Health Insurance - Worth It?

[Guest lucylei]

I would have thought there was a thread like this already but I can't seem to find one.

 

I'm wondering if it's worth it getting Pet Insurance. Must admit, I was surprised to see how high the premiums are for my area!

 

Opinions? Experiences? Recommendations?

[krissy]

Depends on your thinking. I'm a vet and I have pet insurance. Kili is 7 months old and has run up over $7000 in bills. Thanks to insurance I've only had to pay not quite 1K of that. Totally worth the premiums for the peace of mind. Whenever her specialist said we needed to do something I just nodded. Do it.

[Guest lucylei]

Depends on your thinking. I'm a vet and I have pet insurance. Kili is 7 months old and has run up over $7000 in bills. Thanks to insurance I've only had to pay not quite 1K of that. Totally worth the premiums for the peace of mind. Whenever her specialist said we needed to do something I just nodded. Do it.

Do you have a specific provider you would recommend?

[Time4ANap]

Most of the threads about Pet Insurance are found by searching on the name of the company or policy your are considering. The discussions are usually about the product itself, not whether or not it's worth it.

 

Most people here who use it are are always glad they have it when there's a major expense.

[OwnedBySummer]

I have it on Summer. I also had it on a previous dog that I adopted from a shelter when he was 10 and starving (with no idea of his history, I didn't want any surprises). I will always insure my dogs. The type of plan you choose is up to you, of course, but be sure to read the thing very carefully.

[RedHead]

In my opinion, yes it is worth it. I just signed up and it has taken a big pressure off of me knowing that if there is an emergency, I can just say "yes" to the best treatments. The BEST time to get it is when your dog is younger, new and has yet to have many accidents or vet visits (companies charge more for older dogs, and also can take prior vet visits as "pre-existing conditions" ).

 

I did quite a bit of research, and decided on Trupanion. It seemed to be the best fit, from what I researched I am paying a slightly higher fee per month than some of the other companies, but for that fee I am getting unlimited coverage, instead of a couple of thousand per year which a lot of the other companies had for a comparable price.

 

Premiums seem much higher here than in the U.S. I have a $500 deductible and pay around $60/month. They cover 90% of the cost.

[jaym1]

Please see my thread on osteosarcoma in this forum. I have Healthy Paws. It is, without a doubt, the best insurance company. A cumulative (not per-incident) annual deductible that is very low. No lifetime or annual limits on coverage. And they cover everything except for the basic exam fee.

 

My dog, Tempo, was just diagnosed with osteosarcoma out of the blue -- as in, he was a completely healthy greyhound, running and playing on Wednesday night, and by Friday of the same week, he had his front leg amputated. Now one week out, the total costs so far have been over $5000. Healthy paws has covered all of it at 90%, allowing me to provide a level of care that would not have been possible otherwise.

 

His weekly premium is $38, and his policy, which I have had for under a year, had already paid for itself and more when he had to get stitches last summer. Some will tell you just to put the money aside in a savings account. I personally don't see that as a substitute for insurance. What if your grey breaks a leg a month after you start saving? The cost of surgery, in most places, will be at least $4000. Tempos osteo treatment will likely end up with a total cost of around $10,000. Without insurance, I simply would not be able to do any of this.

 

One of the key elements that I don't know to be offered by other insurers is the possibility for emergency up-front payment. Some people might not be able to put a deposit of $4500 on emergency surgery on their credit card, and then wait to be reimbursed by their pet insurance company. I called Healthy Paws 15 minutes after I got the diagnosis, and they offered to call the vet hospital themselves, get all the paperwork, and then pay the deposit DIRECTLY, with their own credit card, so that I didn't need to pay a dime for the surgery.

 

Healthy Paws monthly premium comes out to a dollar and change per day, per dog. In my opinion, it is the best investment you can possibly make and, if you wouldn't be able to afford the best care otherwise, I would consider it almost mandatory for responsible pet ownership. For some, that monthly cost is prohibitive (I currently only insure one of my two). But take my story as a cautionary tale, and find a way to make it work.

Edited April 1, 2013 by jaym1

[krissy]

I'm with PetSecure because that's the provider my clinic works with. Some of my friends have Trupanion and really like it, so I'd recommend checking their policies as well.

[Guest Clawsandpaws]

Is there a way to find out if they cover your vet without having to call my vet and ask? Mine just closed and I wanted to price some out tonight...

[jaym1]

I don't think any of them operate on a vet-by-vet basis. It's not really like an HMO where there are coverage networks. At least, my insurance isn't like that.

[MP_the4pack]

I have not found pet insurance to be vet specific. They cover expenses depending on the amount, what you're paying for or what their schedule is.

 

There is another thread somewhere regarding "is it worth it". If it's not here in H&M Try searching EVERYTHING ELSE.

 

Some people don't think it's worth it or they just put aside money for emegencies. But I am so glad I do have it. I'm in the process of switching from VPI to Healthy Paw for 2 of my 3. The third has been around for 8 yrs so has too many pre-existing conditions now. She'll stay with VPI.

