A service dog is a massive investment of both time and money. Service dogs require years of training to do their jobs effectively and can be expensive. As a service dog owner, you want to protect this very valuable animal so it can continue to aid you in your daily life for as long as possible. However, unexpected events can occur, and it is best to be prepared. At this time, there is not insurance specifically for service dogs or emotional support animals. Most people insure their service animals under the various types of pet insurance available. Read on to learn the different types of pet insurance you can use to cover your service dog.
Pet Life Insurance
It is generally a good idea to insure your service animal or emotional support animal through pet life insurance. Service dogs can cost anywhere from $20,000-$40,000, making them very valuable. Pet life insurance will reimburse you for the value of the dog should it die, and if you were making income off of your dog, it will help replace that income. Also note that pet life insurance can help cover funeral costs for your pet after they die, should you choose to have one. Pet life insurance policies can be a bit more expensive, usually about $20-$100 a month, depending on the specific policy.
Pet Health Insurance
Medical bills for your service dog can pile up quickly if your dog gets sick or injured. Pet health insurance primarily helps cover medical bills for your pet. There are a wide range of pet insurance plans from different companies available to choose from. You can get pet insurance that covers unexpected medical costs or even accident-only insurance, which is generally cheaper. Most accident and illness plans will help cover emergency care costs, hospitalization, surgery, medication, and other things necessary in a medical emergency. Most pet health insurance policies range from $20-$90 a month, depending on how much coverage you want to buy.
Pet Liability Insurance
It is also important to think about liability insurance regarding your service dog or emotional support animal, in the case that they bite someone or cause structural damage of some kind. These kinds of events can easily lead to expensive lawsuits. Often times, your homeowners’ or renters’ insurance will include your animal in its liability policy, but double check to make sure. If you’re animal is not covered beneath that, you may want to look into getting canine liability insurance. Canine liability coverage can cost anywhere from $10-$90 a month, depending on how much coverage you want.
To sum up, while there are several different types of pet insurance, including pet life insurance, pet health insurance, and pet liability insurance. All of these apply to service dogs and emotional support animals and may be a good idea to look into depending on your specific situation. It is also important to have a service dog or emotional support animal letter of certification to prove your need for the animal. You can easily get one from our experts at United Support Animal now!
