Auto Insurance: Coverage for Pets in Auto Accidents

Pets ride in auto all the time, but what if they're injured in a auto accident? Whose auto insurance company pays to treat their injuries? The answer .... hopefully you will remember the tips that we provided. Check with your car insurance company to determine if your pet is covered by your car insurance policy.

Auto Insurance: Coverage for Pets in Auto Accidents

Pets ride in cars all the time, but what if they're injured in an auto accident? Whose car insurance company pays to treat their injuries? The answer depends on the cause of the accident.

Riding in cars can be dangerous for pets (as well as distracting to the driver), especially because they ride without the benefit of seat belts. If someone crashes into you and causes injuries to your pet, you're entitled to make a "third-party claim" with their car insurance company for your pet's medical bills. That's because their liability car insurance policy must put you "back where you were" before the accident.

If you are at-fault in a car accident in which your pet is injured, you'll want to check your auto insurance policy for exclusions. Say you crash into another car or a fence: Collision insurance pays for the repairs to your own vehicle. But you may have an exclusion on your collision insurance coverage for damage to personal property that you are transporting, whether it's your antique vase or your pet. If your car insurance policy has such exclusions, you won't have a valid claim. For example, State Farm says that its policies don't provide coverage for pet injuries. Car insurance coverage may vary depending on the car insurance company, so be sure to carefully check your policy. In this scenario, if you don't carry collision coverage at all, you must pay for all damage from the accident, including your car and pet.

Perhaps someone comes to visit you and your dog goes to lie down under their car. Then, unknowingly, the visitor backs over your pet. Is the visitor liable for your dog's injuries? Yes, he is, but not under the bodily injury section of his car insurance policy. Bodily injury pays out for injuries sustained by any "one person" in an accident. Your pet doesn't qualify as a person so he's not covered by this portion of the car insurance policy.

However, for car insurance purposes, your pet qualifies as your "personal property," and you have the right to be "put back where you were" before the accident — in this case, meaning having a healthy dog. You'd have the right to make a claim on your visitor's car insurance policy for your dog's medical bills, just as you would have the right to make a claim if the driver backed over your lawnmower.

The death of a pet

Certainly pets are part of the "family," and the death of a beloved pet can lead to extreme grief. But your pet's status as your "personal property" may limit your options for compensation if someone causes an accident that kills your pet. State laws do not recognize the loss of personal property as valid claims for "loss of companionship" compensation, unlike the loss of a spouse. In the event your pet is killed in an accident, you can likely make a claim only for the "market value" of your pet.

Some courts have allowed damages for deceased pets to go beyond "market value" by applying "pecuniary value" or "special value," which applies to personal property that has no ascertainable market value.

Ranci Endo: The Inside track on Pet Health Insurance, you'll find useful tools, news, features, hot tips, and crucial advices –Blog: ReiVRE-Money Talk: Pet Insurance review
today’s guest contributor -Amy Danise an editor for http://www.insure.com

Four Simple Steps to Buy Pet Insurance

There’s always a first time for everything, and seeking pet insurance is not exceptional. The question in today’s Used Cars-reiVRE Hot Pulse is – “What are the four simple steps to buy pet insurance?"

... Be faced with numerous options. Therefore for you to get the best value for your money you need to compare pet insurance options and policies to see which policy is most suited for you. Before you start your comparison: i) you must...

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Four Simple Steps to Buy Pet Insurance

If you have not already realized, the costs of veterinary care is escalating. By purchasing a pet insurance for our pets is also a wise choice to keep pet care costs within an affordable range. As pets become an important member of our family, purchasing a pet insurance is one of the ways to ensure our pets in getting the best care it possibly deserves.

Here are the 4 simple steps to purchase your pet insurance

1) Pet Insurance Online

Since most pet insurance companies have their own websites, one of the best ways to begin your research in pet insurance is to look for them online. When you do so, you will find a wide variety of insurance options and pricing. Some companies will even give you an additional discount if you purchase their pet insurance online.

However the first thing you should do is to select a number of pet insurance companies and make sure that you only deal with those reputable companies. Therefore check to see if each company is truly legitimate by going through them with The Better Business Bureau website.

Looking for a pet insurance online enables you to look for a policy that suits your needs faster. It is also more accurate because you have access to thousands of different sites. With this much information that can be gotten so easily you will able to make an informed decision in purchasing a proper pet insurance.

2) Pet Insurance Ratings

Since the internet is so easy to access, there will also be just as many scams regarding pet insurance companies. With thousands of pet insurance websites, there is also another method to get the best pet insurance that most suits your needs. That method is by looking at the pet insurance ratings.

By reading the pet insurance ratings you are able to tell which the best pet insurance company is and which insurance company to avoid. If you look at the pet insurance ratings, you can be sure to get what you pay for.

If you are wondering where to look for the pet insurance ratings, you can find most of them done online by independent companies. This is the best done by independent companies because you know that they aren't biased and therefore they are going to give you great information.

