It is very nice to see that some companies are adapting the insurance benefits that they offer to their employees in ways that will be a better fit with the needs of the employees. Traditionally, many companies will offer health insurance benefits to their employees. Now, some companies are offering employer sponsored pet insurance as well.
It is much easier to afford insurance if the business that you work for helps you pay for a portion of the cost of the premiums. This is how many Americans are able to afford health insurance for themselves, and for their families. If you have a dog or a cat, you probably consider your pet to be just as much a part of your family as the human members are. Unfortunately, a health insurance policy that is designed to cover the cost of medical care for humans cannot be used to cover the cost of veterinary bills. You are going to need a pet insurance policy for that.
Some companies understand how important it is for pet owners to be able to afford the health care that their dogs and cats require. Many have started offering their employees pet insurance as part of their benefits or perks. Employers pay for part of the cost of the pet insurance, just like they pay for part of an employee’s health insurance.
According to The American Pet Products Association Inc., the cost of veterinary care is rising. They are projecting that pet owners will end up spending about $12.2 billion dollars on health and medical care for their pets in 2011. In 2010, pet owners spent about $11 billion dollars on veterinary bills. Five years ago, pet owners spent around $8.2 billion on their pet’s medical needs.
Part of the reason for the increase in cost is due to the growing sophistication of veterinary medicine. If a pet has cancer, and you catch it early enough, and get it the proper treatments, then the pet has a pretty good chance of living a normal lifespan. Years ago, this wasn’t necessarily the case.
Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI) is the biggest provider of pet insurance in the United States. It has a very good reputation, and this could be why so many companies are working with VPI in order to be able to offer their employees pet insurance. Last year, VPI added around 400 big companies to it’s list of 2,200 groups that offer pet insurance as an employee benefit.
Companies that offer health insurance to their employees usually take a payroll deduction out of their employee’s checks, in order to pay for part of the health insurance premium. Companies that offer pet insurance are doing the same thing. If they are working with VPI, then the average monthly premium for an employee that has one dog will be somewhere between $30 and $40 a month. The cost of pet insurance premiums for employees is generally around 5% lower than the cost of premiums that an individual would be able to get without their employers help.
Image by Matt Wharton on Flickr