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How to Find the Best Pet Insurance for Cats and Dogs | The Cat Butler - YouTube
Channel: The Cat Butler
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We all love our pets, they are like family
and sometimes they can get very sick.
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For example if your pet is diagnosed with
cancer total treatment costs can go as high
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as 14,000 dollars.
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Emergency surgery to remove something a toy
your pet ate could easily be 3,000 dollars.
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Investing in the right pet insurance can allow
you to make the best medical choices for your
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pet without devastating your finances.
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Like any other pet owner I sometimes worry
if I am able to financially cover an expensive
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veterinary bill.
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I own two lovely cats, Teemo and Arya.
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They are both ragdolls from the same litter
and both have pet insurance.
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I spent quite a bit of time researching pet
insurance and today I want to share the knowledge
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you need to properly evaluate the best pet
insurance for you and your pet.
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I will simplify pet insurance to the most
important things you need to consider and
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help answer some common questions you may
have.
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Such as how does pet insurance work?
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What are the key coverages you need?
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What to expect in costs?
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Ways to save money on pet insurance?
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And is pet insurance worth it?
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At the end of the video I will share with
you guys which pet insurance I decided to
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go with and my own personal experience with
that company.
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I will also share why we selected that company
and recommend a few other top pet insurance
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companies from my research.
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I am the Cat Butler and usually I make videos
on how to help you become the best cat owner,
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but today鈥檚 information applies to dogs
as well as cats.
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If you like the content please consider subscribing
and giving the video a like.
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And hit that notification bell for new videos.
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What is Pet Insurance?
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Like human health insurance, pet insurance
requires the payment of a premium, and then
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the insurance company promises to pay for
the treatment.
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A premium is the amount you pay per month
to have pet insurance.
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In most cases plans with a higher deductible
have lower premiums.The Deductible is the
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amount of the veterinary bill you must pay
before the insurance company starts paying.
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There are two types of deductibles, per-incident
and annual.
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The per-incident deductible is the amount
you must pay for each new illness or injury.
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For example if a pet is hit by a car, that
is considered one incident and has one deductible
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regardless of how many times the owner must
return to the veterinarian for rechecks.
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An annual deductible is the amount you must
pay each year regardless of the number of
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new incidents.
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Most insurance plans also have a maximum payout.
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A maximum payout is the maximum amount of
money the insurance company will give you.
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There are five different types of maximum
payouts, but the one you should get is maximum
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payout per annual year.
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This offers the most flexibility and resets
every policy year.
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The other ones are confusing and try to limit
how much you can get by illness or body system.
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The simpler and straightforward your insurance
policy is, the less chances that you will
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not get paid by the insurance company.
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And next we have exclusions.
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Exclusions are a list of things not covered
by the insurance company.
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You want to make sure you read this carefully
before choosing a policy.
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So how does Pet Insurance work?
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When you first purchase pet insurance there
is normally a waiting period before coverage
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kicks in.
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The length of the waiting period varies from
one pet insurance to another.
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Every pet insurance has a waiting period to
prevent pet owners from signing up their sick
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pet and getting a pay out immediately.
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Pet insurance companies want people to buy
coverage before their pets get sick.
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Existing medical problems with your pet before
the policy waiting period is over are considered
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pre existing conditions.
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This is important because most pet insurance
companies do not cover pre existing conditions.
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So this is the reason why it is best to get
pet insurance when your pet is young and healthy.
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Another thing to keep in mind is when you
switch insurance providers during your pet鈥檚
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life, any medical problems that developed
in the previous pet insurance is considered
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pre existing.
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The minute you discover that their claim process
is not great, or their underwriting is far
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more restrictive than they let on, you already
have a pre-existing condition and cannot get
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that condition covered by another insurer
for the life of the pet.
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Pretty much you are married to the pet insurance
company you make your first claim with, unless
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that condition is fine for you to have excluded
from future coverage.
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So choosing the right pet insurance for your
needs from the start is very important.
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You do not want to end up paying years of
premiums to be denied coverage.
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Now the billing process.
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With human health insurance, the doctor bills
the insurance company for you.
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With pet insurance, you pay the veterinary
bill directly to the veterinarian and then
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you are reimbursed by the pet insurance company
after you file a claim with them.
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Usually the reimbursement rate ranges from
60 to 90% depending on the policy you choose.
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The remaining amount not reimbursed is the
copay.
