Pet Insurance?
1. Is it worth it? 2. What are the top companies? 3. What should we expect to pay per month? It seems like VPI and Petplan offer the most cost effective plans for what we need. I didn't know if you guys had any advice. |
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| I have the insurance from AKC. I think its called pet Partners? If you go in their site, its under insurance....I LOVE the plan. There is a choice of coverage and you can select which one suits your needs and budget. I have the basic plan for my male which just covers illness, emergencies, etc. Not wellness visits. I ahve the wellness plan for my female - only because I got it when she was a puppy and they paid for all her shots, spaying, and well visits as a puppy. I can tell you they pay back about 80 to 90 percent of my costs. I have to pay the vet and fill out their claim form and vet has to sign. I submit and usually get reimbursed within a few weeks. I am extremely happy with them. Unlike some plans, they don't nickel and dime you - once they denied a claim because I had cut my dog accidently while attempting to get out a matt. I resent the claim with the explanation that this was not a regular grooming accident and the matt had sticky stuff in it and i was trying to cut it out and nicked him, resulting in a trip to the ER and 6 stitches and a bill of like 650 bucks....They then sent me reimbursement! Check into the different plans and ask around. I think its a great thing. You want to be able to give your pet your pet when he needs in an emergency. |
| I dont personally have pet insurance, but that could be because the quotes I have found for my three are stupidly high or I havent flirted enough!! So what I do now is I have a credit card that is just for the animals and anything that they need to have done at the vets is put on there and then I pay it off. The interest rate is low and I pay no monthly charge for owning the card. The puppies have 6 weeks free pet insurance from the Kennel Club when they left here, mine excluded. I do advise all puppy owners to take out insurance, if they feel the need or indeed keep a credit card for just the animals or indeed have a savings account which acts as a tomorrow pot. Have you tried the equivant of www.moneysupermarket.com and gocompare.com? - I am not sure where you are in the world. Fingers crossed none of us will need the insurances. |
| We have VPI and the cost was $26 for the first dog and $24 for the second per month. Given my experience with dogs and vet bills, this will have paid for itself after the first big issue. I should add that my vet was VERY glad to hear we had this. He said this will help making decisions later when the time comes. He said they're pretty easy to work with in many cases. Vance |
| I'll tell you up front that if you end up having a healthy dog, insurance is a total waste of money. The question is this... Is there any way to know for certain you'll have a healthy dog? You can improve the odds of getting a healthy dog but there are not guarantee because we're dealing with life. Eggbert wrote: 1. Is it worth it? I think these are some the important questions to ask yourself when trying to decide whether insurance is right for you... 1. How will I pay for necessary medical care? Ask your vet the cost of some more common problems... maybe like surgery for swallowing a sock, hip dysplasia, pancreatitis. 2. Will my vet allow me to make payments? The time to ask is before emergency care is needed because many won't. 2. Can I cover a $1,000-$2,000 medical bill? 3. If there was a medical condition that required $5,000 or more, can I still come up with the funds? 4. What happens if there is more than one medical condition or medical emergency or a condition that requires continuing care? Can I take #3 and double or, heaven forbid, triple it? 5. Do I want to at least have the option to pursue medical care? 6. How far would I want to go if odds were good my dog could be fixed/cured or would I be more apt to euthanize anyway? There is no "right" or "wrong" answer here... it's being realistic. Care can require an unbelievable amount of time and it's just not possible for some people to do because of life's obligations. No one goes in expecting big vet bills when they bring in that new puppy but that's the best time to take out a policy... long before the dog has any health problems that might prevent him/her from otherwise obtaining coverage. Chances are you will never experience what we have with Bumble's food allergy (maybe other allergy too), recurring staph skin infections and his diagnosis last month of a rare condition. Let's just say that some would gasp if they knew how much medical care he's required in about 2 1/2 years time. Eggbert wrote: 2. What are the top companies? Bumble's Embrace Pet Insurance policy http://www.embracepetinsurance.com/default.aspx pays 80% of the covered expenses. It's a higher end policy that has a $10,000 annual limit, $50,000 lifetime limit, $200 deductible, 20% co-pay. His chylothorax surgery and immediate aftercare last month totaled about $7,400. I received checks for just under $6,000 a few weeks ago... exactly as the policy says it will pay. There's another $940 currently pending... and we aren't done.  His prescribed diet of ostrich @ $4.50 per pound is not covered by his insurance but I knew that going in. Eggbert wrote: 3. What should we expect to pay per month? I think it's around $40 per month... I can't look it up right now. You can calculate a quote online. Yup, I'm a huge proponent for pet health insurance... but always read the terms carefully so you know the coverage you're buying. There are lots of things to consider when selecting a policy but that's another topic. Note that catastrophic care coverage (higher deductibles) may also be a good option for some to keep premiums down but have coverage in place should a major health incident occur. http://www.embracepetinsurance.com/cove ... ophic.aspx |
| We us petplan they are worth it. Bloo and the 2 cats are insured with them. My one cat has had heart problems, asthma, lung ops and about 4 operations..hes been really poorly..we havent had to pay anything and all the treatment..inhallers etcc..are paid for. They have been really good and we have claimed loads from them! We would have had to put ziggy down if it wasnt for mom having the insurance as we hadnt got a spare £2,000 for vet bils. The insurance is to help ongoing vet treatment/injuries when your pet gets ill, its best to insure just incase something does happen e.g ziggy, and out of hours vet bills! (£300)plusovernight stays, oxgyen. Stay on the safe side  |
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