pet insuranceIf you drive around with your dog -- or gecko, or miniature pony -- in the car a lot, this may be of interest: If your pet is injured in a crash, you could be on the hook for the doctor bills. Most auto insurance plans, it turns out, don't cover injuries to your pet. This is a major oversight, since the American Pet Products Association reports more than half of U.S. households have four-legged members.

A dog that runs out in the street and is hit by someone else's car might be covered under that driver's policy...or they might not, depending on the details of that driver's auto-insurance policy. When your pet is in your car and is involved in a crash, coverage is also not assured, especially if the crash is your fault.

Here are three ways you might be covered for crash-related pet injuries:

You have comprehensive health insurance for your pet. If you buy full healthcare coverage for your pet, it will cover medical bills from accidents of all kinds, not just car wrecks. Embrace Pet Insurance CEO Laura Bennett reports a full healthcare policy on a common pet such as a cat or dog can be had for around $35 a month or so -- and then you're covered if your pet gets cancer or other diseases, falls down a well, or anything else you can name.

You have an "accident-only" healthcare policy for your pet. Many companies that offer healthcare insurance for pets won't grant full coverage to older pets that don't already have coverage. In those cases, you can buy an accident-only policy that would cover your pet, either if they are struck by a car or injured while riding in one. Rates are around half that of full health insurance, Bennett says.

You have auto insurance with a company that covers pets. A few auto insurers have blazed a trail in this area, and added a modest amount of accident coverage for pets to their regular policies at no additional charge. $2,000 of free pet coverage for its auto policyholders. So far, though, that's only available in a few states.

The big drawback to the free coverage from the auto makers, of course, is that the amount of payout is so small. A major injury to a pet could rack up medical bills far in excess of $2,000.

One caveat if you have an exotic pet -- many healthcare providers don't like to cover these, and the big auto-insurers don't include them in their policies, just common pets such as cats and dogs. Read the fine print carefully and do some research if you want to insure that ferret or llama.

Does your pet have car insurance? Leave a comment and let us know how you got them covered.

Photo: morgueFile