A designated pet savings account at your bank is a good way to manage self-insurance for cat and dog companion health.
A little while ago I suggested that self-insurance is a better way to insure your pet’s health because you avoid the administration charges of a big insurance company and their necessity to make a healthy profit. In other words it is cheaper to run a self-insurance scheme that it is to take out a classic pet insurance policy. However, if the insurance companies became more competitive they might be a better option.
I want to add a little bit to that article by saying that the best way to run a self-insurance scheme is to open a pet savings account. To be completely clear about what I’m discussing, a self-insurance scheme is saving money to pay for that big veterinary bill which may come along.
One difficulty with saving money is that it requires self-discipline. A lot of people find it difficult to regularly save money for various reasons. It might be said that in the modern world people save money less than they did in times past. The way to inject a bit of discipline into the process is to open a pet savings account and instruct your bank to transfer £30 (in the UK) or $30 (in the USA) from your current account to your newly opened pet savings account every month.
You can then forget about the whole process. US$30 is about the average that you would pay per month under a normal pet insurance policy. You might consider paying just $20 a month or even less; even $5 pm is okay. The amount is less important than the regularity of saving. It might surprise you how fast you end up saving a reasonably large sum of money. If you fall short because by misfortune your cat or dog contracts an illness that requires veterinary care before your savings have accrued enough funds you might also consider entering into a free credit agreement in the UK. I’m unsure if this sort of arrangement is available in the USA but if it is it would certainly help, provided you read the terms and conditions carefully. Even under interest-free credit agreements such as the one I’m referring to, they will charge interest at some point depending upon the amount of credit you need. You can read about this form of interest by clicking on this link.
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