Due to advances in veterinary medicine, canine life expectancy has doubled since the 1970s. Naturally, costs have also gone up. Because insuring your dog could mean the difference between life and death, national humane societies recommend pet insurance. Obtaining pet insurance for your senior dog can be difficult; but it’s not impossible.
Pet Insurance Should Be Considered a Necessity
Many look at pet insurance as an expense they cannot afford. It is an expense dog owners cannot afford to be without. Misconceptions about pet insurance prevail. A dog is considered senior between ages 7-9. As with humans, dogs tend to have more health issues as they age. Insuring a senior dog will definitely cost less than paying out of pocket for treatments it covers. While it is best for a dog to be insured from puppyhood, it is not typical. A senior dog’s owner dies and the dog is adopted by a new owner. The fact that the dog was not previously insured cannot be changed. It is not, however, impossible to remedy.
Reputable Pet Insurance Providers Offer Policies for the Senior Pet
A reasonably healthy senior dog can be insured for as low as $116 per month. While a senior dog that has been insured its entire life will be less costly to insure than one who has not, it is far more expensive to pay cash for treatment of a serious condition that would cost your dog its’ life, untreated. For example, a neighbor’s Pit Bull swallowed a tennis ball. The cost of the surgery to save the dog’s life was $5,000. Accidents, such as this, are 80% covered with insurance. A year’s worth of insurance for a senior dog adds up to less than $1,400. The same emergency would have cost my neighbor half had he had insurance. Lucky for the dog, my neighbor could afford to pay out of pocket. Senior dog insurance now covers preventive care as well. Most importantly, senior dog insurance provides owners with peace of mind.