Digging into the legal lingo of our pet insurance policies, we explain how our cover for pet cancer treatment works and why it pays to have quality pet insurance you could cuddle with Oneplan.
Cancer treatment for pets can be a financial and emotional stress for any pet parent. Cancer can affect pets at any age. While genetics and environmental factors may play a role, cancer can also happen at random.
Thanks to advances in veterinary care, pets are often able to recover with expert treatments including surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and medication.
However, the costs for cancer treatment do not come cheap, to put it bluntly. No pet owner wants to be in a position where they cannot afford treatment for their furry family member. Which is where pet insurance comes into play.
What is pet insurance?
Before we get into the basics of cancer cover and our pet insurance, we first wanted to give you a simple understanding of what pet insurance is and how it works.
Our insurance was designed with your pet’s health and happiness in mind. We have a range of pet insurance plans for you to choose from, each one with its own benefits and limits.
In exchange for an affordable monthly premium, we help cover the costs of expected expenses, such as vet visits and routine care if included in your chosen plan, and unexpected expenses, such as accidents and illnesses.
Pet insurance helps you avoid costly vet bills and ensures your pet’s health is always in capable hands.
Pet insurance and coverage for cancer
When shopping for pet insurance, it is easy to get overwhelmed with all the options available.
Coverage can vary substantially from one pet insurance policy to another. While some pet healthcare policies provide comprehensive coverage for life-threatening illnesses, including cancer, others may only cover accidents and not illnesses.
This is why it is so important to pay close attention to the fine print of your policy and understand exactly what is and is not covered.
The cost of cancer treatment for pets
The treatment costs for cancer in dogs and cats will vary depending on the type of cancer and the treatment required.
For example, surgery to remove a cancerous lump can cost between R5 000 and R7 000. This does not include medication, follow-up consultations, diagnostics or additional treatment fees. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy can increase costs significantly, depending on the treatment plan prescribed by your vet.
Without cover, these expenses can quickly become overwhelming.
Related: 9 Most Common Pet Insurance Claims and What They Cost
Oneplan pet insurance – quality cover you could cuddle
At Oneplan, we do not complicate legal lingo or hide behind confusing fine print. We break down everything you need to know in your easy-to-understand insurance policy, issued to you when you become part of the Oneplan family.
We offer a range of pet insurance plans, each with its own benefits and limits. From cover for vet visits where we front you with cash before you see the vet, to wellness and routine coverage and, of course, cover for accidents and illnesses.
Cover for cancer treatment
If you have one of the following three plans with us, we will cover cancer treatment costs for your pet:
- Pet Primary Plan
- Pet Hospital Plan
- Pet Classic Plan
- Pet Super Plan
Cancer has a 12-month waiting period that applies. For certain conditions such as cancer, you cannot claim for any costs related to cancer treatment during this waiting period. During this time, you can still claim for any other unrelated events.
Whether the condition is pre-existing or not, we will cover it after the 12-month waiting period. The waiting period begins on the first day of inception and applies regardless of when the diagnosis is made.
Let’s look at an example.
If your pet is diagnosed with cancer in month 5 of your policy, meaning you have had your policy for 5 months of successful premiums, we will only cover any costs incurred after the 12-month period has passed. In other words, there would be 7 more months of waiting before cancer-related claims are covered.
If your pet is diagnosed with cancer 3 years into your policy, it is covered immediately, subject to your plan limits and terms.
A six (6) month “resting” period after a cancer event is also applicable. This means you can only claim again for a new cancer event for the same disease after a six (6) month “resting” period from the end of the previous claim (the claim will remain open for twelve (12) months from the date the diagnosis was made).
In the lifetime of your policy, each pet dependant on your policy will only be allowed to claim up to three (3) times for the same cancer event.
Why insure your pet with Oneplan
To tell you a little more about what makes our insurance cuddle-worthy beyond covering cancer treatment, here is a quick list:
- We cover pre-existing, hereditary and congenital conditions after a 12-month waiting period.
- We let you go to any vet of your choice, so you are not limited to a specific network.
- Our Excess Buster is an add-on product that helps cover the excess charged on a claim.
- With our Pet Med Booster benefit, you can double your routine care benefits. It also includes the Excess Buster.
Read next: How Pet Dental Cover Works With Oneplan Pet Insurance
Yours in cuddle-worthy pet insurance,
Oneplan
