The health of pets is one of the main concerns for their owners. Although there are pathologies that are usually treated with home remedies, most of the diseases that afflict pets require specialized treatment and the support of veterinary medicine professionals. This, on many occasions, usually generates large expenses for the owners, since the cost of the treatments is high and special care is required that requires a lot of money and time.
However, prepaid medicine plans for pets have become an alternative to ensure the well-being of animals while more easily covering the expenses that an illness or accident may cause.
One of the pioneer companies in this type of plan in Colombia is PetPlan, which began approximately 10 years ago with this system, which has been increasingly well received. Its CEO, Fredy Armando Restrepo, explained the reason for the rise in health plans for pets: “The alternatives found today in prepaid health for pets are directly related to the growth of the pet market, which in turn has to do with the transformation of the family in Colombia and in the world. While before families were made up of four or five children, currently they are only having a maximum of one child or even just one dog, which is why more importance is given to caring for animals.”
According to Restrepo, prepaid medicine for pets is divided between health plans and animal insurance. The former offer a wide variety of services, including coverage for surgeries, consultations, hospitalization and laboratory tests. Similarly, the emergency service with professionals available 24 hours is included.
For its part, insurance is more focused on damages and unforeseen events, covering expenses such as damages to third parties, nurseries in the absence of the owner, funeral services and psychological counseling for owners due to the death of pets.
But, according to the director, the advantage of prepaid medicine over insurance is that the latter have very limited coverage, while affiliating the pet to a health plan guarantees more complete protection.
“Although the price of insurance is cheap, since you can find from $18,000 with coverage of up to $1 million in accidents and illnesses, prepaid medicine already has coverage above 10 minimum wages per accident and 12 minimum wages per illness. , with unlimited events, because you can attend the clinic as many times as necessary,” said the director of PetPlan.
More and more pet owners are joining prepaid medical plans, which represents not only protection for animals, but also peace of mind for their owners.
The various services offered
The services included in these specialized health plans include: surgeries, consultation, hospitalization, laboratory tests, diagnosis, vaccinations and emergency care. Among the companies that offer these plans are: Pet Plan, Vet Plus, Zoovida, Coovet, Zooprevenir, Happy Animals, among others. As for insurance policies, the services are: veterinary attention, accident coverage, funeral services, damages against third parties, nurseries, medicines and food. Some companies that offer them are: Sura, Seguros Mundial, Falabella, Mapfre, Seguros Bolívar, Seguros Éxito, Bancolombia.