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A Poll On Pet Insurance


Insurance  

92 members have voted

  1. 1. Do you have health insurance for your greyhound?

    • Yes
      48
    • No
      44
  2. 2. I have insurance, and....

    • I think it's a waste of money!
      42
    • I'm glad I have it, it's worth if for the peace of mind.
      31
    • I'm glad I have it, I've gotten more than the cost back in reimbursements.
      19


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Next time I will get insurance. My animals are all too old now. The dogs are 9 & 10 and the cats are 7, 8 & 18.

 

Oh, thought I prob'ly wouldn't get insurance for the cats as in all the cats i've had I've never had a problem with their health until Jezebel died (at age 19.)

Tami, Nikki & Gypsy (non-greyhounds, but still pretty good dogs.) Deeply missing Sunscreen Man, Angel (Back on the Job), Switzler Festus and Joe (Indio Starr)

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Anyway, I just got a letter from them last week (we applied in November) They want to know where her vet records are for the past four years. WHAT? She's a retired racer do you expect me to go to Seabrook and get this info? So I am now going to call them back and explain what she did the last four years of her life. IDIOTS.

 

Huh? I just got VPI for our two girls. Celeste is 3 y/o and Darcy is 6 y/o. They didn't even ask for records on Celeste. They did ask for Darcy's records for the past 12 months. We've only had her two months. So, I sent them our adoption contract and the information from her first (and only) vet visit after we adopted her. They sent us the policy soon after. No problems...

Laura with Celeste (ICU Celeste) and Galgos Beatrix and Encarna
The Horse - Gracie (MD Grace E)
Bridge Angels Faye Oops (Santa Fe Oops), Bonny (
Bonny Drive), Darcy (D's Zipperfoot)

 

 

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  • 1 year later...
Guest lanielovesgreys

Seems to me that it didn't cover most of what would be HUGE expenses. If I put away that 50$ a month (or whatever it was) I wouldn't have to worry about what was covered or not and would probably be much more effective as pet insurance.

 

 

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Carl's premium was $296.00 total for 12 months. I have recouped that and more in reimbursements in the 4 months I've had the insurance. He had a run in with a branch and had to have staples in two places and was recently diagnosed with Pannus. Carl's insurance is PetFirst

Sunsands Doodles: Doodles aka Claire, Bella Run Softly: Softy aka Bowie (the Diamond Dog)

Missing my beautiful boy Sunsands Carl 2.25.2003 - 4.1.2014

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Guest lanielovesgreys

Related question: for those of you that HAVE insurance, what ISN'T covered? The one I got a quote from only covered 50% and didn't cover dentals.

 

 

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Lauren,

 

I had VPI on my cat, and it WAS a waste of money.

 

When VPI refused to insure George (his creatinine was outside of their "normal" range), I moved to ASPCA and got just what amounts to "major medical." Doesn't cover routine shots, etc., but for a lot less than I was paying before, it covers major problems.

 

You might look into that. Google "ASPCA Pet Insurance." I can't remember their web address!

 

I got coverage for George AND my cat for the same as I was paying for the cat at VPI.

 

Seems to me that it didn't cover most of what would be HUGE expenses. If I put away that 50$ a month (or whatever it was) I wouldn't have to worry about what was covered or not and would probably be much more effective as pet insurance.

 

Around here, $600 won't even come close to covering a major problem.


Hamish-siggy1.jpg

Susan,  Hamish,  Mister Bigglesworth and Nikita Stanislav. Missing Ming, George, and Buck

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Related question: for those of you that HAVE insurance, what ISN'T covered? The one I got a quote from only covered 50% and didn't cover dentals.

