Life Insurance for Dogs: Do You Really Need It?
It’s perfectly normal for you to have life insurance coverage. This is one of the best ways to cover yourself or your family members in times of a great tragedy. Some of you might even have life insurance for your children and help them secure it in in their adulthood.
But should you get life insurance for your dog? After all, he/she is just like your family. So, do you really need life insurance for dogs as well? The topic is quite skeptical, and many of you are overly confused about it. That’s why today, I’ll be shedding some light into the matter and help you decide whether you need it or not.
So, let’s start!
What Do the Insurance Company Think About it?
To be frank, not all insurance companies have a positive view of this matter. In many cases, the logical answer would be to a “No.” Why? Well, because isn’t it rare for animals to have a steady income source or any kind of income source at all. Your dog might be your family member, but from the insurance companies point, they are only worth the value on the paper.
This means that they don’t consider the emotional value rather what you’ll be assigning to your pet. Obviously, there are exceptions when it comes to showing dogs, rare breeds or famous dogs. In these cases, the value for them would exceed the initial purchase price.
Typical Pricing Needed For Pet Funerals
Pet Casket: $50-$500
Burial in Pet Cemetery: $400-$600
Pet Urn for Ashes: $35-$400
Cremating: $60-$150
Passing away of your beloved dog can be quite hard to bare. That’s why you may feel compelled to have a proper burial or funeral for him. However, funerals can cost a load of money that might not be affordable instantly.
That’s why you may think that life insurance could be a great solution for it. However, these solutions don’t cover everything on your list and have their own set of limits. Before you get life insurance check out the limitations to see whether it’s worth it or not.
What Are the Limitations?
Life insurance for the dog is a bit different from health insurance. These are designed only to cover unexpected tragedies such as sudden illness or accident. The insurance company will then provide you with compensation according to the agreement. It would be worth the purchase value or assessed value or replacement costs.
There are exceptions where they may cover burial, euthanasia or cremation but you might have to go for premium plans.
But not all kind of deaths would be covered. Check out the exclusions from below:
Hereditary illnesses: Dogs summer from hereditary issues and deaths. But insurance would not cover these deaths. So, if your dog has a hereditary situation, you won’t be able to have life insurance for that.
Existing conditions: Your company would ask for a health assessment from a vet before letting you apply for it. If your dog is already suffering from any kind of illness, the company will not cover the expense.
Age: Dogs have a life expectancy much shorter than us. If your dog lived a full life and died of old age, the insurance company would not cover it. That’s why it’s only limited to accidental deaths and illnesses.
Life Insurance for Dogs
Larger dogs tend to have smaller lifespan than smaller dogs. That’s why time limit for your life insurance would depend on specifically the breed of your dog.
Typically, if you have a dog breed that costs a lot of money, then you can benefit from it. Other people that might benefit are the ones having show dogs or famous dogs – mostly these are TV show dogs or has a famous owner.
Paris Hilton happened to have a $25,000 worth of life insurance policy for her two teacup Pomeranians. While insurance companies put a higher value on these type of dogs that justifies the life insurance policy, if you have that much money to pay the insurance company then you would have money to cover their funeral budgets too. In that case, there’s no need to get life insurance.
Do You Really Need Pet Life Insurance?
According to research, Americans spend about $1000-$1200 every year on their pets. To of the largest expenses are healthcare costs and food. Both of these could take up $500 each from your budget. So, there’s isn’t much of a need to have life insurance unless your dog has higher assessed value.
According to the American Pet Products Association, there are more than 78 million dogs in the U.S that belongs to a family. While most of them might benefit more with health insurance, only a handful would actually benefit from life insurance.
There are some other facts as well. If you have some kind of disability and would want service dogs but don’t have the money for it, you might consider insurance. But does insurance cover service dogs? Well, the answer is no, they don’t. If you already have a service dog and want to get life insurance for him, then we come back to the same point.
Even though service dogs cost a ton of money, you won’t get special plans just because your dog is a service dog. It will be treated as an ordinary pet, and you will get typical plans for it.
Alternative Plans
Instead of getting life insurance you could consider health insurance instead. These are more geared for assistance in payment of big surgeries, illness or grooming costs. Some health insurances also cover death from illnesses. So, this might be a great alternative solution.
It might make more sense to just simply have a savings account just for the life insurance purpose and save up money personally for your furry friend’s funeral. That would be more benefiting instead of insurance.
Final Words,
In reality, no one can put a value to the love a pet brings to our life. Yes, your dog might be the most valuable company you have, but getting life insurance is a whole another perspective. Life insurance has its own set of limitations; that’s why it’s best to make the decision yourself.
I really think all the information in this article would help you to make the last call.
