Every dog parent develops a special emotional bond with their pet, but a service dog has an exceptionally vital role in the life of its disabled owner. Service dogs go through special training that teaches them to help humans with physical or psychological disabilities in their day-to-day life.
Their owners may consider many unique questions related to dog parents – and one of them is whether they should opt for service dog insurance.
While these dogs stick out from regular pets with their ability to aid their humans, that doesn’t make them immune to the need for veterinary care. Yes, they may suffer from injuries and ailments like all other doggy pals.
So, let’s get through the reasons why getting life insurance for service dogs is strongly recommendable.
Reasons to Use Insurance for Service Dogs
Service dogs require much higher expenses than regular pups. In general, a service dog comes at a price between $20,000 and $40,000, whereas a regular dog owner would spend up to $3,500 on their pet.
The reason for this is obvious – service dogs are bred to meet the needs of disabled owners with a special notion of sustainability, intelligence, and overall personal qualities. This is why they’re usually bred from the best working line dogs – and they cost much more than average puppies for sale.
In general, owning a dog brings long-term financial responsibility and requires investments, especially when it comes to pet healthcare. You may think that getting service dog insurance is too much when you’ve already spent so much on the dog’s breeding, training, and maintenance. However, the vet bills will add much more to the overall cash drain if the dog gets ill or injured.
Choosing pet insurance for service dogs is of special importance because of the crucial service these pets provide for the disabled. Service dogs help their human parents do their basic daily tasks, leave their house, and function in society. When the dog suffers from an ailment or injury that prevents it from performing these tasks, its owner would be lost.
A disabled owner who lives alone may find it hard to afford urgent vet care for their sick dog, which can lead to serious consequences for the pet and its human. Life insurance for service dogs is here to provide a crucial sense of safety in cases like this.
Finally, a simple yet important reason to opt for service dog life insurance is the love we give to any non-human family member. We believe you love your dog, therefore you put its health above all else – and pet insurance will take care of your pet’s medical needs.
Does Insurance for Service Dogs Cost More?
Officially, service dog life insurance doesn’t cost more than coverage for regular pets, but some indirect reasons do make it pricier.
The pet’s species, breed, and common health issues for its breed determine the price of the service dog insurance plan. So, it isn’t the service dog status that makes the coverage more expensive, but rather the fact that these dogs are usually high-quality breeds.
Before you choose a service dog insurance plan, make sure you visit the official websites of acclaimed companies like Embrace and Trupanion and compare the options each of them offers.
Do Service Dogs Require Special Insurance Plans?
Several reliable companies provide pet owners with insurance plans, and they function in a similar way to human health insurance. Each of them includes individual policies, limitations, and premiums.
Pet insurance for service dogs doesn’t come in a special department. However, some companies offer flexible spending accounts to employees with pet dogs. FSA plans let dog owners utilize their pre-tax dollars for covering veterinary expenses for their service dogs.
For this purpose, the employee needs to provide documents for their disability and the dog must be specially trained to help its owner with tasks they’re incapable of completing on their own. It’s worth mentioning that this option doesn’t include all types of emotional support dogs.
Our Final Verdict
Once a disabled person gets to know the joy of a healthy service dog making their days easier, it’s hard for them to imagine life without the pet’s assistance. So, it’s safe to conclude that service dog insurance is a necessity for dogs and their owners.
Purchasing and training a service dog may be expensive enough, but additional money spent on its long-term medical security will definitely pay off.