 

Here is a link to what they do cover (Carl is on the preferred plan): PetFirst Coverage

 

This is what they don't cover:

* Pre-existing conditions

 

* Elective procedures, cosmetic surgeries, including but not limited to tail docking, dewclaws, skin folds, nail trims, and cropping of ears

 

* Expression or removal of anal glands or anal sacculitis

 

* Breeding or conditions relating to breeding

 

* Special diets, pet foods, vitamins, mineral supplements, grooming costs and bathing (including medicated baths)

 

* Treatment of external parasites such as fleas, lice and ticks and preventable internal parasites such as heartworms, hookworms, roundworms, tapeworms and whipworms

 

* Orthodontics, endodonctics and removal of deciduous teeth

 

* Diagnostic test(s) and treatment(s) for conditions excluded or limited by this policy and complications of conditions excluded or limited by this policy

 

* Time and travel expenses to the veterinarian's premises or hospital

 

* Illness or injury which arises out of racing, coursing, commercial guarding or organized fighting of your pet

 

* Congenital or hereditary defects or diseases

 

* Continuous coverage of chronic and long term conditions that manifest in a previous policy year

 

* Behavioral problems

 

* During the first 12 calendar months in which your policy is in effect, no coverage will be extended for the diagnosis, medical management or surgical correction of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) or cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) damage or rupture.

 

Sunsands Doodles: Doodles aka Claire, Bella Run Softly: Softy aka Bowie (the Diamond Dog)

Missing my beautiful boy Sunsands Carl 2.25.2003 - 4.1.2014

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Guest DebSzal

This is such a timely thread for me. I have begun to explore my options after Gracie had to have her toe amputated due to an accident. Plus, I read so much about cancer here that I want to make sure I can do what I need to if the time comes. Does anyone have an estimate of an average cancer treatment cost with and without amputation? I realize that all costs vary, but some idea would help since all policies are different.

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I have PetCare insurance for Aquitaine. I signed up for it the week I got Morgaine and recouped the cost of the premiums when I lost her to the anuerysm/stroke. I have increased the policy for Aquitaine and it is $40 per month. So far I have not had to use it.

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I voted no and think it's a waste of money. When DH and I went through all the fine print and saw it would pay very little.

 

 

ROBIN ~ Mom to: Beau Think It Aint, Chloe JC Allthewayhome, Teddy ICU Drunk Sailor, Elsie N Fracine , Ollie RG's Travertine, Ponch A's Jupiter~ Yoshi, Zoobie & Belle, the kitties.

Waiting at the bridge Angel Polli Bohemian Ocean , Rocky, Blue,Sasha & Zoobie & Bobbi

Greyhound Angels Adoption (GAA) The Lexus Project

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Guest Vinnie

Ok - thought we would put in our :2c worth. Yes, we definitely have insurance, which we get through dh's employer at a slight discount - we have the full package including the cancer rider (thank goodness) through VPI. We got this the moment we found out we were going to be bringing our Angel, Vinnie home - he was all of 12 weeks old. The coverage was about $33 per month and gave us reimbursements for wellness too. At 11 months Vinnie gave the gsod while playing in the backyard - within the next two weeks we more than used up the amounts we had paid in on vet visits - when he was diagnosed with osteo - it gave us a chance to save him that may have made it more difficult if we didn't have the insurance. Almost everything was covered and reimbursed. Yes, you pay out the original amount but you are reimbursed within 30 days (as long as you turn in the claims). We would never change anything about what we did - but it sure made our decisions a lot less stressful, knowing that the coverage was there.

 

After Vinnie went to the Bridge, we brought his sister Gracie home at 15 months old - terrified in the back of our minds that we were going to go through it all again - needless to say, she was immediately put on the insurance plan, full coverage and now that we have Gus, we added him to our plan. There are other insurances out there and in fact I picked up an ASPCA form for you when I was at the vets office getting Gus' splint changed on Friday! I would say that the coverage for him is already paying for itself as well.

 

Granted we do not have insurance on our cats and it did hurt when we had to take our siamese, Rascal, in for dental & extraction of one tooth ($600), but he is 11 years old and this is probably the second time we have had to take him into the vets (1st time was to get fixed and they had front claws removed at vets suggestion). So for us, the cat insurance would not have been a good thing. We pay $33 each per mo (I think) for Gus & Gracie - which is so very worth it.

 

Everyone is different and every situation is different, and Gus' baby buddy, Chief, the tibetan mastiff just went through a pretty major surgery to correct a front leg bone that stopped growing. His people lost their pyrenesse (sp - sorry) the same time we lost Vinnie. They went through the chemo etc just not the amp and did not have insurance on him. They did put Chief on insurance though through the AKC.

