Pet Insurance

[Guest aowam]

I have yet to take my fresh adoptee to the vet for just a baseline checkup. Just out of curiosity, does anyone think that pet insurance is worth it?

[PatricksMom]

Well, I just ran up a $3500 vet pill.

 

I'm curious what folks w/pet insurance think about how much would have been covered--that was for hospital admission, neuro-consults, constant labwork, ultraound/x-rays, and a batter of medications.

 

When I looked into it 10 years ago, there was pretty much just VPI and people were reporting it didn't cover much despite promises, but now I'm definitly considering it with my next dog.

[MP_the4pack]

A year after I got insurance on my Bridge girl Pearl, she was diagnosed with heart disease. A year later hypertension.

 

We maxed out on our insurance claims for 4 yrs. I'm betting the insurance company wished they hadn't insured her. They ended up paying thousands towards her bills over the years.

[Feisty49]

I've got it and am glad. I haven't had to use it yet, but no doubt there will be a time when I will.

[Guest snowmo18]

We had insurance on our sweet boy Apollo, within 18 months of adopting him, he had major issues..multiple vet visits, specialists, etc..ended up having spinal cancer at age 4 and we lost him to it. Bills were around $5,000...so well worth it as we would not have been able afford it

 

We also have it for our current boy Raider, not your typical greyhound and is a big goof to say the least, so we figured his risk of injury is worth it.

 

I did a lot of research on it and I dont think I would recommend doing the preventative insurance (pays for checkups and vaccines), the cost difference didnt seem like we would be saving any money that way.

[NeylasMom]

Well, I just ran up a $3500 vet pill.

 

I'm curious what folks w/pet insurance think about how much would have been covered--that was for hospital admission, neuro-consults, constant labwork, ultraound/x-rays, and a batter of medications.

 

When I looked into it 10 years ago, there was pretty much just VPI and people were reporting it didn't cover much despite promises, but now I'm definitly considering it with my next dog.

It depends a lot on the company and plan you choose, but mine would have paid for everything except the exams/consult fees less my deductible and then paid out at the % I chose. Because I chose mine more with the intent of covering major incidents/accidents I chose an annual ded of $250 (you can usually choose between $0 and $500) and a reimbursement of 80% (you can usually choose 80, 90, or 100%). So if $500 of the bill was consults or exam fees, I would have gotten about $2200 back.

 

Right now, because Violet is young, my premium is just under $30/mo or $360/yr. Of course that will go up over time (technically according to their policy not because of age but because of increasing veterinary costs in my area).

 

Premiums can he much higher depending on the company, deductible, and reimbursement you choose. Also, some offer preventive care plans, some don't and some cover holistic treatments and some don't, because most don't cover preventive care, dentals are not covered. While Healthy Paws, who I chose has an annual deductible, some companies offer a lifetime deductible per incident (i think Trupanion does this) so there are a lot of factors to consider when comparing prices.

 

I've had VPI in the past and wouldn't choose them again, far too complicated and particular about what they cover and again, I really just wanted insurance against ssomething major that would be very expensive. I don't want or expect to cover typical annual medical expenses.

[Guest Angelique]

Keep this thread going, i will be looking into it for my boy once i am back in the US. Any pointers/advice would be great.

[carronstar]

I have had it on Aquitaine since the day I got her and it has been great. Between an accident, an attack, and this year's emergency splenectomy all claims have been paid quickly and the customer service has been great. I have 24PetWatch and while the monthly fee has gone up about $2 per month each year as she has aged, that is reasonable. I have the QuickCare 70 plan. For my next pup (hopefully quite a few years in the future) I will likely upgrade the plan simply because the emergency splenectomy paid out the max on her blood and lymph system and I want to be sure to have a higher coverage in case I ever face that again.

[OwnedBySummer]

I had it on a previous non-grey (I adopted him at 10, in poor condition, so it seemed like a good idea) and I really appreciated it. I had full coverage on him at about $75/month.

 

After Summer's second visit to the e-vet in the first few months I got her, I realized that I had a "special" houndie. So I got insurance for her, too, as comprehensive as possible. I have unlimited coverage and zero deductible, at about $100/month.

[racindog]

Its been worth it to me. I had Pet First for years -and they were good-but the maximums were too low. I now have Healthy Paws-no incident maximum etc.- and have not made a claim yet so I don't know how they are. But having insurance has certainly been financially beneficial to me overall. Could have saved myself thousands if I'd have gotten it even sooner!

Edited March 27, 2012 by racindog

[NeylasMom]

I just want to add that there have been several threads in H&M already on pet insurance that have some really useful information on how to pick the plan that's right for you. I posted a spreadsheet in one where I compared the major company's plans and there was one that had really useful links to some comparison sites that basically do a better job of what I tried to do.

