Mississippi second state to adopt pet insurance law

BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) - Gov. Tate Reeves has signed a bill making Mississippi the second state to pass a pet insurance law.

A visit to the vet can easily cost hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars. The new law will allow insurance agents to sell pet insurance to their customers.

Dr. Jennifer Sutton at Gulf Coast Veterinary Emergency Hospital said usually people get insurance through a third-party agency.

“Sometimes they can even bundle it with home, auto, and other insurance they already have. They come to us, and we may not be aware they have a policy, but we’ll offer treatment recommendations, the client will often accept them. After the visit they’ll pay us and then go file the insurance with their company and be reimbursed that way,” Sutton said.

The bill also gives people more information about the policy they are purchasing.

“Before a customer would purchase a policy and they may not realize after a certain age the policy is no longer going to cover treatment or if they have a certain breed like a Rottweiler it may exclude hip dysplasia or heart conditions because it’s known to be popular in those breeds to have those problems,” Sutton said.

For Diana Klocko and her three-year-old Shih Tzu Nola, having dog insurance is a good thing for people who want to save some cash.

“I don’t know what the premiums would be, but if you are short on cash because no one really lets you run a bill, I think that would be good for you, but I think for people who don’t really have that problem I think it basically is a waste of money,” Klocko said.

According to Sutton, people who have insurance on their pets are most likely to accept costly treatments.

“No one plans to come to the emergency clinic. If they have that insurance often, they have one less thing to worry about. They know they can accept the treatment, but even more so, to me, if there are any specialized services that are needed, if I need to see a surgeon, neurologist, or if the dog has cancer, a client is more able to accept those specialized and potentially more expensive treatments,” Sutton said.

The new law will take effect on July 1.

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