70% of Pet Owners Don't Have Savings for a Pet-Related Emergency

There are certain things you need to do to prepare to adopt a pet. First, you have to do some research to see what their care entails and make sure you're up to the task. If you rent a home, you also need to make sure your landlord will allow you to have a pet. And you'll need to stock up on the right supplies and gear.

But those aren't the only moves to make when you're looking to adopt a pet. You should also make a point to allocate money in your savings for pet care. If you don't, you might end up in a really bad situation if your pet needs emergency care.

A chance you can't afford to take

Even if you're adopting a pet who's young and healthy, you never know when a medical issue might arise. Plus, your pet could get hurt unexpectedly, leading to expensive medical care.

That's why it's so important to have money in savings for pet care. In fact, you may want to open a separate savings account and designate it as your pet emergency fund. If you don't go this route, you might end up with a whopping credit card balance that costs you lots of money in interest if you're forced to pay for emergency pet care out of the blue.

Now you may be thinking, "I'll just buy pet insurance, and that way, I won't have to worry about saving for pet care." But while it's a good idea to put a pet insurance policy in place, you might still need money in the bank regardless.

First, you never know when your pet insurance company might reject a claim of yours, whether due to a pre-existing condition or another reason. Also, while pet insurance will often cover much of the tab in situations when a pet needs medical care or surgery, it won't necessarily cover your costs at 100%. So if you have a dog who needs a $5,0000 surgery, your pet insurance plan might have a $4,500 cap for that treatment, leaving you to come up with the remaining $500 on your own.

You should also know that many pet insurance companies require you to shell out the money for your pet's care upfront, submit a claim, and wait to be reimbursed. So, let's say you have to charge $2,000 on a credit card to cover treatment for your pet. If you don't have the savings to cover that bill immediately, you might end up accruing interest on it if your pet insurance company takes two months to approve your claim and issue you a reimbursement check.

Don't leave yourself without savings

Adopting a pet is a huge undertaking, so it's important to be prepared. And that includes having money in savings for pet care or any sort of pet-related emergency that might arise.

A surprising 70% of pet owners have not saved anything for a future pet health crisis, according to recent data from Lemonade. But those pet owners risk racking up debt or having to make very hard decisions with regard to their pets' care. Do yourself a favor and save for pet care so you never have to land in a similar boat.