What Is The Best Age To Get Pet Insurance For Your Pet?

Bringing home a new pet can be a joyful and exciting experience. On the other hand, it comes with the responsibility of taking care of the new furry member of the family, whose life depends on you.  

Getting pet insurance may not be at the top of your mind when welcoming a new pet into your home, but your future plans should now also include your new furry companion. As such, investing in pet insurance can prove to be beneficial for both you and your pet in the long haul. 

When To Get Pet Insurance

Pet insurances provide coverage for a wide range of illnesses and emergencies involving our pets. The various types of policies today allows pet owners to choose which plan would best suit their situation and that of their pets. 

But when is it the right time to get pet insurance? Like many financial services, timing is important. With this, you might ask - Is your pet too young or too old to get insured? Does pet insurance have an age limit?

Most pet insurance policies have limitations on factors such as age or medical history. Meanwhile, there's a Pet Emergency Fund by Petcube - an Petcube insurance alternative that provides your pet with coverage for pet emergencies regardless of age, breed, or medical history. This service is a good alternative to pet insurance for older dogs, among other common limitations in insurance policies. Nevertheless, when it comes to having our pets insured, the earlier we do it,  the better.  

Why Insure Your Pet As Early As Possible?

• To avoid the label of "pre-existing conditions"

When it comes to insurance policies, many do not provide coverage for pre-existing conditions. Below is an example of two scenarios. 

Exhibit 1

An owner insures her new puppy. After a couple of months, the puppy is diagnosed with atopic dermatitis. Because the condition is covered in the pet's insurance policy, the company will be paying for the costs of treatment, including medications and tests. 

Exhibit 2

An owner decides to wait a while before getting insurance for her new puppy. A few weeks later, her dog is also diagnosed with atopic dermatitis. This is now labeled as a pre-existing condition before applying for insurance. So if an insurance policy doesn't cover pre-existing conditions, the costs that the owner would be spending won't be covered. 

As shown in the scenarios above, having your pet insured early is better since the likelihood of them developing health issues increases as they get older. Nevertheless, keeping our pets healthy is essential. For the tech-savvy owners, HealthWorksCollective lists down the best apps for pet owners who are trying to keep their pets healthy. 

As pet owners, we should also be mindful of how our actions affect our pet's health. For example, this full article explains some of the harmful things that we may be doing to our dog without realizing it. 

• There's a waiting period

Majority of pet insurance policies have a waiting period or a period after purchasing a policy before the benefits can be claimed. So it's important to note that if your pet is older and you are worried that they may get ill or get into an accident, the coverage of the policy may not be immediately applied when you purchase the plan. 

• Risk of accidents

No matter how old your pet is, there is a risk of them getting into an accident or pet emergency. The costs of treatment and emergency care may quickly go high without insurance coverage (with pet owners in the U.S. paying vet bills of over $1000 every 6 seconds). However, when you have pet insurance or a pet emergency fund, you may be able to focus more on helping your pet get better rather than worrying about the costs.  

• It's less costly

Pet insurance for older dogs, cats, and other pets is more costly, add to the fact that pre-existing conditions that might not be covered by many pet insurance policies. And since many insurance policies have limitations on age, older dogs may not be qualified when they reach a certain age. The typical cut-off age is between 7 - 14 years old. As such, it is recommended to start availing pet insurance while your pet is still in their early months or years. 

Conclusion

When our pet is suffering from sickness or injury, worrying about whether we can pay for their treatment and medical care is a scenario that we wouldn't want to be in. Meanwhile, having your pet covered by a pet insurance policy allows you to make sound decisions that would benefit your pet's health without worrying about whether you can afford it. With this, it's best to get pet insurance as early as possible for you and your pet to receive the most benefits at a lower cost.