Pet ownership is a major financial investment. Which is why a number of pet parents choose pet insurance to help cover these costs. But just how much can pet insurance really save you? We find out.
Whoever said that the “the best things in life are free” clearly never owned a pet. As any pet owner will tell you, the endless list of benefits a pet brings into your life, from companionship, unconditional love, and entertainment, are priceless. But the cost of pet ownership comes with a pretty big price tag.
To put it simply, pet ownership is a long term and a major investment. Many pet parents are well aware of the costs associated with the purchase of a pet from a breeder or rescue organisation, but they haven’t taken the bigger account into consideration, which is that of a financial and emotional commitment for 10 to 20 years!
If you want to know a little more about the costs of pet ownership, then check out this detailed blog on the topic. We will touch on some of the points from that article in this one, but the purpose of this blog is to focus on just how much money pet insurance can really save you.
Pet insurance: the solution to keeping your pets healthy whilst keeping pet healthcare costs down
Did you know that pet insurance was actually invented by a vet?
This particular vet could no longer stand having to witness pet parents choose euthanasia because they could not afford the vet bills. And this is still a sad reality for many pet owners. The costs of veterinary care closely rival those of human healthcare. And just as we want to receive the best healthcare money can buy, we want the same kind of treatment for our pets.
Cue pet insurance.
Pet insurance is sort of like a medical aid, but for your pets. Pet insurance is a way paw parents can afford vet bills, both those associated with preventive care and emergency care. Of course, your benefits will depend on your chosen pet healthcare plan. But just how much money can pet insurance save you?
Is it worth it?
Not all pet owners recognise the value of pet insurance and the cost of a monthly premium. There is a common misconception that pet insurance does not equate to the costs of pet medical care. And some pet owners who have never experienced the scary costs associated with a pet emergency argue that pet insurance does not make financial sense for them. And we get that.
Read this: Oneplan: Pet Insurance That Covers Pre Existing Conditions
The case of ‘what if’
But what happens when something does go wrong? What happens when it’s more than just a check-up and it’s a real emergency? What happens when your vet diagnosed your precious pooch with a chronic disease that will result in a lifetime of medication?
Or what if your cat is involved in a fight with the neighbourhood stray and is badly injured? Do you have the cash you need to pay for expensive surgery? Are you willing to dip into your savings account or even max out your credit card?
Trust us when we say, pet insurance can and will save you thousands of rands in vet bills.
Your chosen pet plan
Pet insurance ranges from only emergency cover to more inclusive plans that cover routine care such as vet visits. How much cover you have depends on your plan. To accurately describe just how much money pet insurance can save you, let’s look at an example.
A real-life example
One day you are playing with your precious Bruno in the garden and the next he gets out and is hit by a car. The costs to save his life can amount to R40 000. Repairing a cruciate ligament from this kind of accident (this is one of our biggest claimed for events by the way) can cost R15 000 just for the surgery.
This is not including medication or any kind of rehab needed for proper healing. Look at it this way, if you have our pet accident plan which only costs R80 a month, this has an annual limit of R8500 for accidents. That means that for only R960 a year, you get R8500 in cover for hospital bills.
If you bumped up your cover to our Pet Super Plan which costs R430 a month, the annual limit for this plan is R75 000 (and this includes up to R6 600 per year for vet visits and up to R900 per year for routine care). The accident cover limit is R58 000 for this plan. Which means that if the surgery costs R40 000, your pet insurance will quite literally swoop in to save the day.
Discover: The Onepet Store: How Oneplan Pet Parents can get their premium back in savings
But what about my excess?
Of course, with any insurance policy, there is an excess that comes into play. With us, the excess is normally 10% of the claim from month 7 of your policy. Keep in mind that there is a minimum excess amount of R500. This means that if your excess works out to be less than R500, then we will deduct the full R500. This is also known as a compulsory excess amount.
What’s great is that with Oneplan Pet Insurance, we have a pawsome add-on called the Excess Buster. From R25 per month, we will ensure that all hospital excess amounts are waived. This means you pay ZERO excess on your claims.
So, does pet insurance make sense? If you do the math, not only can pet insurance save you from financial stress but it can also help set your mind at ease in knowing you are covered for when it matters most.
Your Pet Insurance Family,
Oneplan
