Why you should get your clients on the bandwagon!
By: Rachel Coulter
- Coral Springs Animal Hospital Assistant Hospital Manager
Many
pet
come
to
owners
that they practice veterinary medicine. So far this has
veterinary
not proven to be the case, and it would not seem ad-
hospitals in need of
vantageous for pet insurance companies to go in that
medical care for their
direction, but one certainly cannot predict the future.
pets and struggle to
find the means to pay
for the services that are
needed. A large majority of owners are unaware that pet insurance exists and that it
is a great way to be
able to provide them
with the means to take
care of their furry family members. Pet insurance has
actually been around since the late 1800’s and was
focused on horses and livestock.
The first insurance
policy sold in the United States was in 1982 and it was
issued to television’s Lassie. Britain has the highest percentage of pets covered by insurance policies in the
world, coming in at 23%. The U.S. has a much smaller
percentage of pets covered, coming in at only 1%.
However the number of pets covered is on the rise.
Many veterinarians who believe in the advantages of
pet insurance have witnessed the benefits that it provides to their patients. Pet owners who have insurance
for their pets are more likely to comply with the full diagnostic and treatment plan that their veterinarian has
recommended. This allows the doctor to practice the
best medicine possible for the pet, without having to
modify their recommendations due to the owner’s financial constraints. Pet insurance can also save pets
from economic euthanasia as it gives the owners the
means to choose life saving procedures that otherwise
may not have been an option for them. Pet insurance
can even help to prolong a pet’s life. For example, owners with pets that have cancer will spend a large
amount of money over time if their pets were to receive
chemotherapy. If an owner has insurance they may
now have the ability to provide their pets with the
chance to receive this therapy which previously, may
not have been an option. Over recent years, veterinary
The pet insurance market has grown significantly over
medicine has grown in its ability to provide advanced,
recent years and the number of companies offering
state-of-the-art medical care for pets. These advance-
policies for pets has grown as well. Many companies
ments do come at a high cost to pet owners. I