Pet Insurance

Pet health insurance is a policy that comes with a monthly premium. If your pet is sick or injured, you foot the bill upfront and submit a claim to the insurance agency for reimbursement. Depending on the policy, you may also need to pay a deductible and a percentage of the bill — and policies typically exclude certain illnesses and preexisting conditions.

While the monthly premiums can add up to a few hundred dollars per year, the benefit of pet insurance is that cost will be less of a factor when deciding whether to go through with a major procedure. Illness and injury treatments can cost pet owners hundreds or thousands of dollars.

For example, radiation therapy can cost as much as $5,000 or $10,000 if your pet has cancer, and surgeries for tumor removal may cost up to $6,000.