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“A Consumer Reports analysis found that pet owners with insurance may actually spend more over time on their animals than those without”, though this ebook about pet insurance would disagree.

Pros of Pet Insurance

• Less worry about active pets
• Lower cost of office visits / medications
• Multiple plans/providers available

Cons of Pet Insurance

• Paying for something you may not ever use
• Deductibles, Co-pays and per incident spending caps
• Cost increases with age
• Many pre-existing conditions are often excluded

The following content was found on MSN Money:

8 ways to keep overall pet costs low

Whether or not you opt for pet insurance, you can help control how much your animal costs you. Here are some other ways you can trim vet bills: Use low-cost clinics for shots. Your vet may host one or two such clinics each year, or you can call your local Humane Society, animal control department or veterinary hospital for leads.

Get second opinions. You’ll have time, with most conditions, to consult another vet before committing to expensive treatments or drugs. You also can consult The Merck Veterinary Manual online for a rundown on your pet’s condition and recommended treatments.

Ask for samples. Your vet may have free starter packets of many popular medications. It doesn’t hurt to ask.

Shop around for meds. You can call around to other vets, check out pet catalogs or search the Internet. Discountpetmedicines.com has links to sites that offer lower-priced medications.

Don’t cheap out on pet food. An investment in better-quality food can pay off in fewer health problems, particularly with cats, who can be more susceptible to urinary tract infections if fed inexpensive cat food. Check with your vet.

Keep their weight down. Just as with people, obesity in animals can trigger more health problems.

Keep your pet indoors or on a leash. Free-running animals have more accidents, contract more illnesses and take a bigger toll on the environment than pets that are kept under control. (In other words, Fluffy will live a longer, healthier life indoors, and the songbirds of the neighborhood will thank you.)

Consider a cat — or a mutt. Next time you’re in the market for a pet, remember that dogs tend to wind up in the vet’s office twice as often as cats, and that purebreds tend to have far more hereditary weaknesses than your average pound puppy.

The full article can be viewed here:
http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Insurance/P76008.asp

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