Pet Insurance

[winnie]

DH and I bought the VPI Superior Plan for both of our grey girls in February. Celeste's (3 y/o) annual premium is $228. Darcy's (6 y/o) annual premium is $291. We chose to pay for the entire year at once - cheaper than monthly installments.

 

A month later, Celeste bit Darcy's face in the yard resulting in a couple of staples/stitches. The total vet bill was $265. I submitted a claim to VPI and received back $145. Sure... it won't cover everything, but we got 1/2 of Darcy's annual premium paid for with that one claim.

 

We got the policies for peace of mind. Although you hope to never use it, at least we won't go broke if one of our greys need expensive treatments. We've been very pleased with VPI thus far. It's great if you can put away money into a savings account, but DH and I have never been particularly disciplined about saving for a rainy day.

 

ETA... I also have insurance on my horse through Great American. It's been GREAT! I pay about $500 per year. My mare tore a ligament about a week after I renewed my policy. They've covered all her treatments at 100% for a grand total thus far of over $2,000. I've only into my 2nd year on the policy and it's already paid for itself 2x over.

Edited April 14, 2007 by winnie

[MP_the4pack]

It's the best thing I ever did. I've maxed out on Pearl's claims the past two years and since I've just had a CT and dental done in addition to her regular cardiology exams, I'm sure we're going to max out this year too.

 

Onyx just had a tie-back surgery in Jan and major dental 2 weeks ago. If she has anymore claims this year, she's probably going to max out as well.

 

 

[Guest Vinnie]

We have VPI for Gracie (and had it for Vinnie). With the preventative and the cancer rider. about $33 per month. For Vinnie's cancer, they paid about 75-80% for diagnosis, amputation, chemo. The information states they pay within 30 days, and usually close to that. We feel it is worth it for the peace of mind. Both puppies had no prexisting conditions.

[Wendie]

I am seriously considering getting insurance from ShelterCare, which we qualify for since both hounds are from rescues.

 

The plans I'm looking at would be either $11 or $13 a month and while they don't cover routine care, they cover up to $2000 towards stuff like cuts, tears, bites, breaks, car injuries, stuff like that. I still haven't decided - I can't see putting out $70 a month on insurance instead of putting THAT into savings, but $22 to insurance to cover both dogs for the major things seems very logical....

[Guest redreeper]

I have VPI superior w/cancer and routine coverage. I pay about 83.00 a month for 2 greys, age 2 and 5. I posted that VPI will not be offereing the cancer coverage to any new members, will carry it over for previous members who have it already.

Since my dogs are very social (numerous events, therapy dog visits, fosters, etc.) it gives me peace of mind that they are covered in the case of an accident, attack, illness... and lets face it, with these guys even a small bite usually means stitches - no fur to cushion the blow!! If I had one and he was a "stay at home" guy it might not be as important but I know with my first grey I paid out well over 3k in one year for illness and a gum hemmorage (E-vet - yikes) and he was a stay at home guy.

I see a lot of cheaper policies out there but you should really check and see what is covered - Shelter Care only covered accidental if I remember correctly, and others had very high deductibles. In my experience, illness has been the highest $$$ to cover, so a policy that goes beyond accidental is very important to me. The "Routine' coverage hasn't been that useful, but its a few bucks back on meds and such, but I could take it or leave it.

[Guest snakes]

My senior girl that i had for 1.5 yrs i never had insurance for. It was almost $40/mo and i just put money away.

Well complications after an extraction led to vet bills 2-3k (i lost track). If i had had the insurance I probably would have saved at least 1k if not more, plus having peace of mind that if she suddenly was admitted at the evet it would be within my financial constraints.

 

My new almost 2yo, has it just for peace of mind until i know him and his health better!

I would suggest it for anyone for peace of mind and security when the sudden tragedy does strike.

[Guest grapecat]

I don't know what we would have done without Humphrey's pet insurance - we had only paid 2 or 3 months of premiums (the first two were free because he was a rescue dog) when he broke his leg, and his vet fees are somewhere around £2500 and counting now. We only have a £50 deductible so that is pretty amazing value!

 

In the UK I think pet insurance is pretty common - it costs us around £15 a month and that covers up to £5k per condition per year. I have heard there can be problems with some companies paying out, but our vets feel confident this shouldn't be a problem with ours, Petplan.

