Does Pet Insurance Cover Pregnancy? Does It Cost More?
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Costs associated with pregnant or breeding animals are typically excluded from pet insurance coverage. Pet insurance usually only covers costs associated with routine care, accidents, injuries, or illnesses. However, some pet insurances do cover breeding and pregnancy costs. It just requires diligence to find a company that provides the coverage that you’re looking for.
Always be sure to read your policy thoroughly to be sure of what it covers and what it doesn’t. This way, you won’t be hit with any surprises when you file a claim. In this article, we discuss a few of the companies that include pregnancy-related coverage and what they offer.
Companies Offering Pet Pregnancy Coverage
Trupanion is the first pet insurance that offered coverage for breeding dogs and cats. If you’re interested in Trupanion’s coverage for breeding your pet, you’ll have to have the Breeding Rider add-on in your plan. The basic coverage does not include coverage for breeding animals. Your pet is also excluded from breeding coverage if they are pregnant at the time of enrollment.
Fetch Pet Insurance covers complications that arise from birthing, like emergency C-sections.
AKC Pet Insurance offers breeding coverage, which makes sense because the Club registers purebred puppies. Like other companies, the Breeding Coverage option will have to be added to your policy separately. This can help with complications during pregnancy, whelping, or nursing. It will also cover accidents and illnesses for both male and female breeding dogs.
Even though pet insurance doesn’t cover costs associated with pregnancy, there are several other reasons to get your pet insured. We picked some of the best pet insurance companies on the market to help you choose the perfect plan if you considering it:
Top Rated Pet Insurance Companies
What Does Breeding Insurance Cover? Does Pet Insurance Cover C-Sections?
Complications can arise during a pet’s pregnancy that require emergency treatment. Here are a few things that you might encounter if you’re breeding pets or own a pregnant animal.
1. Emergency C-Sections
This is the surgical removal of puppies or kittens from the uterus of a mother animal. These are usually performed in cases where the mother is unable to naturally deliver, so the C-section is scheduled in advance. However, there are sometimes complications during birth, and the puppies or kittens are not coming out or get stuck. This requires emergency surgery, and an immediate C-section is necessary to ensure the safety of the litter and the mother.
2. Mastitis
This refers to the inflammation of the mammary gland, usually caused by a bacterial infection. With breeding coverage, treatment for this condition may be covered.
3. Eclampsia
Eclampsia commonly occurs in nursing mothers when their litters are 1–4 weeks old. The condition refers to a life-threatening drop in blood calcium levels. This can be caused by the mother losing calcium as fetal skeletons were developing inside of her, producing milk, or not receiving proper nutrition necessary for pregnant or lactating mothers.
4. Pyometra
Pyometra refers to an infection of the uterus in dogs and cats. If pyometra is not treated, the infection can eventually spread throughout the body. This is a serious condition that requires prompt treatment. Usually, the infected uterus must be surgically removed.
Conclusion
While many pet insurances don’t cover pet pregnancy, some do. You’ll have to do your research to make sure your insurance company offers breeding coverage if you’re interested in it. This is usually available in the form of an additional rider that must be purchased along with the basic coverage.
Making sure your pet insurance covers pregnancy is important if you plan to breed your dog. Unforeseen costs of treatments that may occur during the pregnancy can be devastating. If you are considering breeding your dog, look into the options available and what conditions your policy covers before the pregnancy occurs.
Featured Image Credit: Anna Hoychuk, Shutterstock
