Pet Insurance?

[njc]

I was wondering how many of you have pet insurance and/or if you think it is worth it.

A co-worker got a German Shepard puppy the same week we got Ellie and in the three weeks they have had her, have already spent $3500 for trips to the emergency clinic and surgury to remove a bowl obstruction.

Knowing my Ellie LOVES to chew on everything she can get her mouth on and we still need to spay her, is it worth the money for insurance? I guess as always its one of those things, you hate to "waste" the money, but suddenly when you need it, you are so glad you have it.

 

[Lorelei]

With all my lot I would be too worried not to have insurance, it does give peace of mind that it is there should you need it. I insure all mine for the most vet fee coverage I can, it saves a lot of worry. Yes it does cost a bit each month, however I think the reassurance it gives is worth it. Also knowing that should your pet need very expensive treatment, using the best equipment plus referrals if needed, there isn't the worry of it can be afforded or not. Bear in mind that technology and treatments are getting better all the time and more expensive, so insurance is worthwhile to be able to provide this for your pet if she needs it. So yes , I think definitely for me it is a good thing. You probably know that insurance won't cover routine care such as vaccinations and spaying, however with a chewing puppy it might be prudent to have it!

 

[Angel7]

My bf got it for his/our dog and he''s debating on canceling it. They ONLY pay for emergencies. They do not reinburse for trips to the vet. Our dog hurt her wrist (jumping around or something!) and she needed xrays and medication and they will not reinburse for it because it wasn''t an emergency. I think we may just lower it to a plan with "lesser" coverage.
I guess it''s like any insurance though, good to have just "in case" cause you just never know.
Good Luck!

 

[Lorelei]

That's a shame Angel, my company will cover for accident and illness, it doesn't have to be an emergency, however I use an English company. NJC, if you do decide to insure, read the policy small print very carefully and ask them if you have any queries. Policies can vary in amounts and types of coverage.


NJC, I guess ask yourself this: if Ellie needed large amounts of money spent on treatment could you afford it easily? If not then maybe insurance might be a worthwhile investment for you. I don't know how much it costs for a typical policy in the States, for one of my cats with about $17k cover for vets fees per incident this costs me about 16 dollars a month per cat. Shop around I am sure many Psers have insurance and may be able to recommend some good companies and policies.

 

[WTNLVR]

Go with VPI pet insurance. We pay about $22.00 a month. It''s great for a puppy because you get the basic coverage and the immunization coverage the first year and they pay for the shots and the spaying and your choice of a blood panel or something else. After the first year I dropped that x-tra coverage and now just have the basic coverage. There is a $50.00 deductable for emergency visits. Routine care is not covered unless you get that rider. It''s worth the peace of mind. They will send out more info to you or go to the web site. I have used it a couple times. It hasn''t paid for itself but it takes just one big emergency to wipe you out.

 

[Mara]

I don't know if it depends on the company you use but I have not been interested in it because it seems like it pays for so little. My GF has it and it hardly pays for anything and even during some emergencies it seems to not pay for it either or just pays some.

Plus for the amount per month it's kind of like ring insurance....what if you never use it and then you are just feeding the money in and it's floating away. I'd rather save that $$ and know you can take care of an emergency if it arises.

For the most part, if you've chosen a pet from healthy breed stock where they pay attention to breed problems and try to address them rather than further them, chances are you will be fine until they start to get older...then you will really be paying out the nose for treatment the longer you try to keep the dog alive. My girlfriend has an old dog, about 14 and since she was 11 she has been sick with one thing or another and it's something like $2-3k a year. I don't know if insurance would cover it at that age or not.

Yes, there are the odd hit or miss instances like when the dog eats something and you have to pay for XRays and then removal of something blocking something. But so far the most expensive stuff for P on a continual basis is her FOOD and TREATS monthly, not medical care. Knock on wood though. We did have to get her xrayed once when she was really sick and turned out she had something blocking which eventually passed (something she ate in the field probably), that was about $500.

Then we took her home and she passed it. Sheesh!

That said I probably would be interested in it if I could find a good policy where they covered emergencies and were reliable about it. But it seems like the people I know who have it just felt like it was a waste and that their company was hit or miss with what they did or did not pay.

 

[njc]

Thanks for everyones thoughts! Im starting to lean towards it because like Lorelei said if something were to suddenly happen, getting the money to pay for it would be a little tight at the moment. Maybe in a year or so money wouldnt be so tight and we could cancel it.

Mara - I feel all insurance is a waste until you need it. If i knew i could be good about putting the money aside that would go towards paying the insurance, i would, but im not!

WTNLVR - My co-worker gave me a brochure and it is for VPI Pet. She is getting it. Even at $22/month = $264/year MORE than pays for my co-workers $3500 bill! Did you use the coverage for your doggies when they were puppies for the spaying/nutering/immunization?

 

[AndyRosse]

NJC, I was considering pet insurance after having to bring Rascal to the emergency vet four times in the past year! In those visits, we have had two sets of x-rays done too. So you figure, each visit cost us approximately $250, so that''s $1000 right there in emergency vet fees. Not to mention the times when Rascal was sick during our vet''s regular business hours.

My only concern would be making sure I knew exactly what they would reimburse me for. Then I''ll make an educated decision. But if I see that all the things that we paid for are NOT covered, then like Mara said, I rather take $22 a month and save it for when something happens.

Also, I should note that Rascal is 8, and for the first 7 years of his life, we NEVER went to the emergency vet and only went to the regular vet for shots and annual exams, and of course for neutering. So, in the end, I think we are still ahead without the insurance (you figure for eight years we would have paid $2212 in premiums and probably only used $1000 maximum). But if you know that you couldn''t afford to pay a couple grand all at once for your dog''s illness or injury, then I would look into the pet insurance and exactly what it covers.

Good luck!

 

[E B]

njc,

We've actually got 2 insurance policies for Sally, our pug (avatar). We have her insured at Banfield (they're located in PetSmart, if there's one near you) and for $20/month, we have free unlimited vet visits, her spay was free, and her vaccinations are free. When she was a puppy, we were always taking her in for this or that, and we saved $600.00 the first 3 or 4 months alone. It was a lifesaver!

We also have her insured under Pet Care pet insurance for the bigger stuff (www.petcareinsurance.com). I shopped around and found this to be the best policy, ruling out VPI because I'd heard some bad things. When I wanted to have her food allergies tested, they said it'd be covered! I never had them tested, but was delighted to hear that something that specific would be taken care of. I wanted something that covered hereditary issues as well, which most policies don't. We pay $35 a month for the 100% coverage Gold Plan.