Since you can’t ask your puppy when the best time to get insurance is, you’re probably Googling it. That’s a great idea. Finding out what dog insurance for puppies covers can help you make an informed decision. Pet insurance for puppies can provide financial protection for a wide range of vet bills.
But puppies are healthy right? So why would you need puppy insurance when they’re still young and healthy?
One of the main aspects of dog insurance, whether for puppies or grown-up dogs is having it before anything goes wrong. Like health insurance for humans, if you wait until symptoms show, it’s too late to reap the benefits.
In this article Blue Badge Insurance looks at some reasons for having pet insurance for puppies.
In this article
Pet insurance for puppies VS savings
Could you afford to pay an unexpected vet bill if you needed to? What about two unexpected vet bills or three in the same year? This is an important question for pet owners to ask, since even one unforeseen vet visit could end up costing hundreds to thousands of dollars.
When considering unexpected trips to the vet, here are some aspects to keep in mind:
- Multiple visits. Accidents and illnesses can happen back-to-back. If you’re considering relying solely on savings, will they be enough to pay for two or more unexpected vet visits in succession?
- Savings vs pet insurance. Pet insurance for puppies provides you with set claim limits according to the plan you choose. Unlike savings that get depleted, these automatically refresh each cycle.
- Rolling costs. Just one small trip to the vet could end up big. Imagine that puppy needs treatment, medication and overnight stays at the vet hospital. These costs add up just like human hospital costs would and you want to know you’re well prepared for the bill that follows.
Dog insurance for puppies helps you be prepared both financially and emotionally. Knowing your pet’s plan helps cover unexpected vet bills means greater peace of mind since you can worry less about costs and focus more on your pet.
Getting puppy insurance before you need it
As we mentioned earlier, insurance can only provide a safety net when you have it before things go wrong. This is one reason many pet owners get pet insurance for their puppies from day one.
At this time, puppies are young and haven’t developed any health conditions – that’s all in the future. Like human health insurance, dog insurance for puppies can cover a wide range of health conditions, as long as you already have your pet’s plan in place beforehand.
If, however, you only get pet insurance for puppies after they get develop an illness or allergy, for example, it’s too late for their plan to help cover treatment costs for these.
Dog insurance for young, healthy puppies
Just like people, there are many serious and sometimes chronic health conditions that can affect dogs. Allergies, epilepsy and diabetes are just a few of the many that exist. Many of these health conditions are genetic, which means they’re inherited.
These hereditary conditions usually only begin to emerge when your puppy is growing up. This is one reason it can be helpful choosing puppy insurance with hereditary cover early on since genetic conditions generally become symptomatic later. This way, you’ll be better covered for any associated treatment costs.
Many dog breeds are likely to experience some sort of genetic health issue during their lifetime. You might be surprised to hear there are as many as 619 hereditary disorders that can affect dogs. This is just one reason, it’s worth finding out about pet insurance with hereditary cover for puppies when they’re still young and healthy.
What does a puppy insurance plan cover?
Puppy insurance can cover a wide range of vet costs from accidents and illnesses to dental treatments. Many insurance providers also offer third party liability cover. When you’re choosing dog insurance for puppies, consider their nature (fast and curious) making the chance of injuries and accidents a real possibility.
Also consider what breed of dog you’re getting. It’s a good idea to research your dog breed to find out what health conditions it’s likely to experience. For example, the Labrador retriever is missing a gene that tells it “I’m full” making this breed prone to obesity.
Let’s take a closer look at what dog insurance covers for puppies:
Accidents
Puppies are full of energy and still sometimes a little off balance. They’re learning about the smells, sights and sounds of the big wide world. They don’t yet understand the dangers and tend to go anywhere, taste anything, say hello to any dog….
Because of this, puppies can and often do have accidents. This could be falling from a height, being scratched by a cat, bitten by a dog, knocked by a bicycle or eating something rotten. There are many ways puppies get into accidents. While you can’t foresee what these dangers will be, having dog insurance for puppies gives them an added safety net, since you won’t have to second guess the vet costs in their hour of need.
All three Blue Badge pet insurance plans include accident cover.
Illness
Initially puppies are born with some immunity to a range of pathogens and get added protection from their mum dog’s milk. Soon after they stop drinking, however, this begins to fade making them more susceptible to viral, fungal and bacterial infection.
Apart from doing routine puppy vaccinations and giving them a good diet, you can’t predict or necessarily prevent all viruses and bacteria from attacking your puppy’s budding immune system.
Like all young mammals, puppies do get sick. Having pet insurance means you can calmly take them to see the vet without worrying as much about the possible costs. Pet insurance for puppies helps cover a wide range of vet diagnostics and treatment for illness.
With Blue Badge Insurance, both the Classic Plan and Deluxe Plan include accident and illness cover.
Dental
Just like humans, dogs and cats can experience a wide variety of dental issues and disease. Cracked, broken, and misaligned teeth can be painful and dangerous for pets. Gum disease and periodontal disease can cause bleeding swollen gums and lead to bone loss.
Without treatment, several dental diseases can lead to kidney, liver and heart disease in pets. Our Deluxe Plan includes dental cover for a wide variety of dental treatments.
Third party liability
Pet insurance for puppies protects them when things go wrong. But what about when things go wrong and they’re the culprit? What happens when your new puppy is teething and chews up someone’s designer handbag? What if your dog gets a fright in the park and bites someone or their pet. The bite wound could get infected, leading to a range of medical bills you could be liable to pay.
In cases like these, having third party liability as part of your pet insurance can add a layer of protection to your finances. Third party liability helps protect you from costs caused by your pet’s actions for damage to other people or their property.
All Blue Badge Assistance Dogs insurance and pet insurance plans include third party liability.
Puppy insurance can mean better vet care
Dog insurance isn’t just for dogs and puppies. It can help protect pet owners and vets too (by ensuring pets get better access to treatments, meaning fewer worries for the people involved).
- Giving pets what’s best, not just what you can afford
Puppy insurance means that puppy gets the vet care they deserve when they need it. Secondly, pet insurance for puppies protects you, the pet owner, financially. Thirdly, dog insurance for puppies means that vets are able to offer the appropriate treatments rather than just what you can afford.
- Understanding the skills and equipment that are behind vet treatment costs
Vet treatments can be costly. Vets have to be highly skilled and require ongoing education since treatment practices and equipment are always evolving. Vets also rely on high tech equipment just like doctors do. Because vets need to be ready to treat multiple species that are often different sizes, they also always need different types and sizes of equipment on location.
- Vet treatments aren’t subsidised like human healthcare
It’s important to keep in mind that vet bills can also be costly because they aren’t subsidised like human medical treatments. Medication for animals also isn’t subsidised even though lots of human medicine is.
- Pet insurance helps pet owners pay the bill
This means you the owner, see the full extent of the bill. Thankfully, pet insurance for puppies can help cover a range of vet costs. Puppy insurance can give you and your puppy a soft landing in times of need.
Read more on pets for people with limited mobility
- What Do Assistance Dog Puppy Volunteers Do?
- Emotional Support Dog VS Assistance Dog: What’s Different?
- The Many Physical Benefits of Owning a Pet
- Low Maintenance Pets for People with Limited Mobility
- Which Dog Breeds Make the Best Assistance Dogs?
Choosing puppy insurance and peace of mind
Having dog insurance for puppies means you’re planning for the unexpected dangers puppy may face. Whether you have an Assistance Dog, therapy animal, or pet you can have them insured for a large range of vet treatments.
Find out about getting up to 25% off Assistance Dogs insurance and up to 15% off pet insurance with a valid disability parking permit. Click below to get a quote today.