AKC Pet Insurance: Scam or Savior?

If you are like many pet owners, you've probably asked yourself why you would need AKC pet insurance. There are actually several good reasons for this coverage, and you should consider all of them before making your decision. You are all aware, that owning a purebred dog comes with a lot of responsibility. If they are breeding stock or show dogs they will need lots of medical attention including numerous tests for your record books. All these tests and treatments add up to major money, which is why you should consider AKC pet insurance.

The great thing about AKC pet insurance is that it should allow you to get reimbursed for your vet bills. It also ensures that your animal will always receive the bet veterinary care regardless of the expense.

The American Kennel Club Healthcare Plan is designed to help offset the high cost of veterinary treatments, surgery, and prescriptions. On the American Kennel Club website they have a list of claims that have recently been paid to dog owners who have purchased an AKC pet insurance plan. These claims included a $2,600.00 claim for poison toadstools, a $1,200 claim for a dog that was snakebitten, $2,800 paid out for a ruptured ligament. The largest claim I saw listed on the website was for a ruptured vertebral disc that would have cost the owners an additional $3,300 out of their pockets.

Like human medical insurance, AKC pet insurance is really pretty simple. You simply choose your plan (currently 4 available) depending on the options you wish to have available. Then, once you sign up simply pay your monthly or yearly premiums in exchange for your coverage. With this pet medical insurance, you simply send your vet bills to the AKC insurance agency and they send you a check to cover the bill. You even get to continue to using you very own vet.

AKC pet insurance has several plans available depending on the options that will meet your needs. When choosing a plan, you should consider the maximum coverage amounts per incident and over the lifetime of the plan. As each plan is different, you may wish to pay a bit higher premium in exchange for more extensive coverage. And don't worry if your animal isn't a purebred dog. The AKC plans will cover all dog AND CATS that meet their underwriting standards; mixed breeds, pure breeds, registered, and unregistered.

Do you want pet medical insurance to guard against major problems and emergencies (Essential Plan), or would you also like coverage for preventative care (Wellness plan)? The Essential Plans provide excellent entry level coverage for unexpected accidents, illnesses, and injuries. This plan carries a $125 deductible, and does not include a wellness benefit. The Wellness Plan provides higher coverage limits for accidents, illnesses, and injuries AND includes coverage for preventative care and wellness care. It also carries a $125 deductible.

AKC pet insurance really seems like a wonderful thing. Not only will it cover all your regular vet expenses, it will also cover those unexpected emergencies; surgeries, tests, etc. This is becoming more and more important each day with the skyrocketing costs of vet care.

When doing some research for this article, I also found some people that were unhappy with their pet healthcare plan. Numerous pet owners complained of very slow responses when filing claims, and lots more had claims denied for reasons that the insurer failed to adequately explain. These were claims that should have been paid and were not excluded treatments according to the pet owners. This led several pet owners to seek healthcare plans from other sources. Several went to QuickCare Pet Insurance, and roughly an equal number mentioned going to the PetFirst Healthcare plan.