How many of you have pet insurance? If so, who do you have it with?
Question by Marylu: How many of you have pet insurance? If so, who do you have it with?
I am thinking about it, after the link from “scarecrow” in my last question. I would probably go with the ASPCA for the insurance. First I want some input from you guys.
Best answer:
Answer by mbrcatz
IMO, it’s not worth the money you pay in.
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
Tags: aspca, Pet Insurance
Pet insurance is great to have when you need it, but if your dogs are healthy, you can spend a whole lot of dough on premiums. It’s fairly expensive; when I looked into it for my dogs, it cost more to insure them than it did for my own healthcare insurance! For one dog, it is affordable, but when you have multiple dogs like you and I do, it is cost prohibitive. That said, with the rising costs of veterinary care and the increasing options for treatment of illness and disease in dogs that didn’t exist 20 years ago, it certainly is something to consider.
From the research I did, I do think there are companies that offer better insurance than others. AKC and VPI are two companies that offered what I felt were good policies, but be aware that pet insurance does not work the same as human insurance. It works great for illness or injury, but there are a lot more exclusions with pet insurance – forget them covering anything they consider genetic – like hip or elbow dysplasia. They won’t cover anything pre-existing, and unless you sign up for the top priced policies, routine care is also not covered. It is less expensive for young dogs, and premiums rise sharply as the dog ages.
If you can afford the monthly premium but maybe not an expensive emergency vet visit, then I’d say go for it, but if it is a stretch to make the premiums, I’d suggest putting aside a set amount every month to cover emergencies and illness instead.
I’ve had luck with Pet’s Best but it depends on your specific situation
I was the manager/hospital admin. for a veterinary hospital for 6 years and got VPI insurance for our dogs at that point. There are times when I look at the money out vs. the benefits and wonder why I am doing it. But, I pay the monthly fee and forget it because I can’t tell you how many times I saw a disease or something big happen to a dog, in particular, and the insurance really helped with the cost. Veterinary medicine is SUPER expensive. We did hip replacements, acl repair and all kinds of crazy surgery that cost in the tens of thousands. The people who were insured really got some relief from those type bills.
For just vaccines and flea meds. it is good to. I think it covers a percentage of the cost for the routine vaccines and then I get to choose between a spay, teeth cleaning, a supply of heartworm medicine, etc. It really is worth it in the long run. I can’t tell you how many foxtails I saw inside animals and that alone can be a three hundred dollar removal. The insurance made it painless.
Good luck. If you can afford it, I recommend it.
Hi,
I have PetCare Gold. They have several options. I have the one that pays 70% of the bill. I did have to use it in February. Our male Standard Poodle was diagnosed with Leukemia and had to be put to sleep. It would have been $ 3000 out of our pocket but we only had to pay $ 900.
I have a website about Standard Poodles and there is a page about Pet Insurance. Check it out, it might help.
http://www.standardpoodlesusa.com/pet-insurance.html
i would first like to say that you should look at a site called petinsurancereview.com because you learn some interesting things about aspca insurance and also vpi. one thing i didn’t like about aspca is they renew the policy every year so that any accidents/illness that happen in the first year will not be covered the next year.
i have pet insurance with trupanion which is a continuous policy so i never have to worry about things be considered preexisting just because they happened on the wrong calendar day of my policy. they are also very great all around, they just changed the policy to unlimited so its very nice to have a policy with so few limitations. do your reserach and comparison first!
i am a veterinarian with two practices with approximately 10,000 active clients and i will tell you we have less than 10 — not 10 % — but 10 people with pet insurance. For most people it is more cost effective to just pay out of pocket. The one exception to this is if your pet has a serious health issue or major injury- ie develops cancer or is hit by a car — then the insurance is worthwile. I would tell you this- ask your veterinarian which companies he is familiar with or recommends– i have had no problems with some companies but i had one which cancelled the owners policy without paying her claims for no apparent reason.