 

And I remember the crazy bills you had for Grace after the boarder you had - I believe most of that would have all been covered and considered one incident so you would only pay out a "deductible" once and the rest would all be covered under the one diagnosis. Please feel free to ask me about it when you bring the pups over to play (Gus can't wait - cast does not slow him down at all - though he did have the start of a pressure sore and they added extra padding when they put the new splint on).

 

Give Grace & Fenway hugs and scritches. See you soon.

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Guest janiesmom

I live in Canada, in B.C., and I have had Vetinsurance for my Janey since she was two.

We were running weekly with other dogs at a controlled greyt fun run,asalwys a crapshoot whether they would be injured in some way,so not being a good $ saver I opted to go for the insurance plan.

Janey developed epilepsy when she was 6 and all her meds and tests are covered 90%.

She has also had several bouts of pancreatitis which is also covered 90%. Only thing that is not is her dentals, extractions (unless caused by an accident) and consultations. Since cancer and epilepsy are so prevalent in greyhounds I wanted the peace of mind. I have insurance, why not my dog?? It sure helps, I couldn't honestly afford her meds monthly.

Now she can get the top of the line medications and I get 90% back.

Heather and Janey

Vernon, B.C.

 

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Both Joe and Daisy have pet insurance through ASPCA Pet Health Insurance. Joe has the most basic plan which covers accidents and injuries (aka cuts, gouges, tears, etc) and it costs $9 a month. Daisy has one step higher and it costs $16.61 a month and it covers injuries and illnesses. Daisy has gotten stitches twice this year and Joe a few times too (it was a BAAD winter with getting hurt in the yard :() and the insurance has more than paid for itself time and time again - after the once a year $100 deductible, they cover 80% of the costs. I've been VERY happy with it.

Forever in my Heart Joe T Greyhound, Charly Bear, Angel Daisy, and Katze & Buzz Kitty.

 

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Timely thread for me! No one would touch Shanti with a 10 foot pole at this point, but I am considering it for Asti. Asti cracked a tooth a cut her mouth up. That alone was over $300. Right now I am paying TONS in vet bills. It hurts greatly. Our disposable income is eaten up and then some each month with vet bills. I am thinking $30-50 may be worth piece of mind!

 

I will research this more. This is great information!!!

The Girls

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Guest FullMetalFrank

I have VPI; we have had it going on 4 years now, I think? and never have needed to file a claim, and sometimes when the yearly renewal comes up and I am tempted by thoughts of "do we really NEED this?" I just think about what I would do if my dog suddenly broke a leg or some other devastating injury and I had to pay with no hope of any reimbursement. Ouch... For us it would put a financial strain and I don't want to be in that position. Vet costs in our area are on the lower end of the spectrum; so I am fairly sure our reimbursements would be close to a full 90% and it gives me great peace of mind knowing I have it should Frank need it. I can fit the monthly premium easily into my budget, a lot more easily than sudden vet bills.

 

Insurance is seldom "a good deal" for the consumer, if it was, they wouldn't sell it, LOL! My car insurance is such a huge ripoff but we are required by law to have it; my health isurance on the other hand, is a godsend and they most certainly lose money on me because I am an insulin dependent diabetic with health complications so I figure in the grand scheme of things I am probably going to break even at some point, and my mind will rest a lot easier even if I don't...

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Guest zoolaine

I enrolled my four in PetFirst last week. It cost $30 a month per dog but half of that will be reimbursed with the routine benefits. With my 3 non-greys I spent about $1600 over the past year - and now I've added Zali, so I think it will be beneficial

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Guest KRKWMU
This is such a timely thread for me. I have begun to explore my options after Gracie had to have her toe amputated due to an accident. Plus, I read so much about cancer here that I want to make sure I can do what I need to if the time comes. Does anyone have an estimate of an average cancer treatment cost with and without amputation? I realize that all costs vary, but some idea would help since all policies are different.

