Pet insurance is not a new concept, but it is one that is gaining popularity. European pet owners have been insuring their pets since 1940, but pet insurance companies in the United States did not begin to offer it until the early 80s. However, in 2005, only 3 percent of US pet owners carried insurance compared to 25-50 percent of European pet owners. It is starting to make gains in the US recently as more pet insurance companies are cropping up and advertising becomes more visible. This is partially due to a rise in veterinary expenditures, but also due to longer pet life expectancy, the rise in people considering pets to be more like children and the new amount of sophisticated veterinary procedures borrowed from human medical science.

Although the idea of dealing with yet another insurance company may scare some people, pet health insurance bears very little resemblance to human insurance. In fact, it is more like car insurance both cost-wise and the lack of administrative headaches. This is because pets are technically property, the insurance for them is much like property insurance, whether auto or otherwise. The primary purpose of the treatment, or repair, is to get the car back on the road, or the pet back with its family. Like auto insurance, pet insurance is there to absorb the risk of a potential accident leading to costly repairs, or treatment.

There are only four pet insurance companies in the United States so evaluating the right coverage is fairly straightforward. The policies may vary in types of coverage offered and premiums can be anywhere from $10 to $70 per month per animal. Though discounts are usually offered for multiple pets. Veterinary Pet Insurance has been around the longest and has the largest market share. It covers cats and dogs, but also exotic pets such as birds, fish, hamsters, rabbits and snakes. Available policies include the standard coverage of accident, illnesses and emergencies. Additional coverage for routine and preventive care can also be purchased. Pethealth and Hartville Group are two other pet insurance companies and have much the same coverage, though Hartville has an annual deductible.

PetProtect is slightly different from the other pet insurance companies in that it is more like European policy structure. Coverage is limited to illnesses, disease and accidents. After a $40 deductible, much like a co-pay, claims for incidents are then covered 100 percent.

Looking for a low cost policy for health cover nowadays has become easier compared tohow it was in the past because of the numerous tools and resources that areavailable both online and offline for those who are interested to buy a policy.Here are some tools and resources that you can use as you search for affordableprivate health insurance plans.

Insurance Agents or Insurance Brokers

An insurance agent or broker is an individual who has the knowledge andexperience in the health insurance industry, allowing him or her to provide youwith the assistance you need as you look for a policy which would best suityour needs and your budget. Just make sure that the one you would be choosingto work with is someone you trust and is reputable so that you can be certainthat he or she would always have your best interest in mind. Do not forget toprovide plenty of information about what you are looking for in a policy andhow much you can afford for the deductible and the premiums so that the brokeror agent would be more efficient in finding some options that would work bestfor you.

Online Quote Calculators

Most health insurance companies that have websites offer online quote calculatorsas a way to help potential policyholders in weighing and comparing theiroptions before making a decision. To use an online quote calculator, you wouldneed to enter your personal information so you can receive a quote or anestimate for the policy that you are planning to get. When using these, makesure that aside from listing down the actual quotes you would be getting, youwould also be listing down the important details about each of the policies.This would allow you to compare your options based on several aspects insteadof just their premiums.

Online Reviews of Health Insurance Policies and Providers

There are also plenty of websites which provide reviews on private health policies and providers and they can be very usefulfor you as you go through your available options. Through finding honest anddetailed reviews, you would be able to learn about the personal experiencesthat other people have with the policy or the provider that they have, allowingyou to use the first-hand information in making a choice later on.