Employers Offer Pet Health Insurance

[Mrs Behavin]

(CBS) Rene Castro's cat, Mitsu, developed a uterine infection last year and needed a hysterectomy that cost $1,700.
The year before, his 6-pound Maltese dog, Princess, dislocated a disc when she fell off the sofa. The bill for treatment including a CAT scan was $750.
So Castro was thrilled when his employer, Lenox Hill Hospital, added pet health insurance to its list of optional benefits.
"Everybody went crazy," said Castro, who supervises the sterilization of instruments in the hospital's operating room. "I think it's great."
Lenox Hill is among a small but growing number of companies offering some form of pet health insurance to their workers.
Jerry Hirsch, of Pet Assure Inc. in Dover, N.J., which manages the Lenox Hill pet insurance program, said the program is one of several employee benefits being added in the current booming economy.
"Employers are looking for ways to attract and keep their favored employees," he said.
It's difficult to determine exactly how many employers offer pet health insurance. Kristin Accipiter, spokeswoman for the Society for Human Resource Management, said a 1999 survey of her organization's 130,000 members found that one percent of companies offered the benefit.
Last year was the first time the question was included in the annual survey, she added.
Rebecca Lewis, vice president for marketing and communications at Veterinary Pet Insurance Inc., in Anaheim, Calif., said her company has sold individual policies since 1982 but group plans for employers only started taking off in 1999.
"We've seen a real big interest from a corporate standpoint," Lewis said. "With unemployment low, benefits become a real key part of retaining and obtaining new employees."
Additionally, she said, "The role of the pet has truly evolved. Pets are seen more as a family member."

Employers Offer Pet Health Insurance, Medical Costs For Man's Best Friend Rising - CBS News

If your job offered pet health insurance to their employees, would you consider buying it?

 

[dt3]

Absolutely not. A pet is a pet.

 

[Breath]

If your job offered pet health insurance to their employees, would you consider buying it?

No. I don't have a pet, so easy question. But if I had one: still no.

 

[All Else Failed]

Sure.

 

[Mrs Behavin]

Im gonna say no. My health insurance with me and my family on it is already expensive enough already

 

[Breath]

Sure.

Your reply surprises me.

 

[sundvlfn88]

I would if it covered horses. That would save in the long run.

 

[Maulds]

Only if it was super cheap. Granted we have a Boxer, 3 cats, and this morning our guinea pig had 4 piglets.

 

[Jersey]

i would- the vet is damn expensive, and i get a family discount!

 

[Peter Parka]

No, it would be cheaper to buy the insurance straight from the insurance broker, I'm guess most employers wouldn't shop around for the best deal and skim some off the top too!

 

[All Else Failed]

Your reply surprises me.

well, my dog has had many surguries, and this kind of insurance would have helped with the cost.