If you can cover the worst case scenario costs for your geographic location, out of your own pocket, then you may not need pet insurance. In Anchorage, this worst case scenario could easily range between $3000-$10000 in total fees. If your decision is that pet insurance is right for you, each pet insurance company may have multiple advantages and disadvantages. One of these considerations is cancer therapy. If you decide that you would choose to perform cancer therapy (if needed), this could impact your choice of pet insurance company. Another consideration is hereditary conditions. These are conditions that are due to genetic problems within a specific breed. An example of this would be hip dysplasia in a Labrador Retriever. If your pet(s) are mixed breeds, these exclusions may not apply to you. Here are some important points to look for:

Does it cover accidents / injuries AND illnesses? The illness part of the coverage must include coverage for chronic diseases. Chronic diseases are illnesses that have long duration but the pet may be able to live a very happy life when managed well. Examples include: heart disease, chronic kidney disease, thyroid conditions, and allergies. Some companies will only cover chronic disease in the policy year that it was diagnosed.

Does it have a maximum payout limit that will cover the worst case scenario costs for Anchorage? The maximum payout limit is the maximum amount of money the insurance company will reimburse you. The payout limit can be based on an annual, lifetime, or per incident basis.

Are there exclusions and requirements? Read the exclusions and requirements so that there are no surprises!

Accident only policies tend to be much cheaper than all the other policies. We do not recommend these policies. The insurance company will often not consider an accident what the owner would consider an accident.

There are 10 pet insurance companies available in Anchorage. We contacted them all for quotes on different breeds and ages of dogs and cats. No company is perfect, but some are definitely better than others. For example, it is common for many companies to stop coverage at the age of 10 years. It is also common to have hidden pre-existing condition clauses. Call a few companies for your own pet’s specific age and breed. When comparing coverage with cost, our overall favorite company was Pet Plan. Another good company, but a little more expensive, is Embrace. VPI is the most common and was the cheapest but coverage was only average.

The following is a list of questions that we asked:

• Deducible amount per year and per condition
• % coverage
• Age that coverage ends
• Hereditary or congenital restrictions
• Cost per month
• Cancer coverage
• Pre-existing conditions and how those are determined
• Chronic care of long term diseases
• Routine yearly care included
• Max benefit per year and per condition