Does Your Pet Have Pet Health Insurance?

I was curious about how the pet health insurance industry is doing so I did a Google search (have yet to get used to Bing, but I hear it's a good engine, also)...and anyway, I ended up on the  About.com: Veterinary Medicine site which has loads of information on this topic.

Just for fun, I took Dr. Janet Tobiassen Crosby, DVM's poll, which asks: Do you have insurance for your pets? My answer had to be "no, but maybe someday" as I will have it when we get a new dog, but I don't have it now. (btw, David Goodnight, President and Chief Operating Officer for PurinaCare® Pet Health Insurance has an interview on Dr. Tobiassen Crosby's site).

Once you take the poll, you're offered the results and I was a bit surprised by the results.

Here are the possible answers: (1) Yes, for all my pets, (2) Yes, for some of my pets, (3) No, but maybe someday, (4) No, it is a waste of money, (5) Trying to find a plan that fits and frustrated!

Interestingly, the biggest response was for #5. The second biggest response was my answer, and the number three response was, "Yes, for all of my pets."

This highlightsa lot of what we talk about on this blog. We talk about how to choose a good pet health insurance plan and we discuss what comes with your PurinaCare policy, depending on what policy you choose. Dr. Larry and Dr. Bill have given us ample stories in a number of podcasts about pets that were able to be properly treated for disease, accidents, or emergencies, because their owners invested in pet health insurance with PurinaCare.

The fact that folks are still looking for good pet health insurance but they are frustrated, tells me we are on the right track in describing the pet health plans offered by PurinaCare and how they work. And, it also tells me that we need to get the word out better, to help people understand what their insurance policy actually covers.

Interestingly, the "no, it's a waste of money" answer was the second least clicked. And, "yes, for some of my pets" was the second least clicked reponse, which could mean folks insure their cats and dogs but not their birds. I do not know if there is bird pet health insurance. I know that PurinaCare is for cats and dogs.

While there are not a lot of answers to this poll (only 22), the answers I saw gave me a strong feeling of encouragement. The pet community is definitely tuned in to the benefits of pet health insurance. Now, we just need to let them know we offer simple, easy-to-understand explanations of pet health insurance right here, on the PurinaCare blog.