By John McDevitt

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The concept has been around for about 15 years but pet health insurance is more popular than ever with a variety of plan options.

Pet health insurance could mean the difference between a sick or injured animal getting treatment or not.

“It’s a reality and a daily occurrence.”

Sally Powell is supervisor of nursing in emergency service at the Ryan Veterinary Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

She has pet health insurance plan for her animals with a $200 deductible and had to use it recently for her Pomeranian.

“And so I paid $200 dollars and the insurance paid the rest which was several thousand dollars.”

Veterinarian Dr. Larwrence Rebbecchi owns and operates Philadelphia Animal Hospital and the Philadelphia Pet Hotel and Villas. He says there are a variety of plans available but an extra step isn’t appealing some pet owners.

“Most veterinarians, probably in fact all veterinarians, do not accept that as payment and in fact the client pays and then they are reimbursed by the insurance company so that’s why a lot.”

Most plans have caps and deductibles. Premiums vary.