Accident or injury to your dog: can you afford to go to the vet?
Going on vacation with your dog is happiness. This is an opportunity to share a thousand and one activities with your dog: a nap in the hammock, canisurfing, a hike, a canoe descent, a ski touring session or caniluge... Summer and winter, your dog will be delighted to accompany you on vacation or in all your leisure activities.
But like us, our pets can hurt themselves. A fall, a bite, a cut, poisoning... What will happen if your dog is injured and you need to go to the vet urgently? The bill at the veterinarian can quickly be high or even very very high… What to do if the veterinary costs exceed your means?
“Am I waiting to see if it goes away or I'm going to the vet but, that's bad, I hadn't planned this kind of expense at the moment..? “As if it were possible to choose between the health of his dog and his bank account…. ! It's terrible to have to ask yourself this question when you love your dog madly.
In this article, we are going to review all the sores and other injuries that can happen on vacation with your dog or during your leisure time. I will present to you the health insurance that I chose for Musher, Otherwise. I took a long time before insuring my dog because I found this expense unnecessary, but when I looked more seriously at dog health insurance, I changed my mind.
Why insure your dog?
An easy question to start!
Let me set the scene…you've been saving up all year for the perfect vacation with your dog. You have found the ideal accommodation, not too expensive and in a great location. You have identified many activities for a well-balanced holiday between idleness and sport. You have already selected some nice restaurants to taste the tasty local specialties.
And then, wham... your dog gets stung by a viper or a jellyfish, he cuts a pad on a piece of glass. He broke a leg jumping off a rock. He declares a bad ear infection after a few happy swims. He starts throwing up everywhere after eating some crap on the beach. He gets bitten by a not-so-nice dog after all...
In short, you need to go to the vet urgently during your vacation. Your vacation budget will melt like snow in the sun, but the health of your little companion is at stake!
This is where dog health insurance comes in. Depending on the formulas chosen, it can cover up to 80% of the veterinary costs necessary for your dog.
Let's take stock with a few very concrete examples to understand the interest of such insurance for your dog.
Dog health insurance: what you need to know
Before telling you about the operation of the insurance and mutual for animals Otherwise, here is the list of everything it takes care of that can happen to your dog on vacation.
To make this very clear, I have added a few examples of dogs that have had some mishaps with veterinary costs and health insurance reimbursements.
Accidents and injuries covered by your dog's health insurance that can happen on vacation with your dog:
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Intoxication: he eats anything, mushrooms, jellyfish… and triggers vomiting and diarrhea
Example: Poilu, a friendly 5-year-old Australian Shepherd, was hospitalized for vomiting. After an ultrasound, the vet noticed that a foreign body was stuck. Hospitalization with food for 3 days + ultrasound + infusion of antiemetic + operation = 819€ veterinary costs. With the eco formula, Otherwise reimbursed €491 to Poilu's master.
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Wasp sting, snake bite, processionary caterpillar
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Spikelet
Example: Loulou, a basset hound, came back from a walk sneezing and shaking his head. His master took him urgently to his veterinarian fearing spikelets… Banco! It was necessary to operate Loulou to remove 3 spikelets already mounted very high: emergency consultation, anesthesia, removal with endoscopy €927 veterinary costs. With the Essential formula without deductible, his master was reimbursed €733.
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Heat stroke or sunstroke in the summer
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Cracked legs in winter
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Snow ingestion with intestinal disorders
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Otitis or conjunctivitis after swimming
Example: Taïgo, a 6-year-old labrador, had conjunctivitis. His master took him to the vet and had to pay €65.50 for a consultation + fluo & tetracaine test + fradexam ointment and was reimbursed €52.40 with the Futée formula covered at 80%.
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Accident: your dog runs away and is knocked down
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Cyanobacteria poisoning
Accidents and injuries covered by your dog's health insurance that can happen during an activity with your dog:
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Sprain, cruciate ligament rupture, muscle tear or broken leg
Example: Bogoss, a 7-year-old cane corso, had a bad reception on a walk. Diagnosis of the veterinarian: rupture of the cruciate ligaments. Total cost of the operation: 1494€ including the operation, the ortho consultation, the anesthesia, the radio control after operation, the hospitalization costs of several days, painkillers and antibiotics, as well as the necessary screws and plate for the operation. His master was reimbursed €819 thanks to the Eco Otherwise formula.
