Pet Insurance

[Guest friedmaf]

Hi All,

 

I'm a new and proud GH owner. I've had Tovah for about 6 weeks now and we've already had two horrible accidents that landed us in the vets office. The first involved learning to walk up and down steps and the second was attempting to jump out of the car.

 

Since GHs seem to have very fragile little legs (or at least mine does), I wanted to know what you long-time owners feel about pet insurance. I've been looking at two different companies, and both seem to have annual premiums of about $450. I'm trying to figure out whether the cost is worth it, or if we are just having "settling in" issues.

 

Any feedback?

[Guest spider9174]

read the fine print. there are some companies that are better than others. i'm sure others here can give you better feedback on which companies to use.

 

i don't have insurance. i just try to put away a certain amount each month for future bills.

[Trudy]

Insurance is a gamble - up to you to decide if you want it or not. But be sure to read what it covers and what it won't cover and how much of what it covers.

 

Jet is my almost 9 year old girl. She's been to the vet for her normal once a year check-up and for a couple of quick stitches in her back and to sew up her foot after she degloved it. She has not been an expensive girl, total, probably around $1,000 for all her vet visits. I've had her almost 7 years.

 

Ryan is my 8 year old boy. He also goes for his normal once a year check-up. He is on 2 seizure meds for the rest of his life and has been on them for a few years. He's been to the vet for a very expensive belly ache (he ate a ball and 9 months later, the center of the ball managed to create a blockage... which he was able to finally work out on his own, but still had a bunch of tests done to figure out what was going on - toy didn't show on x-ray). He's been for a lump on his leg for more x-rays. And in the last 2 months, he's been to the vet weekly, sometimes 3x a week including specialists and MRIs and ultrasounds and all sorts of bloodwork. He's still got a few more vet visits to go in the next few weeks. Ryan is my expensive boy, this last illness alone will be about $5,000 - total for him is probably over $8,000. I've had him 5.5 years.

 

 

It's a crap shoot

[Guest plmadd123]

We just got VPI for our two. Our Bash trips over his own feet all the time and we didn't want something bad to happen without having something in place. I know a few people with greys and non-greys that have used the insurance and found it to be a lifesaver.

 

Patricia

[Guest snakes]

i'd say yes.

 

Wish i ahd it for my first, would ahve saved me a lot of money.

The 2nd, he's a cheap boy and we haven't ahd any issues yet.

3rd, already made back this years premium for something she ate.

 

I would now always vote for yes, especially in the first year or two you have them, until you know them, thier behavior, and their health.

 

FYI, they usually don't cover anything pertaining to previous injuries which would include anything having to do with the legs your boy has already hurt.

 

[Guest friedmaf]

i'd say yes.

 

Wish i ahd it for my first, would ahve saved me a lot of money.

The 2nd, he's a cheap boy and we haven't ahd any issues yet.

3rd, already made back this years premium for something she ate.

 

I would now always vote for yes, especially in the first year or two you have them, until you know them, thier behavior, and their health.

 

FYI, they usually don't cover anything pertaining to previous injuries which would include anything having to do with the legs your boy has already hurt.

 

Snakes, do you have VPI as well? That seems to be one of the more popular ones. Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions, but I'm assuming they wouldn't be as large as they are unless they have a lot of satisfied customers.....

 

Thanks for your responses. Since I've already paid for treatment for the first two accidents, I'm not really concerned with re-couping those costs. I'm just trying to limit the financial damages if our breaking in period becomes a trend (pardon the pun). As much as I totally love my new pup, it's already obvious that he's a little bit of a klutz. Add to that the fact that I'm a new dog owner with lots to learn, and I just feel as if we may have more trouble ahead.

[cmc333]

Check w/ VPI about pre-existing conditions. They could consider the fact that he has already had 2 vet visits for "leg injuries" as pre-exisiting and not cover any future injuries to his legs. They are VERY strict about pre-existing conditions. I had VPI on a couple of dogs, but I didn't really like it. It really did not pay much of the vet bills I had - of course, I lived in SoCal then and my vet was expensive, as is everything else. Depending on where you are and your costs, it might make more sense.

--Connie

[MP_the4pack]

VPI is a stinker on pre-existing conditions. My 3 yr old had ONE laceration. Lacerations are excluded. She had one visit for a tummyache. Gastritis is excluded.

