If you read this blog and our pet blog you probably know that my law student daughter Claire, just got a new golden Lab puppy named Miles. He's about nine weeks old and Claire is really smitten with him. She's been reading past posts on puppy care that we have done to make sure she's getting Miles off to a healthy start.
One of the issues we have not discussed yet is the need for pet health insurance.
Claire lives on a shoestring budget as most students do. She barely has enough money left over at the end of the month for a Latte. She spent about two hours waiting in line at the local animal shelter vaccination clinic last week for Miles' first round of puppy vaccinations. I'm sending her coupons for high quality
puppy food so she doesn't have to scrimp on nutrition. Neutering is next on the list when Miles is about twelve weeks old. She's doing all the right things and she's doing it on a student budget.
So, does she need insurance?
You bet she does. Imagine what would happen if Miles ate one of her shoes. We've done pod casts with Dr Bill on
intestinal foreign bodies and we know that we routinely pay claims in excess of $1000.00 for such incidents. What if Miles develops hip or shoulder lameness so common in large breed dogs.
What if he needs corrective surgery in addition to pain and anti inflammatory medication for the rest of Miles life?
The answer to that is obvious. Claire would be in a real bind. In addition to paying off her student loans
she'd be paying off a big balance on her credit card bill for Miles. If there is one thing I've told her a thousand times its the insanity of carrying large amounts of credit card debt at high interest rates.
What type of policy makes sense for Claire? I don't think she needs a low deductible policy that includes Preventive Care. That policy makes sense for someone that can afford the higher monthly premiums and wants to take advantage of all the annual preventive care benefits in addition to coverage for accident and illness.
Claire is taking care of the preventive care procedures via local programs for pet lovers with low, (or no) incomes. She can work that into her budget. She needs protection from something serious that would require the expertise of a local veterinarian or even a specialist.
I'd suggest that Claire get a higher deductible
PurinaCare without Preventive Care policy. If Claire got a PurinaCare without Preventive Care policy with a $500 deductible she'd have a monthly premium of around $25 according to the quote for Miles on the PurinaCare website. She could easily swing that if she ate lunch at home for about three days. She's partial to prepared salads at Whole Foods. If she bought a coffee pot and ground her own beans she'd save more than enough to cover the monthly premium in about a week of making freshly brewed coffee in her own apartment. One less happy hour with her law student buddies on a Friday afternoon and she'd have it covered.
You get my drift. Even for a poverty stricken college student comprehensive accident and illness coverage is available at a reasonable cost per month. Coverage that does not exclude hereditary conditions. Coverage that does not have per incident limits or that is subject to a complicated benefit schedule limiting what it will pay for any given problem. Coverage that is backed by one of the most respected and well known pet centered companies in the world. That's a lot for $25 a month.
Now the real question is how Claire would come up with the deductible and her 20% co-pay in the event that she had a serious problem.
The answer to that question is simple. Her mother.