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Cut or open wound
Example: when passing barbed wire in a field, Gipsy, a German shepherd, split her thigh more than 15cm… The wound had to be disinfected, sewn up, the wires removed and painkillers and antibiotics prescribed. Cost at the veterinarian: 513€. Otherwise reimbursed €410 to the master of Gipsy who had subscribed to the essential formula without deductible.
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bite from another dog
Example: Pia, a young Amstaff female, was charged by a wild boar on a walk in the forest. She was injured in the chest and right thigh. This required several sutures under anesthesia with care, i.e. 372€ of veterinary costs reimbursed 297.60€ thanks to the Essential formula.
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Chill after swimming in winter with diarrhea
This list may be scary, but it will allow you to take stock of everything that has already happened to your dog and to do your learned calculations to see if you could have saved thanks to a good mutual company for pets.
Dog health insurance covers many scenarios, but not everything will be covered. Depending on the formula chosen, there is little or no coverage for:
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vaccine reminders to travel in good standing
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preventive treatments for motion sickness
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competitive sports
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preventive treatments for parasitic diseases: vermifuge, fleas, ticks, etc.
An important point to note at Otherwise: veterinary costs incurred abroad (within the European Union) during your holiday will be covered by your dog health insurance.
Health insurance works with ALL veterinarians so whether you are near home, on vacation or abroad, if your dog needs to go to the vet, you will be covered. Never wonder again whether or not to go for treatment for your dog, do what is right for your pet.
Dog health insurance: how does it work?
Now let's take a look at how mutual health insurance for dogs works.
Reimbursement deadlines? Third-party payment ? Ceiling limit? Franchise?…
First of all, you should know that animal health insurance works like it does for us humans. Everyone contributes and the day you fall ill, all your health costs are covered by your contribution and that of others. It's the same principle for your dog. Whether he has an accident or has a long illness that begins with age, the common pot will allow you to limit your vet costs.
Before knowing Otherwise, I had done a few online quotes on comparators. Frankly, I hadn't understood much about it and I had especially remembered that once my telephone number and my email had been transmitted, I had been harassed by the telephone advisers. There, I had a call and some emails of information. And when I called back for information I had to deal with a veterinary assistant and not a teleconsultant in charge of selling me something at all costs.
The first thing to know is that the price of health insurance depends on the age of your dog, the younger he joins the cheaper it is because the less he is supposed to be sick. You can insure a dog that is more than 3 months old and less than 8 years old. He must be tattooed or chipped, which is mandatory anyway.
There are several formulas: illness or illness + accident with different coverage rates of 60 to 80% with or without deductible of 10, 20 or 30 euros per consultation. To know in detail the formulas and the tariffs, it is enough to make a free online quote on Otherwise.fr
Before going to your veterinarian, you will need to print several care sheets available from your personal space. I advise you to always have 1 or 2 in advance in your dog's health book so you will always have a care sheet to give to your veterinarian. It completes it and you just have to deposit it in digital version in your personal space. Your invoice will be taken care of within 1 to 2 days. You will have to pay the bill to your veterinarian or you will be reimbursed within a few days.
Note that the travel costs of your veterinarian if he comes to your home are covered and that the additional costs of emergency care at night or on weekends are also covered.
Why did I choose to tell you about Otherwise dog health insurance and not about another one? Because it is insurance with a collaborative bonus. Each month, you pay your dues as normal. If at the end of the year not all funds have been spent to reimburse pet owners, they are redistributed to policyholders. This is the principle of collaborative overpayment. All policyholders benefited from a refund of contributions in 2019 ranging from 2 to 10% of their annual contribution. I'll let the Otherwise team explain this to you in detail. start with make your quote online. You will then receive all the documents in your mailbox to study the proposed offers at your own pace. And if you have any questions, the veterinary assistant team will answer them and direct you to the best formula.
PS: thanks to our partnership with Otherwise, the first two months of your subscription are free! Click on one of the quote links in the article to take advantage of it and activate your promo code.