Pets Best Insurance Expands Offerings

January 5, 2006

Pets Best, insurance for pets and a division of General Fire & Casualty Co., will begin providing comprehensive insurance plans for pet owners and their pet family members. Initially, the company intends to offer its programs in 24 states, including California, and anticipates expanding into additional states by the end of the year.

Pets Best insurance plans provide for direct reimbursement to the pet owner or to the veterinarian of their choice. Plans include:

*Pets First. The premier and highest per incident benefit plan for pet owners.

*Pets Basic. An plan with the same coverage as Pets First with lower per incident limits and higher deductibles, but at a lower cost.

*Pets Accident. A simplified, inexpensive, specific accident-only plan.

*Pets Wellness. For an additional premium, pet owners can receive wellness benefits with their Pets First and Pets Basic plans, which includes coverage for spaying/neutering, teeth cleaning, vaccines and annual pet health examinations. Also included in the wellness benefits package are important diagnostic screens, such as EKGs, general health screens, heartworm tests, feline leukemia tests, internal parasite tests, etc.

A 2002 report by Market Trends states that, while consumer spending on veterinary services has increased by 83 percent since 1996, less than one percent of the more than 136 million dogs and cats in this country are covered by pet insurance. That figure is higher in other parts of the world. In the United Kingdom, for instance, 14 percent of dogs and five percent of cats are covered by about 60 insurers.

Pets Best is headquartered in Boise, Idaho. For more information, visit www.petsbest.com or call 877-PETS BEST (738-7237).

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