How is pet health insurance different from other products?

When considering pet health insurance, it is important to realize that there are a lot of products out there that might sound like insurance, but not all are. The main distinguishing feature of true pet health insurance is that it is provided by actual insurance companies, which are government regulated and provide consumer protections. These shouldn’t be confused with discount plans, which are membership groups that provide defined discounted veterinary services at certain clinics. These also shouldn’t be confused with payment/wellness plans, in which defined services are delivered for an agreed-upon fee by a veterinary clinic. There are also a number of financing options available to pay for pet health care. All of these can be useful, but pet owners need to be clear what constitutes insurance, and what does not.
Pet insurance is a contractual obligation for registered insurance companies to reimburse pet owners for expenditures covered in their insurance policy that have been provided by a veterinarian. It’s important that you know the advantages and disadvantages of these different options.