 TITLE: Do You Need Pet Insurance? CONTENT: What Does Pet Insurance Cover?\n------------------------------\nPet insurance helps you afford your pet's medical expenses, though the extent of your coverage depends on the plan you choose. In most cases, you pay for your pet's treatment upfront and the insurance company will reimburse you for qualifying costs.\nThere are three common types of pet insurance:\n*   **Accident-only**: An accident-only policy provides coverage if your pet is injured in a fight with another animal, breaks their bones, eats something toxic or is otherwise hurt.\n*   **Wellness**: A wellness plan covers routine care, such as checkups and vaccinations. Depending on the type of pet you have and the insurer you choose, wellness coverage may also include deworming and spaying or neutering.\n*   **Accident\/illness**: This type of plan covers your pet for injuries suffered in an accident, as well as sickness such as cancer or other diseases. It may include tests, specialist visits and surgeries.\nSome pet insurance providers may allow you to combine a wellness plan with an accident or accident\/illness plan to reduce your routine care expenses.\nHow each provider defines these categories is up to them, however, so one company might include more services under the wellness heading than others. For example, some insurers might reimburse you for grooming and nail trimmings. Others might see grooming as falling outside the wellness umbrella, in which case you'll need to pay for those costs out of pocket. Things like prescription food or medicated shampoo might also be covered by some plans and excluded from others.\nIf you decide to take out a pet insurance policy, it's often wise to request quotes from several providers to compare costs and coverage terms to find the best deal. END