Pets Best Newsroom

Blog posts Categorized under ‘Pet Insurance News’

How to compare cat insurance companies

Posted on: January 10th, 2011 by

A woman holds her cat after purchasing cat insurance.

When choosing a cat insurance plan, it is important to ensure that you compare each part of the plan. Some companies may offer better rates, but they often lack in the coverage they provide.

Some companies have a per incident deductible. This is the amount of money that you will have to pay out of pocket before the cat insurance will begin coverage. Policies with lower per incident deductibles will usually have a higher monthly premium, and vice versa.

The next thing you will want to look at is whether the company has a per incident limit. This is the maximum amount the pet health insurance will cover per incident after the specified deductible is met.

The lifetime limit is the maximum amount the plan will cover for the lifetime of the pet. This is important to look at in the event that your pet becomes sick with an illness that will need treatment for the rest of the pet’s life.

Other services that plans may cover can include hereditary conditions, behavioral conditions, pregnancies, and even cremation. Other treatments can include acupuncture and chiropractic services.

When you compare pet insurance companies, you also want to consider how much of the actual bill they pay after the deductible. The amount a company pays can vary depending on the condition being treated. Pets Best Insurance covers 80% after the deductible, while some other companies operate on a benefit schedule or a “usual and customary fee schedule.”

Cat insurance: What you need to know

Posted on: January 5th, 2011 by

A cat snuggles with her master after purchasing pet insurance.

If you have new born kittens, be sure to get them covered with a cat insurance plan. Cat insurance will not only provide you peace of mind, but it can help you avoid costly medical bills. Pet health insurance can help you afford to keep your cat healthy.

Choosing a cat insurance company can seem overwhelming. You can find a number of pet insurance companies by typing “online pet insurance” into your favorite search engine.

Once you have a list of companies, be sure to compare them closely. You want to compare how much they will reimburse you after your deductible is met. It will either be a percentage of the bill or an allotted dollar amount based on the terms of the contract.

The next thing that you will want to look at and compare is the deductible and monthly premium. The deductible is the amount you must pay before the pet insurance will cover any treatments or services. If you choose to go with a lower deductible, then you will most likely have to pay a higher monthly premium.

Higher deductible plans are a good choice if you are looking for coverage in case of a serious illness or injury. This type of coverage can save you from the enormous costs of care for major accidents or illnesses.
For more information about Pets Best Insurance and to get a quote call 866-440-2020 or visit www.petsbest.com.

Pet health dangers of antifreeze

Posted on: January 4th, 2011 by

A dog that ingested antifreeze is cared for by a vet.

Antifreeze is a sweet smelling chemical that is used to keep a car’s engine from becoming overheated in the summer and freezing in the winter.

The sweet smell attracts dogs and cats and causes them to ingest it.

According to Dr. Justine Lee, associate director of Pet Poison Helpline, “The most important thing to know about antifreeze is you have a really narrow window for treatment.” Dogs must get the antidote within 8 hours of ingestion, while cats must get the antidote within 3 hours.

If the pet receives treatment in time, the recovery prognosis is excellent. The treatment consists of a hospital stay of several days. For a medium sized dog, treatment can easily cost a few thousand dollars. This is one of the many reasons pet owners should have their pets covered by pet health insurance. Not only do companies like Pets Best Insurance offer affordable premiums, but having pet insurance provides owners peace of mind.

Antifreeze poisonings have two stages of symptoms:

• After ingestion, the pet will appear to be drunk with signs including lethargy, uncoordination, staggering, or disorientation. These symptoms will occur approximately 30 minutes to one hour after ingestion and can last for several hours.

• After the initial symptoms subside, the pet may then seem to be better. Symptoms that occur in the second stage can include vomiting and oral and gastric ulcers. During this stage, crystals begin to form in the kidneys. If left untreated, pets will go into kidney failure which will eventually cause death.

Anytime your pet is behaving abnormally or showing signs of pet illnesses, they should be examined by your veterinarian.

Pet insurance options increase as pet health care advances

Posted on: January 2nd, 2011 by

A dog with pet insurance waits for pet health care.

Nancy Keates, an author for The Wall Street Journal, has a theory for the reason behind the 8.5% increase in veterinary costs in 2010 (double the cost from 2000).

She wrote in the article, “The $20,000 Pet,” that advanced treatment options, new technology, and “an increasingly sophisticated cadre of veterinarians” are treating conditions that weren’t even being diagnosed a few years ago.

“With some of the advances in human health care spreading to the animal kingdom, pet owners have many more options for treatment—and many more chances to fork over money to cure their pets or at least prolong their pets’ lives,” wrote Keates.

As veterinary costs continue to rise, so does interest in pet health insurance.

“Once considered an afterthought at best and a joke at worst, insurance for dogs and cats is appealing to more consumers as a way to ease the financial bite of pet care,” wrote Keates.

The number of pet insurance companies is rising as more pet owners realize just what the love of a dog or a cat means to them.

Pets can now be treated for illnesses for which veterinarians were simply prescribing euthanization a few years ago. Dog health care is becoming as specialized and sophisticated as care for humans thanks to MRIs, radiation and CAT scans.

One benefit all this advancement in care may be having: as dogs and cats are now cured and living longer than expected, they are seen increasingly more as loving, cherished creatures for millions of pet loving households.

Pet health: Wet food or dry food

Posted on: January 1st, 2011 by

A white dog with pet insurance looks at a bowl of food.

When it comes to caring for your pets there are many important decisions to make, such as selecting the best pet insurance and choosing food for your pet.

Deciding whether to feed them wet or dry food can be as difficult as choosing the brand. When deciding if you are going to be feeding your pet wet food, dry food, or a combination of both, you should make sure that you choose a high quality healthy dog food or a healthy cat food.

When it comes to choosing pet food, there are several reasons that wet food is an ideal choice. Wet dog food and cat food tends to have higher nutritional value than dry food and contains higher amounts of protein, vitamins and moisture.

It is also more appealing to picky eaters due to the variety of flavors available and the overall texture. Due to the way it is packaged, wet food is less processed than dry food and fewer preservatives are needed. Additionally, wet food is easier to chew, which makes it a good choice for very young and senior-aged pets. The downside to wet food is that it spoils quickly after opening and it is more expensive than dry food. Some people also have a hard time with the scent.

Dry dog food and cat food is a better choice when it comes to exercising your pet’s jaw muscles. Other advantages of dry food are that it is cost efficient and has a longer shelf life once it has been opened. The downside to dry food is its reduced nutritional value due to the baking process. To keep its shelf stability, dry food has more preservatives than wet food.