by Karsten Broderlynn
If perception is reality then doesn’t logic dictate that the difference between a bad decision and a good one isn’t the choice that’s made but the results of that choice? If you leap out of the way of an oncoming car, you’ve made a smart choice. But if you land in front of another car speeding in the opposite direction, suddenly your decision to jump doesn’t seem as smart.
In either case you made the same decision in jumping out of the way of a speeding car. Its the outcome of that decision that dictates the apparent intelligence of the decision you made. Does that mean we’re all subject to fate in determining the virtue of our decisions? Not necessarily. Perhaps we should have looked before we leapt. To confuse things further, there’s another way of looking at things.
A conversation with my father helped shed some light on the matter for me. He suggested that the merits of a decision are set at inception regardless the outcome and that fate was simply a random variable. Seeing I didn’t fully understand his point, he explained further.
“If,” he asked, “I offered you an investment opportunity that could convert $5,000.00 of your dollars into $50,000.00 in ten years, would you take it? Consider that you have about a 50% chance of making that $50k and better odds of making only $30K or $40K. Regardless, you can rest assured that you’ll almost certainly get your full investment back if things don’t work out but you’ll still have to wait 10 years.” I thought about the question and thought, absent any pressing needs or wants, I might take the opportunity if I had disposable cash handy.
“OK,” he continued, “now what if I told you I might be able to make you $5 million dollars and all you’d have to invest is $5 for the purchase of a lottery ticket?” Well that, I thought, was a no-brainer. I’d hand over the $5 with hardly a thought.
In response, he smiled, shook his head and told me I’d just made the same bad decision thousands of lottery ticket purchasers make every day. In failing to consider odds of return on their investment, they make a bad decision simply for being impressed by the potential return on investment relative to the cost of buying in.
But the point we’re trying to make here isn’t about gambling on lottery tickets or dodging oncoming traffic. What this article focuses on is the sometimes difficult choice we face when considering the value of purchasing veterinary insurance for our pets. If you’re in the market, you already know that it isn’t always a cut and dry decision.
As with the example of an investment vs. a lottery ticket, we struggle to make a smart decision when it comes to pet health insurance because we’re considering an investment in an unknown potential outcome. How will we feel spending hundreds of dollars each year if our pet never requires a costly medical procedure and, instead, dies peacefully of old age? Won’t we have made a bad decision and wasted our money?
On the opposite side of the coin, emotions prevail. What if we don’t purchase the insurance and wind up unable to afford to pay for an emergency? Will that mean we didn’t love our pet enough? Are we wrong for assigning a dollar value to the health of our animal?
In both cases these are the wrong approaches and will not lead to a smart decision. Basing the choice on what-ifs is wholly unproductive. No matter how healthy your particular breed may be in general, you can’t predict accidents such as poisons or car accidents.
In relying on emotion in the decision making process, the second approach is no better. A financial decision should never be grounded purely in emotion. Your financial circumstances might simply dictate that you can’t afford the monthly fee for health insurance. That doesn’t mean you love your pet any less, it’s just a fact of economics.
Your decision to purchase veterinary insurance should be grounded in sound, rational thought. Take the facts into account and go from there. Consider what you’d face in a health emergency if you didn’t have pet insurance. Would your savings carry you through? If you are well off financially and are good at leaving your savings untouched except in emergencies, pet insurance may be completely unnecessary.
Is your pet very young and healthy? If so, and particularly if you’re relatively comfortable financially, then perhaps the choice to purchase pet insurance can be postponed until later in your pet’s life.
Take the time to do the research and math. It may make sound financial sense to pay a monthly fee just in case. For many the peace of mind of knowing their pet is covered in the event of an emergency makes the monthly expense of insuring a pet is preferable to taking an unexpected hit to their savings. Job stability, how much you have in savings and how comfortable you are unpredictability should be the factors that influence your decision.
After reviewing all the facts absent attempts at prognostication and absent pointlessly kicking yourself emotionally, you’ll be able to make a smart decision. That means the right choice at the time regardless the unanticipated outcome down the road. A rationally grounded decision will leave you content with the knowledge that you did what was right at the time. Save the random, emotionally-based attempts at predicting the future for your trip to Vegas.
About the Author:
With over 20 years of veterinary and pet care experience, Karsten hopes to help you make sound decisions about
veterinary pet insurance. He is a consultant and guest writer for several sites covering general pet health issues,
exotic pet insurance and other pet topics.