[Guest Clawsandpaws]

I don't think any of them operate on a vet-by-vet basis. It's not really like an HMO where there are coverage networks. At least, my insurance isn't like that.

Oh geez, you're right, I remember reading another thread about it

[jaym1]

by the way, in my original post in this thread, it should have said that his monthly (not weekly) premium is $38. big difference, obviously.

[gracegirl]

For any new dog I might get in the future, I will absolutely get pet insurance.

 

Fenway is 6.5 yrs old now so I don't know if I'll ever get it for him. He has kidney damage so there will be a slew of things already excluded as pre-existing.

 

Jackson has some sort of coverage with the vets office at Petsmart (drawing a blank on the name right now). DBF handles Jackson's care and I handle Fenway's since we each had them before we met. Jackson's coverage seems great (don't know the specifics) but you do have to go to a Petsmart vet and the closest for 24 hour coverage is 45 minutes away.

[a_daerr]

Yes, yes, a million times, yes. I would never want to make a life or death decision for my dog based on money.

[kudzu]

If you are disciplined in your savings then you would do better without insurance... most of the time. I'm not disciplined & so far I've not been particularly lucky with my dogs. Seems one in three ends up with a serious illness that would more than pay for the insure & in one case the dog cost so much his vet bills would have paid for 7+ years of insurance for 3 or more dogs. Still I didn't get insurance quickly enough on the next dog & she had too many pre-existing conditions. Next one was a senior. Next arrived with a couple problems & so on. Finally I have two dogs with insurance. First year I had not claims. Now in just a couple months one of them is generating enough claims to cover his insurance for the year & all he has is a broken toe.

 

I figure it's worth it for me. Am using Healthy Paws.

[45MPHK9]

We have Trupanion and have been very pleased with their service and coverage. I'd never go without health insurance for my pets.

[jaym1]

both savings and insurance have their own pluses and minuses, and there is no real right answer. it just depends on what you expect to get out of each strategy, and where you are, financially. the main difference, i'd say, is that with savings, you are basically hedging your bets, but favoring the possibility that you wont need catastrophic coverage for your dog at any point -- or that if you do, it will be FAR down the road. with insurance, you are betting in the opposite direction. the advantage with insurance is that you will always be financially covered in the case of a catastrophe no matter when it happens or how bad it is. the advantage of savings is that, should no catastrophe occur, you might end up with a modest-to-significant sum of cash. however, keep in mind the fact that if you do go with a savings account and you lose that bet, you may very likely have to make some decisions about your greyhound that you dont want to make, based only on money, rather than standards of care or quality of life. if you go with insurance and lose your bet, the worst thing that happens is you lose some money.

 

for myself, i basically look at savings more as a financial strategy that may help with pet care costs, while i look at insurance as a way to guarantee pet care for a price.

Edited April 2, 2013 by jaym1

[kudzu]

Figure everyone knows that but thought it wouldn't hurt to point this out. Even with good insurance you still need at least some cash or credit. E-vets don't take insurance, they take money up front. So you still need either savings or a viable form of credit to tide you over until the insurance claim is reimbursed.

[philospher77]

In the 10 months I have had Pixie, I have run up close to 8K in vet bills. (1 K for e-vet for pancreatitis, 7k-is for bilateral luxating patella surgery, a few e-vet trips because she WILL eat things she's not supposed to on Sundays!) Healthy Paws has paid 90% of that. I will say, when I got the patella diagnosis, about 6 months after I had adopted her, I was in a fit. I'd just gotten the insurance, I was worried that they would try and claim it was "preexisting", and looking at my finances, I could afford to do one knee, if I was willing to raid some long-term savings and delay some other projects. But doing the second knee? I looked at my funds, and just gulped. I could do it, but it would have meant touching the emergency fund, and then you get into the debate of whether it's an emergency, or do you save up and try to cash-flow it? And I make good money, so I can just imagine what someone on a tighter budget would have to go through in that situation! Thankfully, Healthy Paws looked at the vet records (scant, since I'd only had her in for one well-dog visit), said it wasn't pre-exisiting, AND covers bilateral conditions. A lot of insurance out there won't cover bilateral conditions, so keep that in mind.

 

Has it been worth it? For me, yes. But, do keep in mind that the way insurance works is that it spread risk out. A lot of people pay a small amount, so that a few people get large amounts covered. If you aren't one of the ones that has the problem, it's totally not worth it financially. Think of it like fire insurance.... I pay hundreds of dollars a year, so that in the unlikely event that my house catches on fire, I get money to fix it. That money comes from everyone who did NOT have their house catch on fire.

 

So, as someone else said, by paying insurance, you may very well wind up "wasting" money. By not paying insurance, you may wind up making vet decisions based on cost. Which you prefer is up to you.

[KF_in_Georgia]

Dog #1: I paid insurance all along for four years. Had a big claim at the end of her life and payment from the insurance company almost equalled what I had paid in premiums. They paid about 65% of her final expenses.