 

This is a great thread for me too. We are trying to decide which kind of coverage to get for Fixer and Gracey. Bonnie has lymphoma as a pre-existing condition, so obviously it wouldn't be worth it for her.

 

To tell you and everyone about our costs for Bonnie's lymphoma (Number 2 cancer in greyhounds, after osteo)...we've spent at least $5,000 since the diagnosis in February for the chemo and vet's visits. I'm not factoring in extra high-quality dog food, organic chicken, beef, PB, etc, and all of the little things. We've been spending about $500 a month the past several months. We had money in a savings account, but most of that is gone and we're starting to feel the strain. DH and I do not have any credit card debt, but we put Bonnie's charges on a card and pay it off at the end of the month.

 

If something serious happened to one of our other two or if Bonnie suddenly took a turn for the worse, we'd be in a serious world of hurt, financially. This is a situation where I think pet insurance would be worth it. We didn't know that we'd have a cancer dog...everything was going so well with their health. I wish we would have gotten the insurance a long time ago. I will be sitting down, going through the options, and getting policies for our other two greys right away. :colgate

 

edited to add a link to a good article-

Should You Buy Pet Insurance?

Edited by KRKWMU
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Guest shayla

I'm old enough to remember when health, dental and eye insurance wasn't the norm. I listened to my dentists rantings about how the prices would rise and how it would then cause many people to skip dental care because they couldn't afford the higher prices. By george, he was right!!!!!

 

I won't ever buy pet insurance because I believe it would drive the prices of vet care even higher. The high prices are driving my decision to not own pets after these guys are gone. (that would be a first in 50 years!!)

 

I even had a tech tell me the prices of one clinic were high because "pets are a luxury, you know!"

 

It's all very depressing to me. :(

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Guest AaronsMom

Thank you for the timely thread as well. Adopted Aaron in March. We've had 10 dogs between DH & I, and up to 4 dogs at one time before (we just had a 6 year hiatus without dog children) and really only had two problems of significant magnitude before. Previously this wasn't even an issue. Our current theory on things like electronics is not to pay for any additional coverage on anything for repairs... to take the risk and pay for the things that do break down. So far that has worked our to our advantage. But suddenly, I feel like I want to cover my boy, in the hopes that this is "money wasted" - e.g. he never needs it. Having gone through that hiatus, I am suddenly the overprotective mama....

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Guest Amber

I've voted that I've definitely got back more than the cost of the insurance!

 

Vet care is extremely expensive here in the UK (not sure what it's like in US) and the premiums are a few hundred pounds a year.

 

My dogs have cost thousands and thousands of pounds in vet care. Petra at the age of 7 had a cancerous growth on her toe and that came to about £2500. Oscar exceeded his £3000 insurance cover for arthritis treatment one year (septic arthritis, 'spa breaks' at the Vet School...you get the picture).

 

He now has an infected lymph gland and within 10 days we are up to £600.

 

It's OK to put it into a savings account - you may be lucky and not have big bills any time soon...but what I think is, if your financial situation is such that a $6000 vet bill would be impossible to pay upfront without getting into debt, then insurance is worth it.

 

 

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To tell you and everyone about our costs for Bonnie's lymphoma (Number 2 cancer in greyhounds, after osteo)...we've spent at least $5,000 since the diagnosis in February for the chemo and vet's visits. I'm not factoring in extra high-quality dog food, organic chicken, beef, PB, etc, and all of the little things. We've been spending about $500 a month the past several months. We had money in a savings account, but most of that is gone and we're starting to feel the strain. DH and I do not have any credit card debt, but we put Bonnie's charges on a card and pay it off at the end of the month.

 

edited to add a link to a good article-

Should You Buy Pet Insurance?

I cut some of your post out....but I'm actually still going over the insurance/no insurance situations in my head. So if there is only a $2,500 limit on the policy (per incident), you still have to pay another $2,500. It hurts either way. What if nothing major ever happens, then you've shelled out all this money for "piece of mind". I'm still wavering, as you can see. If I was going to get a policy, I'd get one with cancer coverage no matter what. Time to make those phone calls again as I never got insurance when Fenway arrived 1.5 years ago.

