Looking to insure the health of your canine companion? We break down what dog insurance costs and dig into the facts you need to know.
Pet insurance is the solution for pet parents who are looking for ways to keep their pets healthy and keep the costs of vet bills down. As more and more pet owners are now striving to better look after their furry members of the family, the cost of veterinary care (both expected and unexpected bills), soon become apparent.
In most cases, the costs of pet healthcare closely rival those of human healthcare. And these costs shouldn’t come as a surprise. As veterinary medicine advances, our pets are able to lead longer, healthier lives. However, these innovations in pet medicine come with a hefty price tag. Vets have their own bills to pay, equipment to pay for, medication to buy and staff to care for.
Which is why so many pet parents are turning to pet insurance as the solution to help afford pet healthcare.
Discover: 10 Warning Signs You Need to Take Your Pet to the Vet
How to find the best dog insurance
Now that you understand the benefit and need for pet insurance, you have probably started to sniff around and do some digging as to what your options are in terms of insurers (excuse the dog puns, we’re just as passionate about pooches as we are about insurance).
Shopping for pet insurance ain’t easy. We get it. Which is why we have broken down the basics of pet insurance to make your life a little easier.
Cheaper is never better
Before we get into how pet insurance for dogs works, we first wanted to touch base on a rather important topic. Many pet parents are guilty of choosing the cheapest pet insurance option in an attempt to try and save on their monthly premiums.
However, it comes time to claim, they are often left feeling upset and disappointed as their ‘out-of-pocket’ amounts far outweigh the cost of their premium. Which basically means that they have to pay the vet more than they bargained for and their pet insurance hardly comes to the party during the claiming and payout process.
Moral of the story? Read the fine print.
You might think you struck gold with a cheap premium for pet insurance, but just how much does your pet insurer cover in the event of a claim? We cannot stress enough as to how important the fine print of your contract is.
That’s why we’re advocates for pet parents choosing Oneplan Pet Insurance to insure the health of their fur babies, because they’ve made sure their policy wording and documents are easy to understand, with no sneaky sub-limits or additional costs.
So, because we really believe that Oneplan is the best choice when it comes to pet insurance for dogs, let’s take a look at what kind of plans they have to offer and what dog insurance costs with Oneplan.
Read this: Should You Get Pet Insurance? 4 Reasons That Point to Yes
What Dog Insurance Costs with Oneplan
Oneplan has structured their pet insurance plans to offer different pricing structures for cats and dogs. The reason for this being that dogs are inherently a higher insurance risk compared to cats.
And when you think about it, this makes perfect sense. Dogs are more likely to escape from your garden, get lost, get in a fight with another dog, or just hurt themselves whilst playing around in the garden. Silly things. We love them, but they can be pretty clumsy.
Let’s take a look at the pricing for dogs on Oneplan’s Pet Insurance plans.
Pet Accident Plan
Premiums for dogs: R80pm
Overall annual limit: R8 500
This plan is an amazing option if you have a healthy pet and only need cover for those unexpected trips to the vet. There are no age limits for this plan and your dog is covered up to R8 500 for authorised hospital admissions.
Pet Primary Plan
Premium for dogs: from R180pm
Overall annual limit: R18 000
This is a new plan Oneplan has introduced for parents who are on a budget but still want a good amount of cover for both vet visits and accidents or illnesses.
On this plan, you get R1 000 per year towards vet visits, which is great because then you don’t have to stress about the cost of those yearly checkups. You also get up to R15 000 per year for authorised hospital admissions, so that your pet can get the treatment they need if they are in an accident or fall ill, plus up to R2 000 per year for post-operative care.
Another added benefit on this plan is that you get up to 15% discount in the Onepet Premium Online Pet Store where you can shop for your pet’s monthly essentials like premium pet food, tick & flea, dewormer, grooming, accessories, and more. These savings can be put towards your premium to make pet insurance even more affordable with Oneplan.
Pet Hospital Plan
Premium for dogs: from R190pm
Overall annual limit: R48 500
This is a hospital-only plan for if your pet is prone to accidents and illness and is likely to require expensive in-hospital treatments. It covers accidents and illnesses up to R38 000 per event, post-operative care up to R2 150 per year, as well as kennel fees (up to R180 per day or R1 800 per event) in the event that something happens to you and you cannot look after your dog.
Plus, you also get up to 15% discount in the Onepet Store, like with the Primary Plan.
Pet Classic Plan
Premium for dogs: from R300pm
Overall annual limit = R52 000
This is called the Classic Plan for a reason – it’s classic pet insurance with comprehensive benefits.
On this plan, you get up to R1400 per vet visit or up to R5 600 per year, as well as Pet Med Savings up to R800 per year which can be used for routine care like chronic meds.
Your hospital benefit is up to R43 000 per event, as well as post-operative care up to R2150 per year and kennel cover up to R180 per day or R1 800 per event.
Your Onepet Store discounts also get bumped up to 20% on this plan, making for even greater savings each month.
Pet Super Plan
Premium for dogs: from R450pm
Overall annual limit: R75 000
This is their best plan to date! It has all the bells and whistles to make sure your pup gets only the best benefits and cover, like they deserve.
On the Super Plan, you get vet visit cover up to R1 650 per visit or up to R6 600 per year, and Pet Med Savings up to R900 per year. In terms of hospital benefits, you get up to a whopping R58 000 per event, plus post-operative care up to R5 250 per year and kennel cover up to R200 per day or up to R2 000 per event.
You can also get up to 25% discount in the Onepet Store, meaning you qualify for the maximum discount tier and can enjoy extensive savings for your fur baby’s essentials!
Want to know a little more? You can click on these links to chat with one of Oneplan’s friendly consultants or get a quick and obligation-free online quote.
Read next: 10 Habits to Maintain for Happy & Healthy Pets
Yours in Not-So-Average Pet Advice,
The Petinsurance.co.za Team