National Pet Health Insurance Month & $20 Kroger GiftCard Giveaway

Reya post-spay

September is National Pet Health Insurance Month and Kroger is once again helping learn more about insurance options. Personally, I wish I had dug deeper last year and got insurance for our pet. Reya just came home from her spay surgery today and it cost a whopping $336! And it's not finished yet. I still have to pay the vet to remove her stitches....


And then there are shots, annual exams, emergencies... Learn from my mistake and look into it before you become a furry one's parent. 


Here's what Kroger has to say about National Pet Health Insurance Month:

National Pet Health Insurance Month

September is nationally recognized as Pet Health Insurance month, and Kroger is inviting pet owners to learn more about policy options for their furry friends. This year marks the second annual celebration of the pet insurance month in the United States with pet insurance becoming more and more popular.

Vet care has increased significantly within the past few years. Pet owners can now seek treatment for their pets from dialysis to cancer treatments to surgeries, and pets are living longer than ever. But with the increased level of care comes an understandable increase in cost. According to the American Pet Products Association vet bills topped $11 billion across the nation in 2008.

Pet insurance is an option pet owners may want to consider. Pet insurance can allow owners to have coverage for the unexpected, and it can allow them to better budget for planned expenses. Some plans, such as the accident-only pet insurance plan covers treatment that results from an injury or accident, such as a car collision or unintentional ingestion. But with a more inclusive policy, pet owners can seek reimbursement for preventative care, such as teeth cleaning, flea control, annual exams and behavioral training. Pet insurance can provide peace of mind for pet owners, knowing they will not be stuck making a decision between proper care for their pet and possible “economic” euthanasia.

Tips to Keep in Mind

If you’re looking to benefit from obtaining a pet insurance policy, here are a few tips to keep in mind:

·         Get the coverage you want. Take the time to review what policies are available. Some carriers, like Kroger and PetFirst Healthcare, offer accident-only coverage, which pet owners may find more attractive than a premium coverage plan which costs more per month. Pet owners should examine how much they’re willing to spend on the monthly premium and match that with the benefits of each plan.

·         Buy early. Most, if not all pet insurance providers will refuse a pet with a pre-existing condition. Just like in humans, a pre-existing condition means the pet was diagnosed with an illness or disease prior to seeking pet insurance. It’s best to seek coverage from Day 1 to avoid the possibility of a pre-existing condition.

·         Know your coverage. Not all treatments will be covered, and what’s covered varies from policy to policy. Because pet owners pay out-of-pocket and then file a claim for reimbursement, some pet owners may not know a treatment isn’t covered until their claim is denied. Avoid that scenario by knowing the coverage benefits before walking into a vet’s clinic.

To help spread the word, Kroger is offering one Suburban Jungle reader a $20 Kroger gift card to help you buy pet-related supplies at Kroger. 

To Enter: Please comment and share your experience with pet insurance

Extra Entries:

5 Extra Entries for blogging about this contest (leave 5 comments and your link)

3 Extra Entries for tweeting this contest (include @suburbanjung in you tweet, 1 extra for daily tweets)

2 Extra Entries for following @PetsOfHealth on Twitter

2 Extra Entries for following @suburbanjung on Twitter

2 Extra Entries for being a google friend connect of this blog

*Kroger provided me with a $20 gift card from its One-Stop Gift Card Shop so that I could select my pet-related products at Kroger, as well as a gift card for one of my readers so they could do the same. This contest will end on September 30, 2010 at 9:00 PM EST. The winner will be selected by random.org and notified by email. 

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