 

Adding...KRKWMU, I'm not asking you directly or trying to single you out...just posting a mostly rhetorical question. :)

Poppy the lurcher 11/24/23
Gabby the Airedale 7/1/18
Forever missing Grace (RT's Grace), Fenway (not registered, def a greyhound), Jackson (airedale terrier, honorary greyhound), and Tessie (PK's Cat Island)

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Guest KRKWMU

I understand your dilemma. I'm right there with you. That article was good. The author said that a few years ago she never ever recommended pet insurance. But now with the medical advancements, the vet's charges are much more costly. She also wrote something that kind of stuck with me...that if you are a pet owner who would do anything to save a pet, you are a candidate for pet insurance. ;) I think most of us on GT are in that category.

 

I'm not asking a company to reimburse me 90% for all of the decisions we make regarding our pet's care. It certainly would have been nice to know that we had some cushion during a tough time though. (And, when that terrible diagnosis comes, it's already a very difficult and stressful time, mentally and physically). :(

 

DH and I have good jobs and had some extra money set aside. We're not wealthy, by any stretch of the imagination, or have an unlimited budget. It's a tough decision. Extra monthly expense (which I'm not looking forward to) or a very big expense possibly down the road. :dunno

Edited by KRKWMU
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Guest snakes

I have two greys and for the first year of having them i had insurance on both. One i made half the money back, the other i made all and a little more back. The one i got all the money back is because we had one e-vet trip that the reimbursement was worth the yearly cost and that trip required no surgery.

 

What i have come to realize and recommend to others is that for at least the first year of owning a pet, get insurance, you have no idea what sort of trouble they will get into and that is when you get a full idea of their personality. Beyond that you can choose based on the pet. Now that i have had mine a year i'm renewing it on my trouble maker and putting money aside for the other in a savings account.

 

One other note, i had a senior who i never got insurance for. After she got sick to the tune of just over $2000 in 2 months, i compared what i would've saved in having insurance for two years for her, i actually would have come out about the same if not more money out because the premiums for 9yo and older were so outrageous.

 

Good lcuk!

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Guest zoolaine
To tell you and everyone about our costs for Bonnie's lymphoma (Number 2 cancer in greyhounds, after osteo)...we've spent at least $5,000 since the diagnosis in February for the chemo and vet's visits. I'm not factoring in extra high-quality dog food, organic chicken, beef, PB, etc, and all of the little things. We've been spending about $500 a month the past several months. We had money in a savings account, but most of that is gone and we're starting to feel the strain. DH and I do not have any credit card debt, but we put Bonnie's charges on a card and pay it off at the end of the month.

 

edited to add a link to a good article-

Should You Buy Pet Insurance?

I cut some of your post out....but I'm actually still going over the insurance/no insurance situations in my head. So if there is only a $2,500 limit on the policy (per incident), you still have to pay another $2,500. It hurts either way. What if nothing major ever happens, then you've shelled out all this money for "piece of mind". I'm still wavering, as you can see. If I was going to get a policy, I'd get one with cancer coverage no matter what. Time to make those phone calls again as I never got insurance when Fenway arrived 1.5 years ago.

 

Adding...KRKWMU, I'm not asking you directly or trying to single you out...just posting a mostly rhetorical question. :)

 

 

I just enrolled in the PetFirst with a $2500 per incident limit and something like $10,500 per year limit. So yes if my vet bill was $5000 for one injury/accident I would have to pay anything over the $2500. PetFirst has another policy that covers up to $3500 per incident. The cool thing with PetFirst is that it is a group policy so it makes it cheaper if you have multiple dogs. The dogs share the $10,500 per year but each gets $220 per year in routine coverage. I figured I will use most of the $220 so when you figure that it comes to around $14 a month per dog for the accident/injury/"piece of mind" coverage. I have to pay a $50 deductible per incident and a 10% co-pay. I also looked at PetsBest and PetPlan insurances which also seem to have good plans. I take mine in for their yearly exams on July 30th and expect to get $400-$500 reimbursed.

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