 

Dog #2: I paid insurance all along for five years. Had a big claim at the end of her life and payment from the insurance company was about 25 cents on the dollar. I'd paid all those premiums and wound up with debt I'm still dealing with nearly two years later. Insurance company made a lot of money on her.

 

Dog #3: I paid insurance all along for nine years. Had minor claims that, per year, never came close to what I'd paid in premiums, but the peace of mind was lovely. Insurance company won that one financially. I finally canceled his insurance when he was 11; I was unhappy with how the company had handled Dog #2, didn't want to stay with them, but couldn't get an 11-year-old insured elsewhere for a sensible price. (He's now nearly 13. No big expenses, but lots of niggling little ones as I'm refilling one prescription or another at least once a week.)

 

Dog #4: She's nearly 8 and is uninsured. She came to me about a 18 months ago with a host of fixable problems, but they all now qualify as "pre-existing conditions," and she's unlikely to be insurable (except for one good leg). I wish I could insure her; she hasn't been massively expensive (except for $1000 in dermatologist-related expenses, but that problem is cleared up), but I'm dreading the next few years, especially since I lost my previous two girls unexpectedly at the age of 8. Once bitten, twice shy. Twice bitten, flippin' paranoid.

 

I might submit the records on Dog #4 to Healthy Paws and see what they'd consider covering on her. I don't think coverage for her would cover enough to make it worth the premiums. My next dog--unless it arrives with a raft of bad-news medical records--will be insured by Healthy Paws.

 

(The insurance company for dogs 1, 2, and 3 was VPI.)

Edited April 2, 2013 by KF_in_Georgia

[carronstar]

I have 24 PetWatch and they have been wonderful on both dogs that I have had covered by them. I have the QuickCare Gold.

 

However, having read about Healthy Paws on the H&M thread, they may well be my choice for my next pup.

[MP_the4pack]

Dog #1: I paid insurance all along for four years. Had a big claim at the end of her life and payment from the insurance company almost equalled what I had paid in premiums. They paid about 65% of her final expenses.

 

Dog #2: I paid insurance all along for five years. Had a big claim at the end of her life and payment from the insurance company was about 25 cents on the dollar. I'd paid all those premiums and wound up with debt I'm still dealing with nearly two years later. Insurance company made a lot of money on her.

 

Dog #3: I paid insurance all along for nine years. Had minor claims that, per year, never came close to what I'd paid in premiums, but the peace of mind was lovely. Insurance company won that one financially. I finally canceled his insurance when he was 11; I was unhappy with how the company had handled Dog #2, didn't want to stay with them, but couldn't get an 11-year-old insured elsewhere for a sensible price. (He's now nearly 13. No big expenses, but lots of niggling little ones as I'm refilling one prescription or another at least once a week.)

 

Dog #4: She's nearly 8 and is uninsured. She came to me about a 18 months ago with a host of fixable problems, but they all now qualify as "pre-existing conditions," and she's unlikely to be insurable (except for one good leg). I wish I could insure her; she hasn't been massively expensive (except for $1000 in dermatologist-related expenses, but that problem is cleared up), but I'm dreading the next few years, especially since I lost my previous two girls unexpectedly at the age of 8. Once bitten, twice shy. Twice bitten, flippin' paranoid.

 

I might submit the records on Dog #4 to Healthy Paws and see what they'd consider covering on her. I don't think coverage for her would cover enough to make it worth the premiums. My next dog--unless it arrives with a raft of bad-news medical records--will be insured by Healthy Paws.

 

(The insurance company for dogs 1, 2, and 3 was VPI.)

That's why I'm leaving VPI. One dog does have to stay with them. She's had several things over the years. But my two younger ones are going with Healthy Paws.

[robinw]

I have Trupanion. It's quite expensive because Treasure will be twelve years old next week and Iker and my cat are also insured. I have $1000 deductible but have never had to use it.

[Feisty49]

Lots of good info on this thread. To find more, be at the home page of GT and do a search for "healthy paws" (using the quotes) or Trupanion. You'll get more hits because these two companies are mentioned in most threads relating to pet insurance.

 

I have Healthy Paws for Annie. The policy is in its second year and, thankfully, I didn't have enough expenses in the first year to meet the $250 deductible for covered services. They don't cover well care, pre-existing conditions nor teeth cleaning, which is typical.

 

Options you want to consider: Choices in annual deductible. Choices in percentage of coverage once deductible is met. Having the deductible cover everything, not per incidence. Using a company that covers charges for services no matter the cost. Some companies have maximums they will pay based on what *they* think a vet should charge.

 

The annual deductible on Healthy Paws I chose is $250 with a 90% reimbursement. The monthly premium is $37.23. I can lower the premium by upping the deductible and/or lowering the reimbursement percentage, but can't go back to the previous coverage.

 

Hint: If you're going to get pet insurance, don't put it off because you never know when something will crop up. Also, the younger the dog, the cheaper the premium.

 

I can afford the premium and expect to be able to even as it increases so having the insurance is well worth it for me because I figure some time in Annie's life, something serious will happen and I won't have a couple of thousand dollars to spend.

Edited April 3, 2013 by Feisty49