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I looked into it but it didn't make sense for me. There were lots of things that were not covered (like regular well-visits and shots), and breed restrictions. So like I have a corgi, and back/hip problems aren't covered. UM, that is why I would need insurance lol. It kind of seemed like a scam to me... but I only looked at 2 companies so maybe the company you're looking at makes a lot more sense.
We have pet insurance for our cat. We ended up getting it after the second trip to the emergency clinic. The first trip to the emergency vet ended up costing us $2,000 because he ate the stuffing of one of his toys and needed surgery to remove it. The second trip wasn't as bad, we only had to pay $300 for x-rays. He ate a satin string that was about 18 inches long. (It was from the inside of my satin robe) Luckily it came out on its own (Ew!).
After the second trip the vet's nurse handed us a brochure for pet insurance that had a 20% off code. =/ Of course we haven't had to use it but it's nice knowing that it is there. You do have to pay up front but at least you will get most or all of it back depending on your insurance.
We don't, but for the pet's first year (as a puppy), I think it's worth it. Our friends' yellow lab puppy just had a really bad reaction to anesthesia after he was neutered. Their pet insurance covered the neutering anyway, plus the $600 for emergency care, with a $50 deductible. But yes, they had to pay it out of pocket first.
Check this one out,endorsed by the SPCA. We paid $75. quarterly for the best coverage for our dog,but got it too late. Once we were heavily involved in her treatment which lasted 2 1/2 years before we lost her, having the insurance for other things helped tremendously.
Make sure you read through exclusions and breed problems and your pet's age.
we have insurance for one dog, but haven't gotten it for the other yet. honestly, we have it for peace of mind. we weren't willing to shell out the extra money for it to cover general wellness, so it's mostly for emergencies.
I looked into it briefly but since the basic plans don't cover general wellness it wasn't worth it to me.
No, but I have a friend who has insurance for his dogs and he doesn't even have insurance for himself!
We briefly looked into it but I think we will eventually get it. We've been more than I would like, one dog has epilepsy and is on regular medication and the other has very sensitive skin. Plus shots and ckeckups, bloodwork, meds, teeth cleaning...it would probably be worth it! Anything could happen and vet bills can really add up!
right now the boy toy and i have 3 dogs, we don't have pet insurance for any of them--2 don't qualify because of age...but we will definitely be getting it for any new pups that come into our home.
No and I don't know anyone who does either and they get along just fine. I've never met a vet who even suggested the idea. Honestly, it sounds like a scam to get more money from you.
Everytime I researched pet insurance, all the reasonably-priced plans were ripoffs. Most of them didn't even include wellness visits and shots (like Corgi said), and even those appointments can add up, so what's the point to pay more out of pocket for my dog than I do for myself?
I too have heard it's a scam... they ran a story on it on our local news a little while back... it works out for almost no one. They suggested that if you're really worried about it, to start a savings account instead specifically for pet emergencies and contribute what you feel is necessary a month, like $50.
I know some people feel like it is a scam but I have it mainly for the peace of mind. In the first year and a half we had our cat we spent close to $2,500 on 2 emergency visists. If we had pet insurance we would have gotten back at least 80% of that amount. I would rather pay for insurance and know that IF something were to happen we would be 80% covered. Especially since our cat likes to eat random things and chew on electric cords. =/
PLEASE NOTE- I just googled "VPI reviews" Horrible reviews. I'm letting you all know because the website looks amazing and I was really considering getting it. Good thing I researched them.
I'm still on the fence about this as well. I'm thinking of just doing a savings account for my pup for emergencies too...
I think you can't really be prepared financially for a pet emergency,since so many things can happen in the blink of an eye. Our dog became really ill quite suddenly,after being healthy for the first 5 years of her life. I'd never even heard of pet insurance before then,but saw some brochures in the vet's office about it. When I asked him about getting it he said he didn't think it was worth it as she'd always been in good health. He was wrong.
Pets are expensive,and become even more so if they become sick. Xrays, blood tests,surgeries,medications,supplies,prescription foods...it all adds up. I cut off with scissors what I thought was a matted hairball on her leg and the emergency visit for what we thought would be a few stitches cost $1500.!! Should we have left her bleed to death or leave an open wound to get infected and possibly kill her? If you haven't experienced it,you just have no clue how expensive emergency veterinary care can be.
There are always good and bad reviews about everything if you think about it. All I know is the $300. a year it cost us was well worth it for the one emergency visit alone. We got back all but the deductible for that one. Do some research first and decide what's best for you.
I looked into but the plans that I looked at just didn't seem worth it. Some of them will only cover up to $1,000. For me a $1,000 emergency is something I could handle, but I'm worried about a $5,000 bill. I average that each dog costs around $1,500 per year, I even put them into my budget.
