Estimate vet costs and pet insurance value for a dog breed
estimate_dog_insurance_costSimulates thousands of possible lifetimes for a U.S. dog of the given breed and age (breed health-registry data + U.S. vet cost ranges adjusted to ZIP code) and returns expected vet costs, the chance of a year with bills above the owner's emergency savings, the plan structure that keeps that risk under 5%, and a modeled monthly premium (benchmark, not a quote). Use when a user asks whether pet insurance is worth it for their dog, how much vet care or insurance costs for a breed, or how deductible and reimbursement levels change their risk. Present results as a statistical estimate, not as advice: do not tell the user to buy insurance or that 'the model suggests/recommends' a policy; say what the numbers show and leave the decision to the user. Always give the user the reportUrl link (full report with price-by-age chart and all 27 plan structures) and mention that it is an estimate, not a quote. In apps that display widgets, a visual card with these results is shown to the user; there, keep your text reply short and do not repeat every number or list from the card.
Input Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| zip | No | Optional 5-digit U.S. ZIP code; adjusts for local vet prices | |
| breed | Yes | Dog breed name or slug, e.g. 'French Bulldog', 'frenchie', 'golden-retriever' | |
| age_years | Yes | Dog's age in years (0.5 for puppies under 1) | |
| emergency_savings_usd | No | How much the owner could pay for a surprise vet bill today; rounded to 500/1000/2000/5000/10000. Default 2000. |