What is it?

Ethical pet insurance is a "risk sharing" property insurance (indemnity insurance), the same as car or home insurance, and that is exactly how it is registered in every State. Ethical pet insurance does not require the practice to subscribe or offer a discount......in fact, it is illegal for anyone to ask a veterinary practice to sell insurance. To sell insurance, a State license is required. It is owned by the pet owner, even when it is offered as an employee benefit, so it can be used with any legally licensed veterinarian. The clients pays the veterinary practice, gets an invoice when they pay the bill, and submits the invoice for reimbursement; with the oldest company, wellness care is usually processed and a reimbursement check is mailed in less than a week, and catastrophic care is usually reimbursed within two weeks.

Is it here to stay?

The oldest company, Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI®), has over 25 years as a veterinary-specific pet insurance company. They are growing in a logarithmic fashion since they introduced the wellness programs (e.g., the client can receive $2 for every $1 of wellness premium paid.). There reimbursement tables are based on actual veterinary profession fees, and offer a substantial savings to clients whenever an unexpected medical or surgical event occurs. With the increase in our senior pet-owning population, often with a fixed income, it allows a very effective allocation of the discretionary income on a monthly, quarterly, or annual premium basis.

The founder of VPI®; Jack Stephens, departed the company he founded, and established a new pet insurance company, PetsBest; stream-lining all the stumbling blocks perceived in VPI®. It is now operating in all States, and offers an 80 percent reimbursement, up to a pre-established ceiling based on premiums and deductible selected by the policy owner. PetsBest also has a very client-comfortable wellness healthcare reimbursement program, providing the client $2-plus for every $1 of wellness premium paid.

Just after the turn of the millennium, one company attempted to start a casualty pet insurance line in Texas, requiring doctors to subscribe, offering increased client referrals, yet attempting to control the fee schedules with free services, deeply discounted services and capped reimbursement rates (acceptable and proper rates). They did not last a year -there was no net in the formulas for the practice, just hollow gross tied to larger numbers of transactions!

In the fall of 2007, six major pet insurance companies operating in North America met in Sun Valley, Idaho, at Jack Stephens invitation, along with Veterinary Association representatives, and there was an initiative born to start a trade association for third party payers. The market share of pet owners with pet insurance has doubled this millennium........it is here to stay!

Why should we promote it?

When it was only offered for catastrophic coverage, it was an alternative to euthanasia, but now with the wellness factors, it makes economic sense for all people who perceive their pet as a companion and a family member. The VPI® and PetsBest® wellness reimbursement allowances are more than double the wellness premiums (vendor subsidies help do help this, as well as the margin on catastrophic premiums) and in fact, approximately covers the total cost of both portions of the insurance premiums. The VPI® wellness premium is now offered at two different levels, allowing the client to select the one that meets their needs. Clients send in wellness care invoices, from the licensed veterinarian of their choice, which can cause a reimbursement within 14 days. Pets Best® also has a track record of 10 days or less for their reimbursement cycle, for wellness as well as catastrophic conditions. Surveys have shown that pet owners with third party payment access (pet insurance or Care Credit®) access veterinary healthcare services almost 50 percent more often than non-insurance owners, and spend about 46 percent more per pet. But to me, it has always been a caring alternative to euthanasia caused by low available family funds at a crisis time.

How can we sell it?

As stated above, a practice should not try to "sell" insurance in any form; that requires a State license. A "caring veterinary provider" shares the opportunity, and maybe even the value, of reputable pet insurance, and provides the phone numbers of the reputable firms (e.g., Veterinary Pet Insurance®, PetsBest®, PetsHealth®, etc.).......I prefer to put all the ethical pet insurance companies on a single sheet of paper, columns and rows, and provide cost/benefit comparisons, based on the existing literature of each company, so the client can explore at their leisure, then make their own decision to purchase or not (see sample at end of appendix).

When Their Worry Appears to be the Cost.........How Much Is That Doggy In The Window

The tail will keep wagging if we can give clients an economical way to spend the small amount of discretionary income on their pets. When the client calls, they do not want to hear the laborious explanation of an untrained receptionist of why the practice's prices are so high; the good pet owners want the best value for the best price. So please, answer their question directly, using ideas from the following:

 Q - How much is dentistry?
A - Do you have pet medical health insurance?

 Q - No why?
A - Because if you did, our adolescent dental is less than $80 after reimbursement!

 Q - How much are the annual vaccinations?
A - Do you have pet medical health insurance

 Q - No why?
A - Because if you did, our annual booster series, with a nurse's consultation, is less than $25 after reimbursement!

 Q - I saw the Fort Dodge ad about semi-annual blood testing; what is the cost?
A - Do you have pet medical health insurance?

 Q - No why?
A - Because if you did, our full blood chemistry is less than $20 after reimbursement!

Supplemental & Optional Statements

Since you are worried about cost, let me send you a chart showing the ethical pet insurances available, with cost/benefits compared, and if it looks right for you, please call the companies that interest you. Pet Insurance is not practice exclusive, so if you need to use an emergency practice, or we need to refer your pet to a specialist, the insurance is still in effect.

Since you want the best price, the wellness care portion of some of these policies provides over $2 of reimbursement for every dollar of premiums........two dollars back for every one spent is the best deal on the street today! They also have monthly payment plans.

Pet insurance premiums are age dependent, so for $15 to $25 a month, you can receive coverage for sickness, injury, and wellness care, and with over $200 dollars of wellness care reimbursement available a year, even if your pet does not get sick or injured, you can receive more reimbursement that what you paid in premiums.

We will also include a Care Credit® brochure, they are a pet healthcare credit care company, funded by GE Money, that offers 90-days same as cash. Using Care Credit® with pet insurance provides you "float money", where the insurance reimbursement usually comes before the credit card payment is due, which allows you more time to amass your deductible portion. Care Credit® is not like pet insurance, it s not universally accepted at all veterinary practices, but we do honor it here, and the specialists we refer to also accept it.

Pet Well Care Protection Plans

Sample Only - Feb 2008 - pegged at ~ $20-$22 monthly cost for wellness rider