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Reimbursement can take up to 30 days.
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In my experience it usually averages about
2 weeks.
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Some pet insurance companies do pay the vet
directly.
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With pet insurance, there are no networks.
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You can visit any licensed veterinarian in
the US.
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Some plans also allow you to visit a licensed
veterinarian in another country while traveling.
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The watch out here for the people in the US
is some pet insurances do not have coverage
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in every state.
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So if you move you may have to give up your
existing pet insurance.
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Having pet insurance can give you a peace
of mind that you are covered for the worst
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case scenario, but the keyword is "covered".
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If you are going to spend the money on pet
insurance, you need to make sure you are getting
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good coverage.
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The last thing you want to see happen is the
scenario where you have been paying monthly
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premiums for 10 years and your pet gets a
disease that is not covered.
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So what coverage do you need?
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In addition to purchasing a plan that covers
accidents and illnesses, you want to have
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5 points of coverage in your pet insurance
plan.
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If you do not have these 5 components of coverage,
you are literally throwing your money away
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because you will not be covered for common,
core diseases.
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Number one you need coverage for cancer.
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Cancer is common in veterinary medicine and
treatment can get very expensive.
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Number two is coverage for chronic diseases.
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Chronic diseases are illnesses that have a
long duration and generally progresses slowly.
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Examples include Heart Disease, Diabetes,
Chronic Kidney Disease, and Chronic Liver Disease
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These diseases are usually not curable and
the costs over time can be enormous.
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These types of diseases usually show up in
middle aged to older dogs and cats.
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Number 3 is continual coverage of chronic
diseases.
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Chronic diseases will continue to need treatments
& diagnostic monitoring long after the diagnosis
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is made.
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If you do not get this coverage, the chronic
disease will only be covered in the policy
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year it was diagnosed, after that, you will
have to pay for any continuing medications
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or diagnostic monitoring yourself.
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Any chronic condition is going to have ongoing
costs for the life of the patient, not just
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the first year in which it happens.
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Avoid plans that place limits on the continual
coverage payout.
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Number four is Coverage for Hereditary and
congenital diseases.
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These types of conditions can be present at
birth or develop later in life.
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I will link in the description a list of hereditary
and congenital diseases for each breed.
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Lastly, you want to get coverage for medical
conditions common to your pet鈥檚 breed and species.
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For example Golden Retrievers are more likely
to develop hypothyroidism and older cats are
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likely to develop kidney disease and diabetes.
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Ask your veterinarian to help you create a
list.
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If your pet is older or has pre-existing conditions
the type of coverage available to you may
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be limited.
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You may have to use alternatives to help pay
for conditions that are not covered.
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This is why sometimes getting insurance for
your pet at a young age has its advantages.
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There are quite a few coverage options to
add on to your pet insurance.
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I am going to highlight the most important
coverage to consider.
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Wellness & Routine Care refers to preventive
procedures like vaccinations, annual exams,
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medications, spaying/neutering, dental cleanings,
and routine diagnostic tests.
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These procedures are very important in maintaining
the health of your pet, as they prevent disease
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or catch disease early.
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Most companies offer Wellness & Routine Care
as an optional add-on for an additional cost.
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So how much does pet insurance cost?
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Average premiums for young Cats start at 28.48
and 49.51 for young dogs (North America Pet
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Health Insurance Association).
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This is determined by where you live, the
breed, and the age of your pet.
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If you live in a high cost of living area
or have a breed more prone to illness than
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the cost will be more.
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Also, age plays a huge factor in terms of
cost.
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A younger pet usually is cheaper than an older
pet.
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Something to consider is that every year your
pet insurance can increase.
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Expect average premiums to go up to 100 dollars
for senior cats and 189 dollars for senior
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dogs per month .
This is primarily due to the age of your pet
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and inflation in your area.
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Before buying, make sure you fully understand
how, when and by how much your premium will
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increase over time and make sure you are prepared
for those increases.
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So how can you save money on pet insurance?
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First is to check with your employer.
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If you work for a big company they may offer
discounted pet insurance.
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The rates could be heavily discounted and
the price increases over the years very small.
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Second is you can opt not to not add Wellness
& Routine Care to your insurance coverage
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and have it be something you pay out of pocket.
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Vaccines, medications, and neutering aren鈥檛
too expensive and you can save for these expenses
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and use pet insurance for the unexpected vet
bills.
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Third is to get pet insurance when your pet
is younger.
