Pet Insurance Policy

In recent years two powerful forces have brought rapid change to the veterinary profession: the emergence of large regional and even national veterinary practices with their pet insurance policies and the growing popularity of so-called "wellness" or preventive health care plans for pets. The increasing popularity of wellness care for pets has been a wonderful thing for both families and the veterinary medical profession. But there are plenty of doctors that simply don't want to join a corporate practice that offer pet insurance policies or who just can't integrate the existing insurance plans into their patient base. And there are literally millions of pet owners who simply don't want to switch from their trusted, local veterinarian to a corporate practice that offers insurance or a wellness plan. An increasingly large percentage of pet owners have either switched to a large practice that offers a wellness plan or have reallocated their pet health dollars from "reactive" care to an actual insurance policy offered through their local doctor. Left out of this equation, however, are the millions of pet owners and small practice doctors who are either wary of corporate-style veterinary practices or resist the hassles of managing a pet insurance policy (filling out claim forms or managing a plan that likely ignores regional differences in pet health issues). However, there are companies that are in the process of making preventive veterinary care services available to not only the holdout doctors and their clients but also to those who've grown frustrated with the hassles and expense of existing wellness and insurance programs.