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I purchased Pet Insurance from VPI Pet Insurance for all three of my dogs when they were puppies. If you have an older animal pet insurance companies will probably not insure your older pet. I recommend getting it for any younger pet that you may have. We have three dogs and we have had quite a few emergencies that would have cost us hundreds and hundreds of dollars, but with the insurance we get most of it back.
How hold is your puppy mill pup? if your pup is younger than 5 I think you might have a chance of insuring him/her.
i skipped it. our puppy got very sick within a week of getting him, so even if we bought insurance the day we adopted him, it wouldn't have been effective in time. so basically, we're already out a few grand for his medical bills and when i shopped around for quotes, it wasn't worth the additional expense for me.
I looked into it when I got my dog, but he was from a pound and already about 3. It was going to be about 60/month and did not cover routine visits or known breed problems (I have a corgi so it didn't cover hip dysplasia or lower back issues I think). I figured out that the insurance was going to cost me $720/year and I'd still have to pay for the normal vaccinations and stuff... so I made a judgment call that I probably wouldn't spend over that amount on him on a yearly basis. At 3 years in (this past wed... aw...) I've been right. The first year I got him I spent maybe 500ish because he came to me with an ear infection then got a few eye infections. The next year he was super healthy and didn't cost anything above the normal stuff, and this year he was at the vet twice for emergency type stuff but the grand total was only like 150. So for me, it was just not worth it.
We had it for our two dogs and to be perfectly honest with you, it's not worth it. And we were at the vet a lot. I ended up canceling it.
And, I do believe they will insure older pets too. I remember reading about it, if you're interested.
This is who we had:
I have pet insurance through VPI. It’s a little expensive but it was totally worth it! Well for one of my cats anyway. A while after I got it, she was diagnosed with a slow thyroid and after all of the tests, I totally made my money back the first year. The other cat. Not so much. She’s been pretty healthy and hasn’t needed anything but routine shots.
I personally plan on keeping it because if anything goes wrong, I’d rather have the coverage for them. And in a strange way, it keeps me going to the vet more often for shots and checkups than I might otherwise, because I want to get the most out of the coverage.
I’m not sure if you would be able to insure your pets though. (I believe, not sure) VPI doesn’t insure pets over 10 years or with any major pre-existing conditions. You’d have to ask though if it’s something you’re interested in.
Otherwise you can set up an automatic withdrawal from your checking account into a separate savings for the amount you’d pay for the insurance and just use that for your vet bills.
well - our lab mix - the one we'd be insuring - is JUST over 2 years old (turned 2 in December)...but yeah - from what it sounds like, it's really not worth it :( I've asked a few people here at work, too, who've looked int it...
i just wish the vet wasn't so damn expensive...but yeah - I don't know if any of her issues would BE considered "pre-existing condition" or not...but the vet said today her immune system doesn't seem to be as strong as most dogs - which is why she CONSTANTLY has skin/allergy issues. :(
I have VPI for both cats. One of them has several health problems, has had two surgeries, so the insurance benefits have more than paid for my premiums. Still, the benefits they paid out is only about 10-20% of my bills. If there is a better insurance out there I'd love to know about it.
I've heard that if you are serious about insurance, the best is to take the $50/month or whatever the amount is and put it aside in a special account. My dogs largest issue surrounds a genetic trait from poor puppy mill breeding (also a rescue) so it wasn't beneficial to us...
We do not have pet insurance for our two dogs. We got them from breeders (not a puppy mill or animal rescue) and they're mixed breeds, so they're generally pretty healthy. I know you love your vet but have you considered shopping around? We used to take ours to a very expensive vet and now we take them to somewhere that is cheaper, doesn't try to squeeze as much money out of us as they can, and everyone there is delightful and kind to my precious pups. Our first vet would charge me $25 for those free samples of dog medicine that their drug reps bring them--what a rip-off!
We have it and had it for our last dog as well. Believe me, if you ever have need of emergency surgery, xrays, CAT scans, or chemo, you'll be happy you have it. Even with insurance, we spent over $15,000. on our sick dog in 2 1/2 years. Just one grooming accident requiring an ER visit and stitches was close to $1500. and we got 80% back with our plan.