[Cynthia]

Most will never get back what is paid in premiums. It's a bit like the lottery and some will win but most will lose. And the cost will increase markedly as the dog ages. I did the numbers when I adopted my first dog and it just didn't make sense.

[Guest greyhounder]

We don't have pet insurance.. We have a credit card with a $10,000 limit. If there's an emergency we can use that but we wouldn't use it unless we couldn't pay the bill in cash. If we need it it's there.. if we don't need it, it's still there.

 

 

[Guest greywen]

Luckily i have pet insurance for Richard which originally cost £11 pounds a month(not sure how much that is in dollars), but because i have made so many claims last year it has gone up to £15.THe final bill for the treatment he has recieved this year will be about £1300 and insurance will cover £1000 , don't know how we would have afforded it without insurance.

[Guest LindsaySF]

No pet insurance here. A lot of my dogs have pre-existing conditions, and after looking at the fine print regarding what they would cover, it just didn't seem worth it.

[Trihounds]

Bumper had an "episode" that wasn't properly diagnosed the first time it occurred (prior to buying insurance). Low and behold, similar symptoms returned after buying insurance and the $6,000 bill to treat him the second time wasn't covered, citing 'similar symptoms / pre-existing'. Knew they would say that, but still a bummer. Insurance hasn't paid off for us yet but it is peace of mind.

[Guest eaglflyt]

We have Embrace Pet Insurance and love it. If you get insurance as soon as you get a new pet, it is a win-win situation. Our insurance has more than paid for itself ... actually, several times over.

[Guest TeddysMom]

I think it has a lot to do with where you live also. In FL. the vetting was really expensive and I did have it on my first rescued boxer but I never had to use it. I finally decided not to renew the coverage. When we moved here vet care is so much less expensive that it made more sense to take the money and put it in an account for pet care expenses and it earns interest. I do think that if you are going to buy pet insurance that you read the fine print carefully.

[Guest FastDogsOwnMe]

No, and I dont want it

[BertnLil]

I used to have VPI and every time I'd submit a claim, they would refuse the charges or only pay a tiny fraction, the fraction they paid was for "reasonable charges." I live in NJ, the charges for everything are unreasonable!!

[ChiliDog]

Just my 2cents (Canadian eh!)

 

I've got insurance (through Vetinsurance) for Logan and Joe and I had it for Ricochet.

 

Ricochet was with us 4 months before he succumbed to Osteo and they paid the whole shot except for the initial vet visit bill.

 

Ive never had to use it (thankfully) for Logan but when Joe was having his coughing problems and needed an echo and a tracheal lung wash (and then 21 days 2x a day of pills at $10 each for the pseudomonas) again they paid for everything except the initial vet visit.

 

I have not gotten it for Greta because it IS expensive (I pay over $90 monthly for the 2 hounds) and we got her at 10 years young. (even though they would have insured her) and I don't have it (yet) for Buffy.

 

 

Donna

[Guest Ref]

I'm very pleased with the insurance I have here in the UK. It saved me a fortune with Sarah and i'm sure it will with Ali. There are cheaper policies than the one I have (I pay around £40 per month - around $60) but my policy covers any illness for the life of the dog - some have a limit per illness or won't cover an illness beyond the year in which it was diagnosed. I have never had a problem with claims - a little slow perhaps but they have always paid every penny except the agreed excess. The premium only went up by a couple of £ each year and they are always amenable to reduce the increase if I ask.

[Guest mcsheltie]

We have too many dogs to make it economical. I have a Care Credit card instead. You can get 12 months no interest each time you use it. You just have to ask for that program at the vet's office before they are put thru the charge.

[Guest zoolaine]

We have too many dogs to make it economical. I have a Care Credit card instead. You can get 12 months no interest each time you use it. You just have to ask for that program at the vet's office before they are put thru the charge.

 

 

I believe Care Credit is changing their policy where now everything is no interest for 6 months. That is what my vet told me anyways. I think I am going with PetPlan - I can insure Briley, Luna, Zali, Jupiter, and Danica for about $120 a month. The good is that each dog gets $12,000 (or $20,000 depending on which plan I get) each year and it covers chronic conditions. The bad is that the only re-imburse specialist at 70% - but after seeing how much chemotherapy costs with Sunny, it would still be a tremendous help.