Pet insurance has fans, foes

Pet owners should weigh the cost and coverage of pet insurance before signing up, according to veterinarians.

"I used to be a real strong supporter of pet insurance, but then I had some clients who had pet insurance and tried to use their pet insurance and found out they were excluded," said Melissa Magnuson, a veterinarian who owns All Pets Veterinary Hospital in Nashua and Canobie Lake Veterinary Hospital in Windham.

A client purchased pet insurance for his Maltese, a breed known to "have the worst teeth," Magnuson said. The 18-month-old dog needed multiple teeth extracted to the tune of $1,200.

"He found out that was excluded," she said. "The problem is most pet owners don't know what exclusions to look for."

Premiums can run from $30 to more than $100 a month, according to Loran Hickton, a former executive director at the North American Pet Health Insurance Association.

Lower-cost plans would cover emergency and unexpected situations, but also carry more exclusions than more expensive policies, which sometimes cover checkup visits, vaccinations and diagnostic tests, Hickton said.

Since Jan. 1, 2008, the state Insurance Department said it had approved at least 10 pet insurer plans, but couldn't determine how many plans had been sold.

Sales of pet insurance in the United States totaled $303 million in 2009, up 16 percent from the previous year, according to Packaged Facts, a market research publisher.

Veterinary Pet Insurance, owned by Nationwide Mutual Insurance, touts itself as the nation's largest pet insurer, covering more than a million pets since 1982.

The company, which didn't return a phone message, insures 21 types of animals, including potbellied pigs, hedgehogs, frogs, geckos, tortoises and iguanas, according to its website.

Magnuson urged people to stash money in a savings account each month.

"If after 10 years and nothing's happened to your pet, go on vacation," she said. "If you have a young animal and you're not good at saving money, I tell people insurance might be right for you."