Key Takeaways
- Employers Offering Pet Insurance: An increasing number of employers now provide pet insurance as an employee benefit.
- Potential Discounts: Purchasing a policy through your employer may give you a 5% to 10% discount and additional coverage options.
- Comparative Costs: It’s essential to evaluate both employer-offered pet insurance and individual policies for cost and coverage differences.
Pet insurance through an employer can be advantageous if it provides significant discounts and adequate coverage. However, individual policies may sometimes offer better prices and coverage.
Currently, only 16% of employers offer pet insurance, but this number is on the rise, particularly among larger companies. A recent MetLife study found that 23% of employers with over 1,000 employees provide this benefit, compared to just 10% among companies with fewer than 100 employees.
According to David Hurley from Nationwide, the demand from employees for such benefits does not incur additional costs for employers.
Advantages of Buying Pet Insurance Through an Employer
Even without employer contributions, there are notable benefits:
Group Discount
- Insurers can provide group discounts when partnering with employers. For instance, MetLife offers a 10% discount on employer policies.
Extra Coverages
- Policies offered via employers might include additional benefits not found in individual plans, such as mortality and lost-pet benefits from Nationwide.
Easy Enrollment
- Signing up is straightforward through an benefits portal. Employees can typically enroll at any time, not just during open enrollment.
Payroll Deduction
- Many employers allow premium payments via payroll deduction, simplifying budgeting and ensuring timely payments.
Portable Coverage
- Employees can retain their pet insurance if they leave their job, although the group discount may be lost either immediately or after a policy period.
Pre-Existing Condition Rules for Employer Pet Insurance
Employer-offered pet insurance generally follows the same pre-existing condition rules as individual policies. Coverage typically excludes conditions that existed prior to obtaining the insurance. However, some insurers might cover curable conditions if no symptoms or treatments were noted for a specified period.
Paul Guyardo from Fetch Pet Insurance recommends acquiring pet insurance while the pet is young and healthy.
