Does pet insurance cover euthanasia cost? This will depend on each individual policy and its small print.
Pet insurance policies tend to offer either higher coverage for illness (diagnostic work up, medical procedures, pharmaceuticals, surgery, possibly complementary therapies), or lower cost and lower coverage plans for accident cover only.
Some policies will include cover for the cost of euthanasia that happens as a result of an illness or accident if euthanasia has been recommended by the primary care vet. But be aware that payouts will not be made for the cost of euthanasia for pre-existing conditions previously excluded from the insurance cover.
Other pet insurance policies may cover euthanasia costs as an optional ‘add-on’ to the policy, meaning the policy goes beyond coverage for accident and illness. An end-of-life specific add-on may cover for euthanasia costs.
In addition, some policies offer death of pet/ pet loss/ farewell cover, included in the policy or as an optional add-on. This cover provides you with financial compensation, within set limits, for the purchase or donation price of your pet if they die. This type of cover often comes with exclusions depending on the cause of death for your pet and the age of your pet at the time of death. A pre-existing condition not previously declared will not be paid out for. Some policies will provide cover for the death of a pet from illness or accident if your pet is up to nine years old, but cover for accident only if older.
It may be that you can only recover partial costs for euthanasia as insurers may place a financial limit on this procedure.
Every insurance claim will ask if a home visit was needed and, if so, the reason why and many policies state they will not pay for the additional costs incurred for home visits.
When we submit insurance claims on your behalf for in home euthanasia, insurance companies will often ask us to breakdown our fee to travel costs and euthanasia costs. For home visits within our 10 mile radius we do not charge a home visit fee. Our fee is not calculated this way-the in home euthanasia fee is not about mileage. It relates to the time we dedicate to our families and the advanced euthanasia techniques we use.
I will not break our fee down for the insurer this way as that is not the intention behind how the price has been structured. Insurers are, in truth, a little way behind understanding the thinking behind in home euthanasia and I will argue always the reasoning behind choosing it-so much more than euthanasia consult plus visit fee.
But regardless of whether you ultimately choose in home euthanasia or euthanasia in a bricks and mortar practice, be prepared for some insurers to put a ceiling on what they will payout for the euthanasia consult.