I'm a veterinarian and I do not have pet insurance for my cat. However, I used to work at an emergency clinic, I know how expensive those types of visits can be, and I know (and have in a bank account) exactly how much I would be willing to spend on emergency care. I also have the medical background to be able to fairly accurately predict the likelihood that the treatment will succeed.
The issue that most pet owners encounter with respect to emergency visits is that they have NO IDEA how much emergency care can cost. For any emergency visit, you're likely looking at $300 *at a minimum*, and your bill can quickly grow well into the $1000s. The correct time to consider how much you're willing to spend is not when your pet is at its sickest and you are emotionally fragile. Just realize, though, that being unwilling to go above a particular dollar amount might result in either substandard care or euthanasia.
For me, putting money aside each month in an account is preferable to paying for pet insurance. Your results may vary. However, as others have pointed out, the way pet insurance works is that you pay the vet up front and are reimbursed by the insurance company. Which means that if you don't have the money for treatment, the fact that you have insurance doesn't matter.
She had to have a feeding tube placed and that bill was almost $6000. alone. We spent just about $15,000. in 2 1/2 years for the care she needed. Every time I sat in the specialist's office with her and could hear the charges and watched people pull out credit cards to pay,I felt better that I wasn't the only one! Once you get knee deep in treatment,it comes down to 2 choices. Don't go with it and let nature take its course or have them euthanized. Once we figured out her problems ( and not knowing how much it would add up over the course of time) it was too late to stop. We decided we'd continue to help her as long as she was doing well. Its really a personal decision to make. Some people thought we were crazy and others said they'd mortgage their houses if faced with the same thing.
We know we did whatever we could do to help her have a normal life for as long as she could.
best purchase ever. One of my dogs just had a $3,500.00 surgery... not exactly in my wedding budget. Insurance saved my butt. I would suggest it to anyone.
My insurance is by PetPlan.
A little late, but---for what it's worth, we have VPI and have been happy with it for our dog. However, we do NOT pay anywhere near $47/month---more like $140 a year for a 4-y-o giant dog. The monthly estimate sounds nuts. Make sure you don't look at their plans that include routine shots, etc.---those are always cheaper to do through a clinic. That routine care VPI plan is only worth it if you have a young dog who needs to be spayed/neutered (in which case it does pay for itself, but only that first year.)
Our general plan doesn't pay for itself every year, but it does some years, and we mainly have it for peace of mind for catastrophic problems. I think of it as $1500 or so over the life of the dog to never have to question a medical procedure due to cost. We have never had a problem with VPI covering a claim---and honestly I think some of the complaints come from people who don't read the fine print. Pet insurance (any of the companies---I shopped a bunch) doesn't work like people insurance. There's a schedule of covered procedures and a "reasonable fee" listed for each of them. The insurance covers that fee (or a percentage of it, in some plans) less the deductible, which for VPI is $50 a visit. If you go to a vet where that procedure costs more than what's covered, the insurance will only pay up to the cap. The upside is there are no "preferred providers" or anything in pet insurance land, so you can go wherever you want. We get the fee list from our insurance once a year when they update it, and keep it with the dog's records. Our vet knows we have insurance and is careful to categorize any problems appropriately (e.g., if we take the dog in for a red eye, he won't just write down red eye, he'll assign it to one of their categories---eye infection, foreign object in eye, etc.---so that it will get covered without having to have a huge conversation about what exactly it turned out to be).
One major problem over the life of the dog will make the policy worth it for us, since our guy is big enough that just needing to put him under for anything is hugely expensive---hopefully we'll never have to do that, but another factor with VPI (don't know if other insurers have the same policy?) is that you get lower rates for being a "lifetime" member and you can't sign your dog up at all after age 7 or 8 or so---idea being, I think, that if they've insured your dog since he was a pup, they know all about his medical history, whereas you might walk in with your ill older dog to get insurance just for the last few years of life, which from the insurer's perspective isn't such a hot deal (fair enough). So there's a benefit to not letting the coverage lapse, even though we have a generally healthy young dog right now.
Anyway, just my thoughts. We only intended to get insurance for the first year we had our dog because he was a rescue and we didn't know anything about his health, but it more than paid for itself that first year, and in the end it has really made sense for us to just keep the policy. Probably a little different for everyone, though.
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When we first got our dog, I thought I didn't need it.
But this past year, I spent I've taken her to the vet a few times. And the cost are starting to add up.
I'm looking at VPI (Veterinary Pet Insurance).
They quoted me at $47.25 each month and it practically includes everything. Well, not cancer related items. Which I hope my dog doesn't get.
This company reimburses you. So each month you pay $47 and then go to the vet. You have to pay for the vet bill but then you just submit the bill and get it back.
Sounds like I have to have a lot of "available" cash.
Wondering what I should do?
Anyone have pet insurance?
Yes, I know I've spent about $300-400 on her this year and pet insurance wil be $564. But there are things I've put off because I don't know how much the procedure will be. Like my dog needs a teeth cleaning. So i can see myself paying about that much on my own.