 

The other thing to keep in mind, most companies do not cover pre-existing conditions so it's in your best interest to get the policy earlier on before your dog has any medical issues. Some will require notes from your first exam to rule anything out and most have a short wait period for accident claims (so you can't sign up for it the day your dog is injured and hope to get reimbursed).

[greyhead]

I had it on a previous non-grey (I adopted him at 10, in poor condition, so it seemed like a good idea) and I really appreciated it. I had full coverage on him at about $75/month.

 

After Summer's second visit to the e-vet in the first few months I got her, I realized that I had a "special" houndie. So I got insurance for her, too, as comprehensive as possible. I have unlimited coverage and zero deductible, at about $100/month.

Summer's insurance sounds perfect. Who is the company?

[NeylasMom]

I had it on a previous non-grey (I adopted him at 10, in poor condition, so it seemed like a good idea) and I really appreciated it. I had full coverage on him at about $75/month.

 

After Summer's second visit to the e-vet in the first few months I got her, I realized that I had a "special" houndie. So I got insurance for her, too, as comprehensive as possible. I have unlimited coverage and zero deductible, at about $100/month.

Summer's insurance sounds perfect. Who is the company?

You can meet those criteria with more than one company, fyi. Shop around. A lot of people on here seem to like Trupanion, I chose Healthy Paws. Both have unlimited coverage and let you choose your deductible.

[seeh2o]

Its been worth it to me. I had Pet First for years -and they were good-but the maximums were too low. I now have Healthy Paws-no incident maximum etc.- and have not made a claim yet so I don't know how they are. But having insurance has certainly been financially beneficial to me overall. Could have saved myself thousands if I'd have gotten it even sooner!

me, too, exactly the same companies and situation.

[Riverhound]

We're very happy with Trupanion! Makes it reasonable to take Joe to the vet every time I *think* there might be a problem.

[Guest Fasave]

Also a former VPI user and would not recommend even though they paid me more than I paid them over the life of the policy with my first two greys. My current two greys (ages 6.5 & 3.5) are now on Embrace. I chose Embrace because it covers holistic alternatives (acupuncture, chiropractic, etc) which some other companies don't or do at an extra cost. My current policy is a $300 annual deductible and a 10% co-pay for which I pay about $100/month for both pups combined. I thankfully haven't had to submit any claims yet but times I've contacted them with policy questions, they have been very good. I have only had my 3.5 year old for two months. I got him covered the day I brought him home and took him in for a wellness and ortho check a week later. This established any pre existing conditions (thankfully none) and reduced the ortho wait time from 6 months to 2 weeks.

[Guest DragonflyDM]

I purchased Trupanion because of the reviews, but haven't used them yet. Hopefully they will give me the great service that the other internet people have had.

[PatricksMom]

The other thing to keep in mind, most companies do not cover pre-existing conditions so it's in your best interest to get the policy earlier on before your dog has any medical issues. Some will require notes from your first exam to rule anything out and most have a short wait period for accident claims (so you can't sign up for it the day your dog is injured and hope to get reimbursed).

 

See, this is why I didn't buy VPI in the first place. Are companies now being pretty good at covering unrelated issues without blaming everything on the pre-existing condition? So many of our hounds come off the track with thyroid issues and I've even heard of osteo claims being turned down.

[JohnF]

I've used Pet Plan for many years opting for their middle policy that covers the whole lifespan of the dog. It isn't cheap, but it does also offer £2 million ($3.5M $US) third party claims for accidents etc. They'll even pay the vet up front (or on instalments) so there's no need to bridge the cost via a card or anything.

It's kind of better than setting a sum aside because you cannot 'waste' it on a holiday or a car, it's always there for the dog even if you are away.

[KF_in_Georgia]

I had VPI for Jacey. Her last illness (platelet disorder) cost me $4500 over four days, and VPI paid about $1100--less than 25 cents on the dollar. While many plans pay 90% of your expenses (after your deductible), VPI pays only 90% of their "allowable charges"--and they often don't allow a reasonable amount.

 

Then I got Silver, a stray picked up by animal control. I didn't have a year's worth of medical records for her, so they called the vets who'd seen her. Mind you, she'd been picked up in rough condition, but VPI disallowed any claims on her legs (she has a bad tendon on one leg, but they were going to rule out any future injuries, which I thought was unreasonable) and any claims for arthritis (an x-ray to rule out cancer on the bad leg revealed early-stage arthritis) or skin trouble/allergies (she had sarcoptic mange--not allergies--but that wasn't diagnosed properly so VPI ruled out allergies just in case).

 

She didn't have a lot of parts left to insure.

