Does pet health insurance for dogs or cats make sense?
Pet Type
Cat, Dog
Topic Area
General content
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Does pet health insurance for dogs or cats make sense?
Yes, in this day and age it often does. Not because of small bills, but because of large, unexpected costs: surgery, hospitalization, diagnostics, or emergency treatment can quickly become expensive. Good surgical or health insurance can help ensure that medical decisions aren’t dependent on your wallet in an emergency.
Important:
It’s not the cheapest rate that counts, but the benefits. Pay attention to exclusions, waiting periods, deductibles, and coverage abroad.
You can find a matching checklist here:
Checklist: Pet health insurance for dogs/cats
- Principle
- Full insurance or just surgical insurance?
- Do I want to cover major emergency costs or also diagnostics and treatments in everyday life?
- Reimbursement
- Up to which GOT rate (veterinary fee schedule) is reimbursed?
- Is there an annual maximum limit?
- Are diagnostics, medication, hospitalization, and aftercare also covered?
- Deductible
- Fixed amount or percentage?
- Per invoice, per case, or per year?
- Exclusions
- Are pre-existing conditions excluded?
- Are there exclusions for breed-specific diseases?
- Are dental treatments, physiotherapy, or chronic diseases included in the coverage?
- Waiting periods
- How long is the waiting period?
- Does it also apply to accidents or only to diseases?
- Age at enrollment
- Up to what age can the animal be accepted?
- Do premiums or benefits change in old age?
- Cancellation and premium development
- Can the insurer cancel the policy ordinarily?
- How much can premiums increase later on?
- Coverage abroad
- Does the protection apply only while traveling or also during longer stays?
- Europe or worldwide?
- Only emergencies or also regular treatments?
- Limited to German reimbursement rates?
- Practical check
- Is there a free choice of veterinarian?
- How quickly is reimbursement processed?
- Are digital submission and transparent terms available?
- Particularly useful for
- young dogs and cats
- breeds with an increased risk of disease
- owners without high financial reserves
- desire for maximum security in an emergency
- Less useful for
- very good personal reserves
- older animals with many exclusions
- plans with low reimbursement and many limitations