I Have a Big Emergency Fund. Do I Still Need Pet Insurance?

It depends on how much financial protection you want.

When you adopt a pet, there are certain changes you'll need to make to your budget right away. You'll need to set money aside for the cost of food, medications, and supplies, and you'll need to allocate funds to vet visits and routine vaccinations.

But there's another expense it pays to take on when you adopt a pet -- pet insurance. Without it, you might struggle if healthcare costs related to your pet start to mount.

Of course, it's also a good idea to have plenty of money in your savings before adopting a pet. That way, if your costs come in higher than expected, you'll have some cash reserves to tap.

But what if you happen to have a really nice amount of money in your emergency fund? Maybe you've been socking money away from each paycheck for years and now have a nice pile of cash at your disposal.

In that case, you might assume that you don't need pet insurance. After all, if your pet had medical bills, you'd be able to pay them out of your savings.

But while you might technically be able to forgo pet insurance if you have a lot of savings, that's not necessarily your best bet. In fact, it's a move you might sorely regret.

Do you want to put your savings -- and pet's health -- at risk?

You might have a $10,000 savings account balance you worked really hard to accumulate. But guess what? A single health emergency could deplete your savings in the absence of pet insurance. And that's why it really pays to put a policy into place -- even if your savings are robust and you have money to tap in a pinch.

The purpose of pet insurance is to protect pet owners against astronomical medical costs. And those could ensue if your pet is badly injured or diagnosed with an ailment that requires expensive ongoing treatment or surgery. In fact, sometimes, the mere process of diagnosing a pet's condition can result in thousands of dollars in tests. And without pet insurance, you'll be liable for those bills.

That's why it pays to have pet insurance even if you have a decent-sized savings account. That policy could offset some of your costs so you're not forced to deplete your savings in what could be one fell swoop, or whittle down your cash reserves and leave yourself vulnerable to another emergency. And also, that policy might help ensure that cost isn't a barrier to getting your pet the care they need.

The peace of mind you deserve

Adopting a pet is a huge undertaking, and you shouldn't have to stress about the idea of depleting your savings, or making a huge dent in them, to cover an unexpected health issue. Pet insurance could spare you that fate and save you a world of stress. And that way, if you're not distracted by thoughts of sky-high vet bills, you can focus your energy on getting to know your new pet, training them, making them comfortable in their new home, and showering them with all the love you have to give.