Pet Insurance for German Shepherds: Is It Worth It? | LendEDU (2024)

FAQs

Pet Insurance for German Shepherds: Is It Worth It? | LendEDU? ›

Pet insurance for German shepherds can help with the high price of veterinary care. It's estimated that costs run upward of $1,500 a year for routine vet care and potentially thousands more in emergency vet visits and treatment for this breed.

Is Pet Insurance for a German Shepherd Worth It? Like other purebred dogs, German shepherds are at greater risk for genetic and breed-related health concerns than mixed-breeds. Veterinary care costs for chronic illness in a German shepherd can add up, but pet health insurance can help offset those costs.

Serious injuries in an accident could require surgery and hospitalization, which can cost thousands of dollars. If your pet faces only minor health conditions throughout his life, you may end up paying far more for pet insurance than you get back. But if something serious goes wrong, the insurance may be well worth it.

Average Pet Insurance Cost

According to our research, pet insurance costs $720 a year for dogs and $384 for cats, with an overall average monthly cost of around $46 per month. To determine pricing, our team secret-shopped with 21 national pet insurance providers and gathered over 17,330 quotes in all 50 U.S. states.

It's usually not too difficult to know when you should claim, and you can always check your policy documents or speak to your insurance provider if you're not sure. The only time it might not be worth claiming is if your policy excess – that's the amount you pay to make a claim – is more than the cost of the treatment.

According to one UK study, musculoskeletal disorders (like DM) and an inability to stand are the most common causes of death for German Shepherds.

Owning a German Shepherd is a long-term commitment. Over their lifespan of 9-12 years, you can expect to spend around $15,000-$17,000. Potential higher costs may arise from unexpected health issues or behavioral training needs.

It costs less to insure a young pet

That cutoff age is typically between seven and 14 years. It's also more expensive to insure an older dog. That's why many experts typically recommend that you start insuring your pet when they're still a puppy or a kitten.

A: Typically, pet insurance premiums are not deductible. However, if your pet is a certified service animal, the insurance costs directly related to their health care may qualify.

About half, or 44.6%, of pet owners stated they currently have pet insurance in our survey. On a larger scale, NAPHIA's 2022 State of the Industry Report found that more than 4.41 million pets were insured in North America in 2021, up from 3.45 million in 2020.

Can you cancel pet insurance at any time? ›

The short answer is yes, you can cancel pet insurance at any time. In this article, we'll discuss factors to consider, the typical cancellation process and any potential consequences to pet health and wellness that come from canceling a pet insurance policy.

While some pet insurance companies may occasionally claim to not increase with a pet's age, you'll still find that those premiums increase over time. These policies may attribute these increases to other factors like rising veterinary costs or inflation, but they'll still go up over time.

This is not included as standard with every policy but is very common with insurance for older pets. It is a contribution you will pay towards vet bills and is typically 10-20% depending on your policy.

Pet health insurance can help by offsetting some or most of the costs of diagnosing, treating and managing your pet's illness or injury. There's no magic formula to tell you if pet health insurance is right for you and your pet. Talk with your veterinarian about it, and research your options.

Depending on your provider, you can use accident coverage as soon as 48 hours after signing up. Illness coverage usually has longer waiting periods, beginning at 14 days.

Ideally, you should make your insurance claim straight away, whether your pet has an accident, is diagnosed with an illness or you've had to pay vet fees in an emergency. Your insurance provider might place a time limit on making a claim – 30 days, for example – so check your policy for details.

However, they can increase rates based on a dog breed, which means you may pay more on your premium if you own a German Shepherd or another breed on the common blacklist.

While German Shepherds are one of the most popular breeds associated with serious dog bite injuries, they are far from the only breed capable of causing harm. Any dog has the potential to bite and cause injury, regardless of its size or breed.

Living with a German Shepherd. Given the energetic, athletic dogs they are, German Shepherds are best suited to spacious homes with owners that have an active lifestyle. A German Shepherd needs freedom to run, but not too much freedom that they might take off. The ideal German Shepherd home would have a fenced-in yard.

Dog breeds matter

Other insurance companies will require dog owners to sign liability waivers for dog bites or increase rates. Among those on the “breed list” are Rottweilers, Akitas, German Shepherds, Pit Bulls, Siberian Huskies, Doberman Pinschers, Presa Canarios, Great Danes, Alaskan Malamutes, and wolf-dog hybrids.