27 Oct Pet Insurance For My Pet…Is It Good To Have And Do They Cover Dental Care?
We live in a society where most of us have some form of health insurance coverage, while fewer have dental and vision coverage. Many employers give you basic health care and then you have to add on the broader coverage. Thankfully, this avoids catastrophic costs when you need it the most.
Pet insurance has evolved over the years to become a valuable tool for those who not only want to provide wellness care for their pet, but also need help when more expensive veterinary bills are upon them. Having a dental rider or comprehensive dental care within that policy is such a benefit to have.
Understanding Pet Health Insurance
I made a blog a couple of years ago with Doug Kenney, a DVM friend of mine who has spent an extensive amount of time researching pet health insurance. He is considered the ‘guru’ in understanding and describing pet health insurance. I am fortunate to call him a dear friend. This blog is related to why pet health insurance coverage benefits those seeking routine or non-scheduled dental care. Here is the link to that podcast. I have also added a Forbes Advisor link to Pet Dental Insurance Explained. This podcast lists the names of pet insurance companies and links to what they do and do not cover.
Pet Insurance and Dental Coverage: Important Considerations
A couple of important thoughts regarding pet insurance: If you use it, it’s awesome. If you don’t, then I give you permission to log out of this blog. For those of you still with me, let’s look at a few items that you need to remember:
- If you start pet insurance when you get a puppy or kitten, you have a better chance of getting reimbursement for procedures as there are few if any pre-existing diseases that may be red flags for payment.
- If you enroll your pet in a plan as an adult, look at the fine print. You may have to have a dental procedure within 12 months and have certain criteria within that examination. Therefore, make sure your vet properly charts and probes after cleaning and that a complete dental record has been written. Without it, it’s pure speculation as to what was and wasn’t there.
- With most insurance companies, you pay the dental bill and then receive reimbursement less a deductible. Therefore, like above, make sure you get a copy of the dental chart and medical record along with discharge information.
- Get anesthetic dental care done annually, at a minimum!
Dog and Cat Dentist in Nashville, Tennessee
If you are seeing us at Your Pet Dentist of Nashville and you have pet insurance, let us know so we can help expedite reimbursement to you. Our team is quite proficient in providing the proper documents needed for you to submit your claims. If you don’t presently have pet insurance but are considering it, here is a link to Dr. Kenney’s Pet Insurance Toolkit.
To summarize things and to answer the proverbial question, ‘Is it good to have’, the answer is YES. But do your homework. See what is and isn’t covered.
Cheers!
Barden Greenfield, DVM, DAVDC – Your Pet Dentist of Nashville
Images used under creative commons license – commercial use (10/27/2023). Photo by Petra Vajdova on Pexels