What is a Deductible?
A deductible is the amount of money that you’ll need to pay out-of-pocket each year before your pet insurance provider will begin covering your pet’s eligible veterinary bills. Once you’ve hit your deductible, you can expect your pet insurance provider to pay for your pet’s eligible, covered expenses up to your pet insurance plan’s limit.
How Deductibles Works
Deductibles are the amount of money you must pay out of pocket before your insurance provider will begin to reimburse you. For example, if you had a $5,000 medical expense that was eligible for reimbursement under your pet insurance plan, a $500 deductible, and an 80% reimbursement rate, you would need to first pay the $500 (deductible) out of pocket. Then, your insurance provider would cover 80% of the remaining $4500 veterinary expense.
Increasing or decreasing your deductible will change your monthly premium (the same is true when changing the reimbursement rate), so it’s a great way to customize your price.
Key Takeaways
- A deductible is the amount of money you’ll need to pay out-of-pocket annually before your pet insurance provider will begin reimbursing you for eligible expenses.
- Once you’ve paid your deductible, your pet insurance provider will pay a percentage of all eligible veterinary expenses based on your pet insurance plan.
- Deductible amounts vary per pet insurance plan.