WORCESTER – When our pets are sick or injured, we will do everything we can to help them. But an emergency visit to the vet can cost thousands of euros.
Since the pandemic, there has been a major spike in the number of pet owners purchasing pet insurance. Just like with car or home insurance, you pay a premium (and usually a deductible) and are covered for any costly emergencies.
The costs of pet insurance are skyrocketing
The first pet ever to be insured was the TV icon Lassie. Nationwide Insurance even held a press conference the day the dog got his policy. But now 5.6 million pets are insured in the United States. That number has skyrocketed and so have the costs.
WBZ-TV viewer Carrie LaRose emailed our Ask Everything inbox because she was frustrated with what happened with her pet insurance.
She asked, “Why are pet insurance premiums so high? It’s pointless to talk to them about their increases and billing practices.”
WBZ-TV’s David Wade went to Worcester to meet LaRose and her 6-year-old Golden Retriever named Fenway. LaRose has had Fenway pet insurance since he was just a puppy. She was thrilled to have it two years ago when Fenway suddenly had a seizure.
“He stopped breathing. He was writhing. He was foaming,” she said.
LaRose said she could easily save $5,000 with her pet insurance with medical tests and medications. Her monthly payments were pretty cheap too. In 2018, she paid $39 per month. It remained that way for two years. But in 2020 the price went up to $44. In 2021 it was $57 per month. In 2022, it went up again to $71.
In 2023 this was $95. Last year her premium rose to a whopping $129 per month.
“It’s more than heavy. It doesn’t fit into the budget at all.”
Pet insurance for Wade’s 4-year-old Golden Retriever, Ringo, increased from $78 per month to $118 per month this year. Why? Well, clear answers are hard to find.
Pet insurance is “just like home and car insurance”
LaRose’s insurance company, Trupanion, guarantees on its website that it will not increase the annual premium due to claims or because the pet is a year older. WBZ-TV reached out to them for an explanation for Fenway’s huge price increase, but never heard back.
As for Wade’s bill increasing by more than 50%, his insurance company said: “The price increases are based on the geographic region of the pet…the rising cost of veterinary care in the United States and inflation due to improvements of equipment, drugs and medicines.” other factors.” Then they added, “It’s like home and car insurance.”
Pet insurance companies are licensed and regulated by the state insurance department, which told me that companies blame the rate increases on “evolving technology and increases in the cost of supplies.”
Harrison Stenson is a pet insurance coordinator at Angell Animal Medical Center in Jamaica Plain. He believes insurance is important and helps pet owners in the hospital resolve any issues or questions regarding the policy. He said he does not sell insurance or work with insurance companies. He just wants customers to be prepared.
“Every day I see people who probably wouldn’t be able to get their pet’s cancer treatment if they didn’t have insurance,” Stenson says.
But Stenson sees some major problems in the sector. Most of all, he doesn’t like the vague answers insurance companies give.
“It’s definitely difficult for me to understand what’s happening with prices. There’s not a lot of transparency,” he said. “One of the biggest problems I have in recommending a policy to people is just not knowing what that insurance company is going to do with their prices. In the next year. In the next five years. I just don’t know, and I I Really wish I did.”
Is pet insurance worth it?
Insurance companies may even drop you as a customer. Nationwide Insurance recently announced it is canceling coverage for approximately 100,000 pet owners due to profit concerns.
So, is it even worth it? If you spend $1,000 on pet insurance this year, over ten years, that’s $10,000. That money can be put into an emergency savings account, and you might not even use it. But that takes discipline, and some people want the peace of mind of knowing they are protected from any major medical problem.
Ultimately, our pets are priceless, and insurance is expensive with no end in sight.
David Wade
