We all love our furry companions, but they sure are expensive sometimes.
The average American pet owner spends well over $1,000 per year on their pet. When you think about it, it’s not all that surprising. Between food, toys, and vet bills, things can add up quickly – if your pet is prone to illness, the vet bills might get particularly expensive.
To curb spending on vet bills, many people opt-in for pet insurance, which doesn’t exactly cover all the bases. In this post, we’re going to take a look at Pet Assure. As an alternative to pet insurance, Pet Assure attempts to fill in the gaps that annoy pet owners about pet insurance.
If you’re not sure if this is the right move for you, keep reading and we’ll explain how Pet Assure really works and whether or not it’s worth your money.
Table of Contents
What Is Pet Assure?
First of all, Pet Assure is not pet insurance. It is a discount program that helps you save on veterinary visits. The only way that you can sign up for Pet Assure is if your employer offers it as a benefit.
Rather than paying monthly insurance premiums for pet insurance, you pay a membership fee for Pet Assure. By visiting participating veterinarians, you can get up to 25% off of the cost of vet services.
Your membership fee depends on which state you live in and how many pets you have. Unlike pet insurance, you don’t lose out when your pet has a pre-existing condition. It also covers more exotic pets that normal pet insurance doesn’t cover.
Pros and Cons of Pet Assure
Sounds pretty good, right? There are definitely a lot of perks to using Pet Assure, but it’s not perfect. Here are a few pros and cons to consider:
Pros
The biggest pros of Pet Assure match up with the cons of most pet insurance plans. With Pet Assure, there are no age restrictions on pets, so you can still save even when your pet is older. You can also save on both routine and preventive care, as well as pet emergencies.
Another big perk is the ability to cover exotic pets, like reptiles or birds. These animals typically aren’t covered under pet insurance, so pet owners are left to foot the bill or take out a larger insurance policy.
Cons
The biggest negative for Pet Assure is that it’s not available to everyone. Only participating employers and veterinarians allow you to use your Pet Assure membership, so if you can’t find one, you’re out of luck.
Discounts are also capped at 25% and medication is never covered, only the actual procedures. If you’ve got a particularly large vet bill or you have to buy your pet medication, the discounts aren’t that great.
Should You Join?
Now that you know a bit more about Pet Assure, it’s time to decide if it’s the right move for you and your pet. If the situation is right, Pet Assure can certainly take a load off of the average pet owner. Not all pet owners are going to qualify for all of its benefits, however.
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