[NeylasMom]

The other thing to keep in mind, most companies do not cover pre-existing conditions so it's in your best interest to get the policy earlier on before your dog has any medical issues. Some will require notes from your first exam to rule anything out and most have a short wait period for accident claims (so you can't sign up for it the day your dog is injured and hope to get reimbursed).

 

See, this is why I didn't buy VPI in the first place. Are companies now being pretty good at covering unrelated issues without blaming everything on the pre-existing condition? So many of our hounds come off the track with thyroid issues and I've even heard of osteo claims being turned down.

I haven't had to make any claims for Violet with Healthy Paws yet, but I really haven't had issues with VPI covering my claims. Occasionally they've asked for medical records, but when I can (for instance when we see a specialist and they give us a report anyway) I send them along with the claim form. Osteosarcoma is technically only covered by VPI with a biopsy to confirm the diagnosis, but I contacted them and explained we would not be doing one because of the risk of fracture so they accepted a letter from our radiation oncologist with his interpretation based on the x-ray that it was very likely osteo. From then on we received reimbursement for everything without issue. I actually have in general been pretty pleased with them. I don't like their overall set up, but when I signed up, there weren't other options and they can sometimes take a little while to process your claim and mail your check, but it's not absurdly unreasonable.

 

Anyway, maybe others can speak better to your concerns about pre-existing conditions, but I've never had them try to deny a claim for that reason. Pre-existing doesn't mean your dog is prone to it because of his breed or history, it means there is evidence that the dog had the condition before you signed up for pet insurance, and I've never tried to get reimbursement for anything like that.

[Guest sirsmom]

I don't know how they are now but a few years back on CNN the 'expert' said it is better to open a savings account (force yourself) just for your pet when it is young and put in a percentage of earnings every 2 weeks and you wil come out ahead rather than dealing with pet insurance co's. This advice may be good for an average dog, but dealing with cruciate ligaments etc in greys my opinion it is probably better just to take out insurance, if the company is a good one. I wonder if consumer reports would have any ratings.

[NeylasMom]

I don't know how they are now but a few years back on CNN the 'expert' said it is better to open a savings account (force yourself) just for your pet when it is young and put in a percentage of earnings every 2 weeks and you wil come out ahead rather than dealing with pet insurance co's. This advice may be good for an average dog, but dealing with cruciate ligaments etc in greys my opinion it is probably better just to take out insurance, if the company is a good one. I wonder if consumer reports would have any ratings.

I thought a lot about this before signing Violet up for Healthy Paws, or is it Pets, I don't even freaking remember right now. Anyway, when I adopted Neyla and even Zuri, I wasn't particularly good about saving money. I also naturally had a lower income than I do now, and had just purchased a condo (so I could finally adopt ). So pet insurance was a no brainer to me.

 

By the time I adopted Violet last year, that was no longer the case. I had paid off all of my debt and was living on a budget, which includes putting a significant amount of money into savings every month so I had to really weigh whether it was worth it, especially after having Zuri for 5 years and making virtually NO claims because luckily he's been very healthy.

 

Still, I am only paying $30 month (and figure that will get up to about $50-60/mo when she is much older) for the reassurance that I will be able to afford the care I need if she gets really sick. I don't have all of the calculations I did at the time in front of me, but just quickly re-estimating based on a 10% increase in her monthly payment each year, I will have paid less than $3500 into her policy by the time she's 10 (she's 2 now). Now granted I've chosen a deductible and copay that are slightly higher to save money on premiums so if she gets very sick or has a serious injury I will pay more out of pocket than if I had paid more into it throughout her lifetime, but $3500 is nothing. That could be gone in the blink of an eye with one illness or injury. So in my opinion, it's worth it knowing I will not have to deny her medical care for financial reasons.

 

I still also put a certain amt of money per month aside for routine medical expenses which I can anticipate the cost of (annual exam & blood work, HW test, flea/tick/HW preventative, etc.) as well as an amt of money per month for other medical costs (small things that I can't claim through insurance or that won't reach the deductible, and the deductible/copays themselves if there is a serious incident). To me, this was a more balanced approach, rather than wiping out my savings in one fell swoop and then struggling to rebuild it before another dog gets sick.

[OwnedBySummer]

I had it on a previous non-grey (I adopted him at 10, in poor condition, so it seemed like a good idea) and I really appreciated it. I had full coverage on him at about $75/month.

 

After Summer's second visit to the e-vet in the first few months I got her, I realized that I had a "special" houndie. So I got insurance for her, too, as comprehensive as possible. I have unlimited coverage and zero deductible, at about $100/month.

Summer's insurance sounds perfect. Who is the company?

 

She has Trupanion and I've had NO trouble with them whatsoever. My previous boy had PetCare and I had no difficulty with them, either.

[greyhead]

My guys are too old and too "preexisting" to get insurance now. But next time we adopt, for sure.