What Accident-Only Coverage Actually Covers
The name kind of says it all, but there are some surprises. Good and bad.
I didn't really read the fine print until I needed to use it. Probably should have done that first.
The List of Covered Accidents Is Longer Than I Expected
Car accidents, obviously. Benny's incident got covered, but I'll get to that.
Broken bones from falls. Lacerations from running into things. Swallowed foreign objects, which is apparently super common in dogs.
Bite wounds from other animals. Burns. Poisoning from toxic substances.
My policy even covered emergency surgery if it was accident-related. That turned out to be important.
Basically, if your pet gets hurt because something happened to them, it's probably covered. But if they get sick because something inside them went wrong, that's not an accident.
What's NOT Covered Caught Me Off Guard
Ear infections. Eye problems. Cancer. Diabetes. Allergies. Anything digestive unless they literally swallowed something they shouldn't.
Hip dysplasia and joint problems, even though those kind of feel like injuries.
Dental issues, unless Benny broke a tooth on something. Regular dental disease? Not covered.
Basically any illness, infection, or chronic condition. Which is most of what pets deal with as they age.
A friend's dog developed allergies bad enough to need daily medication. Her accident-only policy paid nothing. She ended up spending $200 monthly on treatments with zero help from insurance.
The Gray Areas Where I Got Lucky
When Benny got hit by the car, he had internal bleeding plus a broken leg plus some kind of infection in a wound.
I was worried the infection part wouldn't be covered since infections are technically illness.
But because the infection was directly caused by the accident, it got covered as part of the accident treatment. Same policy, same claim, no issues.
Not all policies work that way though. I've heard of companies denying secondary conditions even when they're obviously related to the original accident.
Read your policy carefully. Or call and ask specific questions before you need to file a claim.
The Day My $15 Policy Saved Me $4,200
February 14th, which is a weird detail to remember, but hard to forget when it's that kind of day.
Benny slipped his collar chasing a squirrel. I was maybe twenty feet behind him when the SUV came around the corner.
The Emergency Vet Bill Was Terrifying
X-rays, surgery for internal bleeding, pins in his leg, overnight monitoring, pain medications, antibiotics.
The itemized bill was two pages long. Total: $4,847.
I remember sitting in the waiting room at 11 PM doing mental math on my credit card limit. Wondering if I could get a payment plan. Wondering if I'd made a terrible mistake getting a dog I couldn't afford to care for.
Then I remembered the insurance. The cheap insurance I'd almost cancelled twice because it felt like wasted money.
The Claim Process Was Actually Easy
I took photos of everything with my phone. The itemized receipt, the vet's notes, Benny looking pathetic in his cone.
Submitted through the app at 2 AM while sitting in the emergency vet lobby.
Got a call three days later asking for the vet's direct number so they could verify details.
Check arrived in my mailbox ten days after that. $3,877 after my $500 deductible and the 80% reimbursement rate.
I still had to come up with $970 out of pocket. But that's very different from finding $4,847.
Would I Do Accident-Only Again? It Depends
Benny's 9 now. I switched to comprehensive coverage two years after the accident because I realized how much could go wrong with an aging dog.
But for those first few years when money was tight and Benny was young and healthy? Accident-only was the right choice.
Young pets are less likely to get sick. They are, however, very likely to do dumb things that get them hurt. Benny certainly was.
If I had a young, healthy pet and a tight budget today, I'd probably still start with accident-only. Better than nothing, and usually cheap enough to actually afford.
Who Should Consider Accident-Only Coverage
It's not for everyone. But it's also not as useless as some people make it sound.
Young Pet Owners on a Budget
If comprehensive insurance isn't in the budget, accident-only beats having nothing.
Emergency surgeries are expensive. Broken bones are expensive. Swallowing that sock your dog has been eyeing is expensive.
$15-20 monthly is manageable for most budgets. And it covers the catastrophic stuff that could otherwise wipe out your savings or max your credit cards.
Some coverage is better than no coverage. I genuinely believe that.
Healthy Pets Under Age 5
Young pets rarely get the chronic diseases that comprehensive insurance covers.
Cancer, diabetes, kidney disease, arthritis... these are mostly older pet problems.
A 2-year-old Lab is way more likely to need surgery for eating something stupid than for cancer treatment.
The math changes as pets age though. Once they hit 6 or 7, the illness risk goes up and comprehensive starts making more sense.
As a Stepping Stone to Better Coverage
I always planned to upgrade eventually. Accident-only was my starter policy.
Some companies let you upgrade to comprehensive without treating your pet's history as pre-existing conditions. Mine did, which made the switch easy.
Others don't, so check before you sign up. You don't want to be stuck with accident-only forever because your pet developed something in the meantime.
Think of it as temporary coverage while you build financial stability. Not a forever solution.