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If your pet is older or has pre-existing conditions
you may not be eligible for full coverage
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in the insurance policy and not get the most
out of your money.
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So is pet insurance worth it?
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Most people would argue if your pet is healthy,
why not set aside money every month and save
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for unexpected vet bills.
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In some scenarios you may not have saved enough
money when the medical emergency happens.
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Such as your pet getting cancer at the age
of 2 or some freak accident.
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What pet insurance does is a way to handle
those catastrophic, unexpected, costly accidents
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and illnesses.
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Pet insurance is worth it if you have a young
pet that is healthy with no pre-existing conditions
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and you make sure you get the right coverage.
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While they are young, you hopefully won鈥檛
have to use it much, but it will be worth
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it later down the road when they do start
aging and/or experience some kind of veterinary
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emergency.
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For older pets people often purchase pet insurance
too late in their pet鈥檚 life for it to be
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useful.
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Pets are not covered for pre-existing conditions,
and these generally arise as the pet ages.
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Pet insurance isn鈥檛 for everyone.
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If the premiums are a burden to your finances,
don鈥檛 get pet insurance.
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To get the most out of your pet insurance
you need to have your pet covered for its
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duration of its life.
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But if you can comfortably afford it, insurance
coverage for your pet means you won鈥檛 have
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to make a difficult choice between your loved
one and your finances.
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And that鈥檚 ultimately what you鈥檙e paying
for: No matter what issues your pet might
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face, you鈥檒l know that you can give them
the very best.
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So now you have done a lot of research and
you are ready to choose a pet insurance plan.
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Before we talk about the different companies
I want to give you a couple pieces of advice
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in finding the right insurance policy.
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First is to ask the pet insurance companies
to send you in writing what they actually
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cover and exclude from their policy.
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The devil is in the details.
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The marketing materials and websites are usually
vague.
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Make sure the policies have what you need
covered!
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Number 2 is to consult with your vet based
on your pet鈥檚 breed and age and figure out
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what medical conditions you need covered in
your pet insurance.
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Alright so you are probably ready for some
recommendations.
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I based my recommendations on a few factors.
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The track records of these companies.
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Coverage.
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Paying out claims without a hassle.
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And excellent customer service.
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I also read tons of reviews on each company
to understand how other customers felt.
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The first company is Trupanion.
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Trupanion offers one single comprehensive
plan and has the option to pay your vet directly.
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So no waiting to be reimbursed.
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It also reimburses you at 90% and has no maximum
payout.
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The next company is Healthy Paws.
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It also offers a comprehensive plan with no
limits to how much they pay out and has coverage
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when you travel out of state to Canada and
Mexico.
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Healthy Paws also has excellent customer service
that is responsive to your needs.
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The next company is Embrace Pet Insurance.
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They offer comprehensive coverage and may
cover pre existing conditions if they deem
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it curable.
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Your pet must remain symptom free and treatment
free for a year.
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They also offer a max discount of 10% on multiple
pets.
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The last company is Nationwide and the pet
insurance I chose for my two cats.
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Nationwide Pet Insurance was formerly VPI,
which was the oldest pet insurance company
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in the United States.
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They offer two plans, but I recommend the
whole pet plan.
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As it offers a generous maximum payout structure
and provides solid comprehensive coverage.
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Another reason why I chose Nationwide was
its Wellness Coverage.
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I believe in preventative care such as blood
tests and dental cleanings as it can catch
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illness early and keep my pet鈥檚 teeth intact.
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The claims process has been painless, you
submit the vet bill and you are reimbursed
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in less than two weeks.
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For example, Teemo needed an X-ray because
he fell on the concrete at an awkward angle.
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He is a clumsy cat.
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For hours he limped and cried.
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The bill came out to 600 hundred dollars and
the reimbursement was painless.
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Customer service has been top notch.
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Everytime I call the representatives they
have been pleasant and very helpful.
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They were also transparent about the cost
increases to expect when my two cats get very old.
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The only con is that Nationwide is a little
pricier than the other options, but I would
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recommend it if you want great coverage for
your pet.
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The links to all of the pet insurance companies
are in the description below.
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So I hope that I armed you with the knowledge
to make the best decision for your pet.
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Never buy pet insurance without doing your
own research.
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The video was dense so feel free to go back
and rewatch it.
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If you have any questions feel free to comment
down below and I will do my best to answer them.
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