 

However, my Pearl has a heart condtion and hypertension diagnosed after I got insurance..............they probably wish I'd never got insurance with them. I have maxed out with Pearl for the last three years.

 

Although I have not maxed out with Onyx (my 12 yr old), her insurance has definitely paid back her premium.

 

VPI will finally get some money off me with my 3 yr old. But I won't wait because every vet visit will result in another exclusion of some sort.

 

By the way............WELCOME!!

 

[Guest Ola]

I've decided against pet insurance and it that has been fine for us - we do have a credit card available though and wouldn't hesitate to use it if we needed to. Aside from an initial problem with Mayhem when we first got him (which cost close to $1000) my two have gone in mostly for annual wellness visits and the odd thing here or there.

 

What I have heard (though keep in mind that I don't use the insurance) is that it makes more sense to get a plan that covers accidental and otherwise large, high-deductible items. This keeps your premiums lower and still lets you use it for items that you wouldn't be able to afford (while paying out-of-pocket for the less expensive items). Annual vet visits and such are so regular that it's easy to budget for them. You do have to read the fine print for exclusions, pre-existing conditions, deductibles, and maximums though. Some companies even exclude certain conditions based on the dog's breed.

[Guest sheila]

I chose not to use insurance. The vet in my area charges very low fees compared to some of what I've seen on GT. He is also very willing to let me put things on a tab and pay off over time.

For example one time Kiowa had an allergic reaction to what we believe may have been a spider bite. For an after hrs call, an emergency tracheotomy, anesthesia, overnight stay, meds and follow up care the entire bill was about $350.

For another hound a dental and lump removal with diagnostics the bill was just over $200.

I just can't justify spending the money on premiums that are higher than my 2 highest vet bills to get a portion of it back.

[Guest greymommy]

I chose not to use insurance. The vet in my area charges very low fees compared to some of what I've seen on GT. He is also very willing to let me put things on a tab and pay off over time.

For example one time Kiowa had an allergic reaction to what we believe may have been a spider bite. For an after hrs call, an emergency tracheotomy, anesthesia, overnight stay, meds and follow up care the entire bill was about $350.

For another hound a dental and lump removal with diagnostics the bill was just over $200.

I just can't justify spending the money on premiums that are higher than my 2 highest vet bills to get a portion of it back.

 

Oh My! Keep that vet! No, send him to me!

 

My last visit, for example, was supposed to be for routine vaccination. Vet decided that, even though he is a nervous hound and we just moved to a new place, that his recent nervous behavior in our new home was likely medical. I agreed to an inhouse CBC (I"m no vet) to make sure he's healthy before giving him the shots. 20 minutes later she misinterpreted the results and decided to send off a blood smear request to iddexx to check it out. That alone (there was a second CBC and another test that she ordered without telling me about. Found them on the bill when I went home and dissected it), no vaccinations that day, was $350, and it was all for nothing since his results were actually within normal range on the original CBC. $350 out the door and nothing to show for it.

 

I have not had insurance yet on my pups, but I am researching this also b/c as a student right now...I would have to do some begging to be able to afford a catastrophic diagnosis. I agree it's a crap shoot. But I'd rather get it, not need it, and take the loss- than not get it, and need it...like in the case of a chronic, lifethreatening, or otherwise outrageously unaffordable diagnosis

[Guest anneh]

I just signed my two dogs up for gopetplan.com and it seems like the best. HSUS recommends it. VPI and others only offer a low per incident payoff but this one has a higher ceiling. I chose the bronze plan.

anneh

[Guest Nik]

I say yes.

 

I am going to have claimed and received over 1,500 UK pounds in vets fees this year, and the same again over the previous three. Mostly for my cats.

[Guest anneh]

I didn't go with them after all. Turned out they found reasons to say that both my dogs have pre-exisitng conditions. One was understandable but the other was debatable but it was their attitude that finished me off, acted like I had kept information from them which I hadn't done. I do not recommend them, I am looking into other companies. anneh

annehquote name='anneh' date='Dec 7 2007, 02:50 AM' post='3093327']

I just signed my two dogs up for gopetplan.com and it seems like the best. HSUS recommends it. VPI and others only offer a low per incident payoff but this one has a higher ceiling. I chose the bronze plan.

anneh