3) Pet Insurance Quote

Pet insurance quotes are available since 1928. Today there are numerous pet insurance quotes for you to decide one that most suitable for you and your pet. Furthermore if you get a pet insurance quote with a complete explanation from several carriers will be a very wise choice to make.

i) You can start by getting a pet insurance quote from your veterinarian. In turn, your veterinarian may offer a discount plan intended specially for his clients, or he may recommend a locally based plan that would be more suitable for you and your pet. This sort of pet insurance may be better for you than one of the bigger plans, depending on both your financial means and the breed of your dog.

ii) You can also choose to shop around and ask for pet insurance quotes from different insurance companies. When you ask for different pet insurance quotes, you will have a solid basis when you compare the services and prices of the insurance companies.

One of the reasons for getting several pet insurance quotes from different companies is that often congenital and hereditary illnesses or pre-existing conditions are not covered by pet insurance. Therefore it is best that you do a thorough research and consult your veterinarian.

iii) After you have found reliable pet insurance companies that may meet you and your pet's needs, narrow down to at least five of them. The reason being the more pet insurance quotes you have, the more difficult it is for you to make a choice. If you want to simplify things, you can narrow down your choices right from the start.

4) Compare Pet Insurance

Since there so many pet insurance companies, you will be faced with numerous options. Therefore for you to get the best value for your money you need to compare pet insurance options and policies to see which policy is most suited for you.

Before you start your comparison:

i) You must have a general idea about what options you need for your pet. For example, basic plans are the cheapest but they also cover only the basic emergency and illness care.

ii) You also need to look at things such as deductibles, copays, and lifetime limits.

iii) You need to find out how a claim is filed and how the claim is paid. It is also useful to know what items are excluded and what items have payment limits placed on them.

iv) You should find out if you are allowed to visit the vet of your choice or do you have to use a vet recommended by them.

v) Do also find out which ones cover after hours emergencies such as accidents and sudden serious illness and that if the accident or illness is serious and your pet may require a specialist.

When you find the policy that you feel is most suitable for you then all you have to do is fill out their form which gives them your pet's information. The pet insurance company may also set up to accept payment online.

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Credit to Cindy Heller is a professional writer. Visit pet insurance plan to learn how to buy pet insurance plan and find affordable pet health insurance.

NB: for more valuable information and guideline visit: Pet Health Insurance

"You are welcome to give your comment! Do you have anything you'd like to add or challenge about this hot issue? Any bad or good experience lets share. Your contribution will educate and benefit many readers".

-thank you for reading and comments if any: - ranci endo

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How to choose Pet Insurance Company

There's always a first time for everything, and getting Pet Insurance is not exceptional. The question in today's ReiVRE: Money Talk-Pet Insurance is – "How do you choose the right pet insurance company?"

In a time when there seems to be almost constant talk about the issues surrounding health care coverage for families in the United States, there is an insurance product that is often overlooked. Animal health cover is designed to cover the veterinary costs for the health care of the four-legged members of the family. If your family includes one or more family pets, then seeking out policy information from a reputable pet insurance company might make good economic sense.

Just as the human members of the family need and deserve adequate health care, so do your pets. Household animals and even livestock such as horses, cattle and exotic animals are all subject to any number of illnesses and accidents that threaten their health and longevity.

In fact, in the last decade or so there has been a significant increase in the incidence of cancer and other serious diseases in domestic mammals and other animals. Because of this, it is a wise choice to seek out pet insurance coverage.

Securing animal health cover coverage from a reputable and reliable company can be of enormous benefit to a family, especially families with many of them in the household. Such a pet plan can guarantee protection against financial hardship for a family if they are faced with large veterinary pet bills. The stress and anxiety that a family is put under if they cannot afford a life-saving procedure for their animal can be devastating.

In recent years, veterinarian care has expanded and there are more diseases and illnesses that can now be treated. With the expansion of care, there has also come an increase in associated costs, very similar to the rise in health care for humans.

The good news is that this shift has lead to more interest in animal health cover and an increase in pet insurance company coverage options that are now available. In addition, there are also more companies offering pet insurance, increasing the competition and thereby keeping the cost in check.

No matter which animal plan company you select to carry your pet insurance coverage, the reputable companies will strongly recommend that you take steps to try to prevent illness so that your animal can enjoy health and well-being to the greatest degree possible. The best pet insurance plans will cover wellness care, or preventative care procedures.

This would include vaccinations, health screenings and other types of routine care that should be taken care of as advised by your trusted veterinarian. Also, new kittens or puppies introduced to the family should have a visit to the vet's office for their first examination within 48 hours of bringing them into the home.

In most cases, your veterinarian will have you bring your new mammal back to the office to get booster vaccinations three to four weeks later. In addition, preventative care routines dictate that you return for annual vaccinations and booster shots for the long-term benefit of all the pets in the household.

These costs can add up to several hundreds of dollars a year, especially if there are multiple mammals in the household. Before choosing your insurance company, be sure that they offer coverage for preventative care.

Although it can be tempting to buy the cheapest pet insurance you can find, often in the long-run it is better to choose a pet insurance company that believes in the value of preventative health care for domestic and other animals. A policy that covers wellness care might cost a bit more each month, but it will ensure that you never have to worry about being able to pay for the proper care for your family pets.

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Credit to Mike Selvon pet insurance company.

NB: For more valuable information and guideline visit: Pet Insurance

"You are welcome to give your comment! Do you have anything you'd like to add or challenge about this hot issue? Any bad or good experience lets share. Your contribution will educate and benefit many readers".

Thank you for reading and comments if any: - ranci endo

If you liked this post, please don't forget to stumble or digg it so even more people can read i and benefit!