People buy medical insurance to protect themselves from the costs of catastrophic illnesses. Now that pets are such an important part of many families, should you also buy insurance for your furry friends?

One option is to self-insure, i.e. put away money periodically for your pet’s future medical costs. As treatment options (and their corresponding prices) increase for pet illnesses, however, steady savings might not be enough to pay for the most up-to-date medication or surgeries for your dog or cat. Personal finance expert Liz Pulliam Weston says the question to “does pet insurance make sense” depends on what type of pet owner you are [MSN Money]:

I still believe most people are better off forgoing pet insurance and instead putting the money they would have spent on premiums into a savings account. Pet coverage can cost $2,000 to $6,000 over the life of an average pet, and the chances are slim you’ll ever need to shell out that much for treatment.

But if you’re the type of person who would do anything to save your pet, including spend thousands of dollars on medical care, pet insurance might be a preferable alternative to going into debt.

Pet insurance is still a minority among pet owners. Personally, I don’t know of any families that carry pet insurance policies. I don’t have any pets right now (I have my eye on a Welsh Corgi in a few years), but if I were in a situation where my dog is very sick, I will have to balance the medical costs with the likelihood of success, the quality of life after the treatment, my dog’s age, and my financial ability to afford the treatment.

A pet – especially a dog – is a huge emotional and financial responsibility. That’s why if I get a dog I will definitely put away savings for routine and unexpected medical costs. Not carrying insurance does not mean that I won’t make adequate financial preparations for my pet. On the other hand, I can’t say that I would pay everything to treat my dog.

A Gai Shan Life raised this very question in her post: where do you draw the line on pets and money? The post details the situation of a lady whose puppy has Parvos, a serious disease that may require thousands of dollars in treatment for an uncertain outcome. This lady is suffering financial difficulty and does not have that kind of money unless she turns to credit cards.

Here’s my answer to the question: If my dog is near the end of its lifespan and is suffering a life-threatening illness, the treatment costs are high but the chance of survival are low, and the prognosis for quality of life after recovery is poor, then I would probably not proceed with the treatment. My focus, at that point, would be to ensure my pet spends the rest of its time, however limited, in comfort. My first financial responsibility would still be to my family.

What kind of owner are you – would you spend thousands, even tens of thousands, on a sickly pet? If so, do you have pet insurance? Would you go into credit card debt to pay for a pet’s medical expenses?

(If you do decide to purchase pet insurance, here are some sites with helpful information and discussions: Dog Time, Yelp Question & Answer, Country Living, and Consumer Tips Reports.)

image source: innocentenglish.com