Since we've been through it once, we'd never be without it.
ugh. i dunno. i think i really need to shop around - see what the options are - just because, with our girl, I know she's got a weaker immune system that most dogs (damn puppy mill/inbreeding! :( and I know that we're in for the long haul with her of constantly keeping up with her issues.
SHOP AROUND. First, I do not think the insurance is worth it but thats bc I have had 2 healthy dogs so far. I looked at it once and the cost of it over a year we have not even spent togethor for 3 years for our oldest lab.
But yes shop around. Our first vet we went to was super expensive! I mean our puppies first checkup was $200! I ended up not caring for that vet anyways and found our current vet and my new puppies first check up was $60 and I just took him back for his rabies shot/checkup and it was only $80. A sick visit last year for the older lab was only $125 and that was with meds etc. We vaccinate on our own, except for the rabies, so we save big there.
I'm going to stand up for pet insurance here.
I am a vet in the UK, and I wish people would either be insured or have funds available to look after their pet properly.
I know some people are about to jump in with comments along the lines of 'vets are only in it for the money. They just want to squeeze what they can out of you. They don't care about my animal because they wouldn't fix my dog's fractured leg for free'. I've heard it all before and it still winds me up. I have never made a comparable salary with that of a GP, nowhere close to a surgeon; optometrists and dentists beat us hands down with their pay scale.
Vets are a business too. They have to pay their building, their staff, their drugs bill, their equipment costs in order to be able to supply a service. Yes, some vets are more expensive than others, but this may be because they have better equipment, better training or better facilities. In order for you to access these on your animal's behalf you have to be prepared to pay for it. You don't get a car, then expect the garage to be free.
Every day Vets and vet nurses (techs in the states) work bloody hard, often with animals that are aggressive, often with aggressive owners to match, and we do it because we are in it for the animals. That's it. Why else would we?
Which is why every time an owner comes in with an ill animal, and refuses to have it treated on monetary grounds I wish that they'd thought of this before and got the animal insured.
No, insurance doesn't cover every single possible scenario, but the last 10 emergencies that I can think of, all were not insured, and all resulted in me trying to do a proper job with zero funds. Not satisfactory all round.
I really like the folks on Bee, and I'm not trying to rant - I just feel sometimes that vets get a bad reputation for being only in it for the money, and I'm trying to redress that balance and explain why insurance is a good idea.
If you do take out insurance, make sure it is cover for life (not just for the first year of the condition) and make sure you have a sensible limit on each condition. In the UK I'd suggest £4000 as an absolute minimum.
If you get some DO NOT GET VPI. I had a cat that blocked and would have died had i not taken him for treatment and hospitalization stat. When i put his claim in with VPI they said they wouldnt' cover most of it because i hadn't waited for him to block 100% and rupture his bladder... SO BECUASE I DIDN'T LET HIM SUFFER AND RISK HIM DYING THEY WOULDN'T HONOR THE CLAIM. ps- i'm a vet tech and have seen many other people with VPI get refused their reimbursment, claiming they aren't covered despite our doctors calling the company personally and insisting the treatment and diagnosis is valid :(
@Straggler: I don't see where anyone was saying "vets are only in it for the money" and I can assure you that many on the Bee including myself agree with you on the fact that if you are going to take on the responsibility of a pet you need to have funds available or even insurance to care for that pet. But as a paying patient that still gives us a right to look around and compare costs. It is not always the scenario of one place has better equipment than the others, bc in my situation I can assure you it was not. If I did not have funds available to treat my animals in case of an emergency then I would not have them. But when I compare the annual cost of insurance to what I have actually paid out of pocket and what it will cover, has proven to me that for us it is not worth it. I am not saying insurance is not worth it for everyone, just for us.
@MissGreen: It may be that I am oversensitised then - if that's the case then I apologise. I see phrases like 'squeeze money out of us' and I assume that people are making the judgement that vets are money hungry when most of us are anything but.
I've had a run of people coming in, not insured, with critically ill animals, that I could treat, deny treatment on the basis of cost and it just winds me up. And every one of them blames me for the cost of treatment; not themselves for not being prepared for it.
