Pet Insurance?
This is my first post here on the forum, I've been reading for about 2 months now and am preparing for my new pup to come home to me in February (he was just born on Christmas day, December 25). I am very interested to hear your opinions on the different pet insurance companies and which you might have yourself. I learned the hard way that I should have gotten pet insurance in the past when my darling kitty, Buckley, (only 5 years old), struggled with a terminal illness and eventually passed away in August. I spent thousands of dollars trying to help him and really put myself in debt because I couldn't bear not to try and help him. I would like to avoid this scenario in the future by preparing with pet insurance. Any helpful advice would be great. Thanks so much and I really enjoy the wealth of knowledge on this forum and look forward to being a more active participant once my puppy comes home. ~Erika |
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| I believe there are some links on the oes.org main page in regards to pet insurance.... I think it's a great idea... but compare companies to see exactly what would or would not be covered. Also check with your vet to see what they recommend. |
| Hi,
I remembered this post today when I was at the vets office and picked up 2 flyers thinking of you. Just arrived home so haven't had a chance to go over them but I'll try to give you some info tomorrow. Welcome to this forum! |
| Hi,
I apologize for neglecting to post this information so here goes: I found two flyers at my vets office to let the other members on this forum check them out regarding insurance. http://www.vetinsurance.com 24 hour operator at 1 877-838-7887 This one is determined by the age of your pet but claims kittens are 19.50 and pups 26.80 It covers 3 rd party property damage at 25,000 Holiday cancellation 1,000 Advertising for missing pets 500 Cremation or burial cost 100 I have not looked at the site as just picked up the flyer but this may be a Canadian company. The other is Petplan info@petplan.com 1 800 268 1169 This one claims there is no age limit, one detuctible and lifetime coverage The fees depend on whether you get standard, ribbon, medallion or Champion coverage. The fees range from 31.45 for standard up to 71.95 for champion and the other fees range inbetween. I suspect this too may also be a Canadian company. Perhaps other members have more info regarding their insurance in the US. One thing I want to mention is since I've had so many pets all my life I've never personally used insurance as the monthy fees for my 7 would far exceed what I could afford monthy..but I would probably do it if I had one pet. I did read something interesting one time on MSN news and it had a small blurb which asked if pet insurance was worth it. The reply was, not necessarily as if you put the monthly payment away yourself ..you would also have the funds needed in case of emergency. Hope this helps and I'd like to hear of anyone else's views that has coverage for their pets. Marianne and the boys |
Thanks Marianne for replying! I'm surprised that more people don't seem to have pet insurance. I think I'll do a better job of making sure I'm not going to run into trouble if I get some pet insurance rather than deplete all my savings as I did with the unexpected illness of my (now) late cat  I've done a bit of comparison shopping online but was truly hoping to hear some first hand accounts off this board. If not, I'll take my chances and let you know how it works out for me. *knock on wood that I don't find out too quickly (I want a 100% healthy puppy, please!)* |
| We have PetCare Pet insurance, the basic plan. It covers up to $2K for each first time occurance of most "events". You should definately have it. Since September, Pooh has gone to the ER Vet for a GI issue ($400) a massive flea attack ($250) and then an intestinal blockage ($2300) For the first 2, we didn't have the insurance. For the blockage, thankfully, we did.
www.petcareinsurance.com Called Quickcare. Its worth the $10/month! |
| Met (MetLife) also offers pet insurance. i haven't checked into their specifics, yet, as my husband's employer has just started offering insurance through Met.
1-800 GET-MET8 or www.metlife.com/mybenefits |
| I just looked at the quick care, sounds good to me, and the cheapest I've seen. Its good to hear that someone has had a good experience with them. I may give them a shot......Thanks for the good info. |
| Hey Brenda, Met is a partner with PetCare. They have a few different levels of coverage. You can go to www.metlifepets.com or www.petcareinsurance.com. It is a PETCO company.
Quick Care First is $10.75/month Quick Care is $9.95/month First covers $1k across the board while Care covers $2k for some things and only $500 for others. It's a tough call to figure out which to go with. In my personal opinion, go with care as surgery is expensive!!! |
| My sister has Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI) for Mosi. It's quite a bit more expensive than the Pet Care costs indicated by Josh - but her plan covers preventative care as well (so maybe that's the difference). It would seem the Pet Care would be the way to go - only $10 month!
She got hers only after Mosi had two surgeries ($3500+) for an intestinal blockage and long hospitalization. It has covered his neutering as well as routine yearly appointments (not in full but quite a bit) and a recent surgery for cyst removals.
Usually, they will NOT cover anything relative to genetic problems (hip dysplasia, liver shunts, etc.) - from what I've been told. (Just keep that in mind) Mosi's insurance will not cover anything relative to his abdomen / intestines due to his pre-existing condition / problem. Kristen |
| I had VPI for Kayli for years, just the basic plan. It started at $10 a month and when I cancelled last year it had just gone up to $30 a month.
This plan did not cover the basics and also excluded common things like Kristen said above. Kayli has luxating kneecaps on her hind legs and that isn't covered - luckily (tongue-in-cheek) she tore a tendon and the insurance covered the surgery for both issues on that leg. I've been putting the $30 aside since I cancelled and it adds up fast.For only $10 a month, I think I'll check out the Quick Care for future reference. J |
| The $10 premium only appears to cover accidents not illness.
For full coverage for a sheepdog (a select breed for additional premium) soars to $27 (you pay 30% of the medical bill) to $46 (for 100% coverage) plus $75 deductible. VPI is $28 for superior coverage with routine care and vacs. Standard is $20. Unless I am misssing something, VPI (in my ZIP code) seems to be the better deal. (if they cover without exclusions that could fill a phone book) |
| Wow, thanks for all the replies! I am definitely leaning toward VPI since illness is the thing I am most concerned about. |
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