With the cost of everything surging up and up with no end in sight, many pet owners feel like they are being pushed into a corner with no other alternative to going into debt other than cutting back where ever possible. Fewer trips to see grandma, finding employment closer to home, doing away with such luxuries as movies or music, and unfortunately holding off taking their pets to the vet unless it’s absolutely necessary are a some of the ways people are trying to cut corners. However believe it or not the answer to the soaring costs of life may not be cutting back on your pets veterinarian needs, but instead getting them on a pet insurance plan. Now I know it’s hard to imagine that another bill for $40 bucks a month will save you money in the long run, but once you understand that pet insurance routinely saves pet owners up to 80% than maybe it’s worth a second look.

Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine recently did a story on this and what they found is that if your cat were to suddenly come down with a case of pneumonia to treat the animal you could be looking at a bill of over $2,000. If cancer were to develop the average cost of ridding the deadly disease in your pet would be upwards of $4,500. According to Pet Insurance Review “Pet insurance has been increasing in popularity recently, due in large part to the advances of veterinary science. Vets today can offer treatments and procedures that were unheard of just a few years ago, such as radiation therapy, transplants, and MRIs. However, these new treatments are not cheap; veterinary costs have risen over 70% in the past five years, to over $19 billion last year.  Pet health policies are similar to human insurance policies; annual premiums, deductibles, and various coverage based upon what the owner chooses. Most plans also have co-pays and caps that limit how much will be paid out annually.”

But wait!! Before you jump on the insurance bandwagon (and believe me the reasons to do so far out weigh that average cost of $40 bucks a month) like with their human counterparts pet insurance policies do have a few rules that you may want to look into. First off if you have an older pet you may have to provide medical records to show that it doesn’t have any pre-existing conditions which may hinder it’s eligibility. Second if you have multiple pets make sure to ask about a discount.