case your pet faces a major illness, like cancer, the costs can be very expensive. This is where pet insurance can be beneficial, allowing you to save a lot of money. There are different types of insurance plans available, and you can choose the one that meets your needs best.

1. Coverage and exclusion
Pet insurance covers the following:

• Accidents
• Illness
• Surgeries
• Hospitalization expenses
• Chronic conditions
• Annual checkups, including tests
• Vaccinations
• Medications for flea or worm prevention
• Even the treatment of hereditary conditions is covered by some policies

Most pet insurance policies tend to exclude the following:

• Pre-existing conditions
• Grooming procedures
• Behavioral issues
• Pregnancy
• Diet and related treatments
• Hip dysplasia (in dogs)
• Dental disease (some policies may, however, cover this)

2. Waiting period
It is the period from the date you take the policy until the coverage starts. On average, waiting periods can be 48 hours for accidents and 14 days to 1 year for illnesses.

3. How it works?
Commonly policies are issued for dogs and cats. The monthly or annual expense you pay to maintain the insurance is known as the premium. This rate depends on the following factors:

• The pet species or breed
• Age of the pet
• Your location
• The extent of coverage you desire

Go through the following details if you are considering taking a pet insurance policy. They will determine the premium payment and the amount you can claim.

Firstly, you need to understand how much the deductible is. The deductible is the amount you need to pay from your pocket before the insurance company makes a payment. It can be charged per incident or it can be an annual deductible.

Next, the co-pay requirements need to be understood. Copay is the amount of the bill that you pay. It excludes the deductible. For example, the insurer may pay around 90 percent of the bill, and the co-pay maybe 10 percent.

Lastly, the maximum payout is an important factor that you need to consider while buying the policy. It is the maximum amount the insurer will pay. The payout can be defined in terms of the maximum amount paid per incident, maximum payment per year, or even maximum payout for the lifetime of the pet.

Assuming your policy provides for 10 percent co-pay, a deductible of $50, and a maximum annual payout of $10,000, let’s see how the insurance would work. If your bill is $13,500, then you need to pay $50 first. Then, the company would pay 90% of the bill, that is, almost $12,500. Since the maximum payout is $10,000, they would only pay that much, and you need to pay the balance amount of $2,500.

The information presented here aims to help you understand the points to consider before taking a policy. You can keep these details in mind when you are looking for an insurance policy for your pet.