Does Pet Insurance Cover the Cost of Cremation?

How to Prepare for Your Pet’s Final Expenses

We all want our pets to live long, happy, healthy lives and will do whatever it takes to make that possible. But even the best pet parents can sometimes be caught off-guard by unexpected emergencies. Emergency vet care can create a financial burden. The cost of end-of-life care and pet funeral arrangements can add to that stress.

No one wants to think about the day when their beloved companion is no longer by their side. Planning for that scenario can be painful. But it’s better to think about these things in advance whenever possible. You never want to be in the position of worrying about money when your furbaby is sick or when you’re grieving their loss.

For a long time, a pet-lover’s only options for covering unexpected vet bills and funeral expenses were to dip into savings or use a credit card. Now, insurance companies have started to realize that pets are family, and they’re offering pet care protection plans. But are these plans truly helpful? And when the time comes to say goodbye, can pet insurance help with the cost of cremation?

How Pet Insurance Works

Pet insurance policies are generally designed to help pet owners with the high cost of unexpected pet emergencies. More recently, pet insurance plans have also started to cover more routine care and to include accident and illness coverage. Like human insurance, these pet policies might have a copay and annual deductible in addition to the monthly premiums. Unlike human insurance, pet insurance almost always works through reimbursement rather than any sort of direct billing plan with the veterinarian.

This means that when an emergency occurs, you’ll need to pay for your pet’s expenses up-front, then submit a claim for reimbursement to the pet insurance provider. Pet parents would need an emergency fund available to cover these up-front expenses or have access to credit for that purpose.

When it comes to end-of-life care, some pet insurance policies will cover euthanasia if a vet deems it necessary, and a handful of pet policies may provide reimbursement for cremation under certain circumstances. However, this is not common, and you might not have any flexibility in what cremation provider you work with under this plan. Before purchasing a policy, be sure to read the fine print to understand exactly what is covered and what the limitations are.

Many pet parents choose to set aside some money each month into a care fund instead of paying for insurance premiums. Others choose to purchase pet insurance to help reimburse the cost of medical expenses but keep some money in savings for things that are not covered. Only you can decide what makes sense for your financial situation and your furbaby’s needs.

Alternatives to Pet Life Insurance

No companies are currently offering pet burial or cremation insurance, and pet life insurance is limited mostly to show dogs and animal celebrities who earn an income. However, with the growing popularity of pet insurance, companies might start to offer death benefits someday. In the meantime, it’s a good idea to make a plan for your pet’s end-of-life care and arrange to set money aside for that purpose.

Knowing that you have money available to cover the worst-case-scenario can relieve you of tremendous stress when the time comes. Having a savings fund set aside allows you to be more fully present in the moment so you can say goodbye and focus on your grief, rather than struggling with the feelings of worry and guilt that can accompany financial stress.

Best Friends offers upfront, flat-rate pricing to make it easier to plan ahead. You can decide in advance what type of cremation package would best suit your needs and make a plan to set money aside in a special fund to cover that expense. We can also make arrangements for prepayment up to six months in advance if your companion is terminally ill. Call us at (803) 888-7095 to learn more about this option or to discuss our available Albuquerque pet cremation services.