Why Pet Insurance Is Important For Your Whippet

You love your whippet with all of your heart. They are not just “like’ family, they are family!

You have insurance and so should your family. Insurance is a big deal today for us two-legged people.

It’s expensive but we must have it and can’t do without it. Illness and injury happen, most times, unexpectedly.

What about insurance for your whippet? If your whippet is truly family, don’t they deserve health insurance too?

Veterinary care is expensive with wonderful new procedures being developed every day.

Look no further because I’m going to tell you why pet insurance is important for your whippet.

What Is Pet Insurance?

Pet insurance is exactly like health insurance for human beings except their doctor is a veterinarian.

The insurance helps to cover the cost of health care for your whippet if he or she should become injured or sick.

Depending on your plan, it may pay the total cost of your bill or a portion.

Some insurance plans will reimburse you for wellness visits, spaying and neutering, testing for heartworm disease, and administering necessary vaccinations.

Pet insurance is similar also to human insurance in that it can have co-pays, deductibles, premiums, a waiting period and maximum payouts.

Sometimes, as in humans, pre-existing conditions will not allow coverage.

Co-pay is a percentage you will owe when a deductible is met. Your percentage may be 20 or 30 percent and once you pay that your insurance will pay the remaining 80 or 70 percent.

Certain procedures may not be covered and you will have to pay the entire bill.

The deductible is how much money you must pay until the insurance will kick in their share.

Two types of deductibles offered are annual or per-incident.

A premium will be your payment for the insurance policy coverage and will be paid either annually or monthly.

Just as with people, your payment is determined by different variables, such as the age of your whippet, the deductible and co-pay you have chosen, where your pet lives, the breed of dog and how much medical coverage you would like.

A waiting period is also included when purchasing the policy.

Coverage does not begin until the waiting period is over. If injury or illness occurs during this time, it will not be covered.

The maximum payout is the maximum that the insurance company will pay as a whole.

Depending on the policy and company, this may be the maximum annually, which would have a yearly limit and once that is met the company will not pay for any more claims.

Other times, the maximum could be set per incident or for a certain amount for each system of your dog’s body, for example, the skeletal system, the respiratory system, the digestive system, etc.

There also may be a maximum amount set for the lifetime of your whippet. Once this is met, your pet is no longer insured.

It is best to do some research on different insurance companies to see what each one offers and to know exactly what you are looking for and paying for.

Asking your veterinarian, if only to find what insurances they accept or question friends who have pet insurance for their pets.

Is Pet Insurance Worth It?

Yes, yes and yes! First of all, your whippet means the world to you and pet insurance is a great thing.

I do have insurance for my Bonnie and it has saved me tremendously. That being said, veterinary care can be quite expensive.

Veterinarians are a special breed of people; extremely smart, caring and compassionate.

Cost of schooling for four to six years can be as high as £30,000 a year down to £5000 a year.

When completed the cost of becoming a veterinarian could be a staggering £200,000.

Veterinarians don’t make a great income until they are well established. They are worth the price.

People doctors study just the human body. In vet school, they must learn body systems of many different animals from large to small.

Horses, cows, cats, dogs, birds and even lizards. Sounds mind-blowing to me.

They perform procedures on very small and not always cooperative animals.

They are faced with learning new technology all the time and pets with human diseases such as diabetes and cataracts; just a few.

All of this treatment is expensive. It is so worth paying a premium to have the peace of mind that if you need the insurance it’s there and ready.

You will not be left holding the bag to pay a huge veterinary bill.

How Much Does Pet Insurance Cost?

In the grand scheme of things, pet insurance is not that costly especially considering the high cost of veterinary services.

Some factors taken into consideration by the insurance companies are the age of your dog, the breed (whippet of course), where you live and the size of your dog.

Price in species differs with dog insurance being a bit pricier as well as the gender also playing a role with males coming in slightly higher than females.

More claims are filed for males while females are considered “low risk.” The cost of a medium-sized dog like your whippet can range from £375-£890 a year.

Now don’t have a stroke when looking at the £890. It all depends on the type of insurance and that is at the high end.

You can purchase a nice premium for £35 to £40 a month which would add up to £420 to £480 a year.

What you have to consider is that some veterinary visits are not costly but any surgery or major illness can easily become thousands of dollars.

There are many different plans to choose from which are very affordable.

Some will cover accidents to x-rays and bloodwork to surgery, many chronic and hereditary conditions, speciality care and emergency care. You can also add wellness visits to a standard plan.

Below is a little math problem, nothing to panic about, but it will show you how much you can save by purchasing pet insurance.

Cost of Service £6000

Reimbursement x 90%

£4800

Deductible – £250

Your Savings! £4500

That math wasn’t too scary. Right? You can check out pet insurance companies on the internet and all you need do is enter some information about your little whippet and they will give you a free quote.

Some of the companies even are well known for human insurance!

Whippets Are Prone To Injury

Whippets definitely can be prone to injury. When instinct kicks in, whippets chase and that’s when bad things can happen.

A whippet off-leash is not a good idea unless it is in an area with fencing being 5 to 6 feet.

They will chase rabbits, squirrels and any small mammal. If they should get loose and take off there’s no telling what might come to pass… You or I don’t even want to imagine, but accidents happen. Running in front of a car could be fatal or your whippet could be severely injured.

Paw injuries, pulled ligaments and muscles, a broken toe or even fractures are possibilities when running and chasing.

We all know that our whippets aren’t as fragile as they look, but accidents can occur while jumping and playing ball or frisbee and could cause injury.

Veterinary Bills Can Be Expensive

You are emotionally connected to your little whippet. You want what’s best for him or her.

Wellness visits to the veterinarian are necessary as are vaccinations. You wouldn’t want to skip important visits to save money.

No way! An average veterinary visit can range from £50 to £400. These prices vary according to what the visit entails and also where you live.

Visits may be more expensive in the city as opposed to the country.

Wellness visits can vary from £45-£55 and adding any vaccinations can be another £10 – £30.

Preventative meds for fleas or heartworm can cost up to £20 a month while dental cleanings can range from £50 to £350. Dog owners definitely have to practice good doggie dental hygiene.

Faecal exams can go £25 – £45, while heartworm treatment can be £350 upwards to £1000.

Spaying and neutering are in the range of £200-£700. Any anaesthesia used in procedures is charged by weight.

Blood testing may be done before any procedure just like people.

Any emergency treatment can range from £1000 on up. Veterinary bills can be very expensive.

Should I Get Pet Insurance?

Should you get pet insurance? The answer is a resounding Yes, a million times over!

I know all of this information with dollar signs flashing are a bit intimidating and worrisome but pet insurance will really pay off in the long run. Think about how much you pay for your insurance.

To me, £25 to £45 a month is very worth it to know that if my whippet has any kind of medical problem or emergency we’re are covered.

You are not going to be left holding a shocking bill and wondering if you will have to get a second job to pay it.

No one will go hungry because you’ve got pet insurance. We know you’d give your last scrap of food to your pal anyway!

Final Thoughts

I hope I have answered any questions you have had and if this subject has never even come to mind I have confidence that it has helped you to see why pet insurance is important for your whippet.

Do your homework and research the many benefits pet insurance companies have to offer.

Don’t be afraid to ask around. A friend may have added something to their dogs premium that you hadn’t thought of.

They will sing the praises of how much having pet insurance has helped their pet.

Just know that purchasing an insurance premium for your whippet is one of the best things you can do for them.

They are, after all, family. Bonnie is smiling because she likes to help. It could just be gas, though. You know whippets!

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