By all means shop around for good insurance cover, that's good economics. And of course shop around for your vet. All I'm trying to say, is don't base your decision soley on the cost of the practice. A vet may be cheap and cheerful for a reason. If money is an issue, then insurance means you have the choice of which end of the market you go for. Obviously I can't comment on your situation, I don't know the vets involved; I'm sure there are some bad apples out there! I've been lucky enough to never have come across that (and I've worked in over 30 practices).
I know some folks have the funds to put aside every year for their pet and that's great. I know I don't! However people often underestimate the cost of treatment and even with savings there's just not enough there.
I also get that you have one animal that doesn't need treatment in its life you figure insurance was a waste of money. But just because one animal was lucky, doesn't mean the next one will be. Looking at the past is a poor way of predicting the future. :)
I am trying to be helpful here (in my own inimitable style) not get anyone's back up :)
@Straggler: I agree with you wholeheartedly. Until I had a sick animal, I had no idea that people would go to such great lengths for a pet. I never thought I'd be one of them until I was faced with it. Sometimes you get so caught up in keeping them going, before you know it, you've spent thousands of dollars.
We ended up in a specialty practice, after the local vet was only putting bandaids on things without a real diagnosis. She honestly had no idea what was wrong with our dog, so after 3 weeks of almost daily visits and numerous tests, I requested a veterinary hospital referral. Even then, we had to wait several days for test results to come back to find out what we were dealing with fully.
We had blood tests and scopes and daily multiple prescriptions, and prescription dog food for over 2 years, as we had to have a permanent feeding tube placed in her side. With an immuno-compromised dog, we couldn't even have her groomed and she could no longer get vaccinated and we couldn't board her (except with the vet) if we needed to go away. No one would do it for fear of dislodging her tube.
The people I met with their pets were amazingly kind and caring people, who pulled out their credit cards with reckless abandon. I never knew that so many people were willing to go into debt for their animals.
I wish I had even given a thought to ever needing insurance when she was young, but I think you become spoiled and never think of the 'what ifs'. I heard stories about cats getting shot and crawling back home just to be found in the yard, and dogs being beaten or poisoned and left to die. We became a whole group who had our stories to tell, and we all cried when someone had to make the decision to let go.
I tell everyone I know to get insurance, so thank you for your insight.
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So I'm curious...how many of you pet owners have pet insurance?...I've had my cat for 10 years, our pug for 3 and our golden lab/retreiver mix for 2...I've always taken care of them (take them to the vet) when needed...and it's never really been an issue...however it is VERY expensive...and our lab mix well - she has a ton of issues...and I believe it's because she came from a puppy mill (NO we did NOT get her from one...we adopted her from a rescue shelter who rescued her from one when she was around 2 months old...) but unfortunately - BECAUSE she was from one, she has always had issues (and we knew that in adopting her...). Our vet IS a little expensive, but he's REALLY good and our dog turns to putty in his hands...
for example, our poor girl (the lab mix) somehow hurt her paw last week...she's been holding up her right paw and not putting any pressure on it...I tried touching it the other day and she snapped at me. So off to the vet we went (plus it was time for her vaccines for the year...) and found out she has an exposed nerve in her paw!!! :(
But when the vet looked at her paw, she was so good and let him touch her wherever he needed to - she didn't even flinch...I swear our vet is the dog whisperer of indinapolis! lol. but anyways - of course I didn't get out of there for less than $250! This included a few meds - as she also has a constant skin allergy that we are ALWAYS taking care of - so he gaver her more medication for that - as well as her yearly shots and her heartworm test she was due for...(and yes, we've already changed her diet last year to a quality food with no soy, corn or wheat)...
Also - he "bandaged" her claw (where the nerve was damaged) - and hopefully all will be good (she goes back in 3 weeks)...
But anways - with all the problems she has - we easily drop $200 almost every time we go to the vet...and this is probably every 4 - 5 months, so maybe 3-4 times a year...(if not more)
so i'm thinking of looking into pet insurance, but I was curious of those out there who DO have it, if it's worth it...