Funding the extra mile
According to a 1999 survey sponsored in part by the American Veterinary Medical Association, Americans spend in excess of $11 billion a year on veterinary care and products for their pets. The cost of veterinary medical care is rising almost 30 percent per year.

As Lisa Bocchiaro's story illustrates, those spending the big bucks on their pets aren't just dog and cat owners. Owners of birds and other small animals can be just as devoted to their pets and can wind up with vet bills just as large.

"Sampson is the only creature who ever called me 'mommy'," says Bocchiaro, who in turn often referred to the African grey as her "son."

Over the last decade, more pet-insurance companies such as PetCare, Petshealth Care Plan and Premiere Pet Insurance have stepped up to the plate to help dog and cat owners pay their vet bills.

Unfortunately, when it comes to insuring the health of birds - and other small animals considered by the veterinary community to be "exotic" pets - the pickin's are much slimmer.

Exotic and expensive
Pet insurance companies shy away from covering birds, ferrets, pigs, horses and other so-called exotics because they are expensive to insure, said Trina Peters, president of Pet Health Plus, an association for owners that helps people find health care for their pets.

"The veterinarians who treat exotics are considered specialists who may charge more for their expertise and who tend to use supplies that are more expensive due to unique characteristics such as size," said Peters.

"Also, it's difficult for insurers to determine an affordable rate that will still allow them to turn a profit," she said. "Statistics are readily available for how much it costs to treat specific dog and cat conditions, so the insurance company can calculate a median cost for each condition and then develop a rate for it. But treatment costs vary so much from vet to vet on specialty animals that it is very difficult if not nearly impossible to determine effective premiums."

To see what's available for parrot owners, ParrotChronicles.com searched for companies that offer some form of health insurance for birds. We found three.

American Pet Plan and Pet Assure charge annual or monthly fees in exchange for discounts off medical treatments when you use a veterinarian in their network.

A third option is the California-based Veterinary Pet Insurance. VPI charges a monthly premium just like a human insurance company and lets you use any veterinarian you like.

All three companies cover all types of pets - not only dogs and cats, but birds, hamsters, ferrets and other "exotics."

HMO for animals
American Pet Plan operates something like an HMO for pets. There are no claim forms, deductibles or pre-existing condition restrictions to worry with. For an annual fee of $50 ($25 for each additional pet), you pay only $5 for office visits and get a 10 percent discount on prescription medication and a 20 percent discount on surgeries, lab tests and hospitalization.

American Pet Plan membership also entitles you to 10 percent off food and 20 percent off pet grooming and boarding services when you use a network member.

That's the good news. The downside to American Pet Plan is that it's tough finding veterinarians on the plan that specialize in birds.

There aren't that many vets on the American Pet Plan network to begin with - fewer than 50 when we checked, located in only seven states: Arizona, California, Florida, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.

Random calls to six clinics listed on the American Pet Plan Web site, including the two closest to us in San Jose and Stockon, Calif., turned up none with avian veterinarians - and two offices that said they had never heard of the plan.

American Pet Plan did not seem to want to discuss the availability of avian veterinarians in its network. It never answered an e-mail we sent and when we called the toll line, a representative hung up on us in mid-sentence.

Bottom line: it's unlikely bird owners will find an avian veterinarian on the American Pet Plan who will suit their needs, but there's no harm in checking out the network's much larger number of pet sitters and dog groomers to see if you can score some discounts there. Just proceed carefully - based on our experiences, the company may not excel in customer service.

Big Bird's insurance policy
Pet Assure, based in Dover, N.J., works something like American Pet Plan. It, too, requires that you use one of its network veterinarians. On the bright side, there are no deductibles, health restrictions, or paperwork to hassle with. Any type and age of pet, including those with pre-existing conditions, is eligible.

Pet Assure boasts 70,000 policies, including several with well-known corporations such as Sesame Street and GMAC Mortgage, who offer it as an employee benefit.

THE FOLLOWING plans cover not only dogs and cats, but birds and other small pets. AMERICAN PET PLAN. Pro: Works like an HMO, so you don't have to fuss with claim forms or worry about pre-existing conditions. Costs only $50 a year per pet. In return, you pay only $5 for office visits and get 20 percent off medical procedures and 10 percent off prescription medications. Discounts are also available on pet sitting and dog grooming. Con: Must choose from extremely limited network of veterinarians, most of whom do not specialize in birds. PET ASSURE Pro: Works like a discount service, so no need to fuss with claim forms or pre-existing conditions. Price reasonable at $99 a year per pet. In return, subscribers get a 25 percent discount from participating veterinarians and on a variety of other services from pet sitting to pet caskets. Has a much larger network of veterinarians from which to choose than American Pet Plan. Con: As with American Pet Plan, network of providers does not appear to include many avian veterinarians. VETERINARY PET INSURANCE Pro: Your best bet for insuring your bird's health. Annual cost can be as low as $84 for one small bird. You can continue to use your favorite avian veterinarian. Con: Many of the same headaches as human insurance policies, including the need to file claims and kick in a $50 deductible and an additional 10 percent copayment. Does not cover pre-existing conditions or prescriptions, and there's a $2,000 annual per-incident cap. -- C.T.

Pet Assure costs a little more than American Pet Plan at $99 a year and does not offer APP's $5 office visit. However, Pet Assure does get you 25 percent off everything else and its network of participating veterinarians is much larger at 2,500, so you have a better chance of finding an avian vet.

Pet Assure also works with a wider variety of merchants, ranging from pet food companies to magazine publishers, all of whom give discounts up to 20 percent to Pet Assure subscribers.

Unfortunately, we had trouble finding an avian veterinarian with Pet Assure, too.

Our search at Pet Assure's Web site for a participating vet in our area turned up three within 16 miles, a good start. However, things went downhill from there. One clinic did not see birds. Another veterinarian was willing to see birds but admitted he did not know much about them. The third veterinarian was on a month-long vacation and no one on his staff could confirm his Pet Assure membership.

When we turned to Pet Assure for a bird-owning policyholder to interview, a representative promised to call back but never did, despite our repeated attempts to contact her.

Bottom line: Judging from the benefits it offers and the size of its network, Pet Assure may be a stronger, more reliable option than American Pet Plan - if you can find an avian vet. Avid consumers of dog grooming and other pet-related products and services might have better luck.

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