Pet Insurance?
Posted in Doggies on 07. May, 2012
I have really started thinking about investigating pet insurance and whether or not it would be beneficial to have it. While I haven’t had many real emergencies or health issues, other than the illnesses early last year and Kiko’s little bump on her ear, I have known friends that have had to take their pets in for this or that and the high bills they came away with. I do know that most pet insurance companies will give you a deal for multiple pets, which helps.
Unfortunately veterinary costs are rising all the time. If your dog broke a bone for example, the x-ray alone would cost in excess of $200. Dental surgery could cost over $160 and if your pet dog was unfortunate enough to catch an ongoing disease such as diabetes or asthma, the ongoing treatment for the lifetime of the dog could reach up to $10,000.
I’d love to hear from my readers. Do you have pet insurance? Have you used it? How much do you think you’ve saved? Is it worth it? If you do not have pet insurance – is it the cost that keeps you from getting pet insurance or is it because you just don’t think it will help save you in the end?
Looking forward to some discussions on pet insurance!
i had pet insurance for our pug but it was a waste of money in my opinion. they said he had a ‘pre existing condition’ because of a skin problem he had on his toe YEARS ago so they wouldn’t cover for hardly any of his things at the end (collapsed trachea). it was ridiculous. we had to put him to sleep and they only paid for part of the cremation. horrible. if your dog doesn’t tend to get sick, i wouldn’t use it at all. if they are a breed prone to sickness (which most purebreds are), then i’d get it right away so they can’t pull the ‘pre existing condition’ card.
Interesting – Liz from the Great Dane Rescue just posted a comment about having trouble with pre-existing conditions. I guess that is something people should be aware of if they are thinking about getting pet insurance. You really need to look over what they say in regards to pre-existing conditions.
I recently bought pet insurance from Trupanion. After seeing so many pals trying to raise money for vet bills for things like cancer, it seems a good thing to do. It doesn’t cover routine, dental, or pre-existings, but it will cover anything else. I wanted to have it in case of an accident, injury, or major illness. I chose a low monthly with a high deductible.
I bought insurance for one of my dogs. It was a waste of money. He had an infection that we had to keep treating him over and over for. Once we got insurance, they put “infections” as a pre-existing condition. So we weren’t able to use it for any type of infection. I find their pre-existing conditions are so general that not much is covered unless you get it when your dog is a puppy. And in order for it to cover the annual visits, shots, etc. you have to get the premium plans that are more expensive. I just put the monthly amount I would spend on insurance aside when I can to plan for emergencies.
My MIL has pet insurance on both of her dogs and she swears by it. I can’t remember the name of the company but I’ll find out and let you know if you’d like. Not too long ago, she was telling me how helpful the insurance was. The older of her two dogs (a terrier mix, approximately 10 years old?) needed surgery on her knees because she wasn’t able to move around well. The surgery (and I believe this estimate was to operate on two legs) would have been over $5,000 out of pocket. My MIL paid a very, very small fraction of that cost.
One tip that she did tell me was that it’s always better to get the insurance when your dog is under 2 years of age (preferably 1, though) because even though most dogs are healthy, the premiums are cheaper if you open the policy early and the issues with pre-existing conditions aren’t usually an issue.
Also, she told me to be careful when I bought insurance…she said that one of the biggest things to watch for is making sure that hereditary conditions are covered. You wouldn’t want to pay the premiums and have your pup develop a disorder/health condition known to his/her breed and have coverage denied because you didn’t opt-in for that type of coverage.
Anyway, I’ll find out the name of that company she uses and get back to you
Thanks, Tia. I am hearing a lot of good and bad things about pet insurance.
I just signed up for pet insurance from Trupanion for both my dog and my cat a few months ago.
I had been teetering back and forth as to whether or not to make the plunge.
After Cody being ill last December (stuck poop lol which cost me $500 for two visits)…that is when I decided to do it.
Also…a fellow blogger, (Annette from Snoopy’s Dog Blog) has Trupanion insurance and loves it (she had left a comment on my blog stating that)…AND….one of the receptionists at my vet said SHE has Trupanion and wouldn’t be without it. That was all I needed to make the plunge.
Both of my babies turned 5 this year…they approaching “seniorhood” and I didn’t want to be left with nothing if God forbid something happens
Caren- What is their policy on pre-existing conditions? I am hearing from a lot of people that the pet insurance is not covering certain things that they (the insurance company) sees as pre-existing but the pet parents do not feel are pre-existing. See some of the other comments.
Hi Doreen! Sorry it took me so long to get back to you but I had to look up my policy.
There are NO pet insurance companies that cover pre-existing conditions. For example…Cody has chronic allergies (I have yet to file a claim for either pet though)…because this condition is pre-existing it would not be covered.
Neither of my pets have anything else that is pre-existing.
Here is their policy info:
c. PRE-EXISTING EXCLUSIONS
We do not cover:
(1) Illness resulting from any condition for which evidence and/or symptoms of
their potential manifestation already exist at, or during the 18 months prior
to, the policy enrollment date. Illnesses that occur during the 30 day waiting
period and accidents that occur during the 5 day waiting period will be
considered pre-existing conditions;
(2) The cost of treatment for bilateral conditions presenting on one side of the
body, in which that condition was already a pre-existing condition on the other
side of the body, such as luxating patella or anterior cruciate ligament (ACL)
weakness;
TRU-00001 (08/11) Page 4 of 9
(3) Conditions arising from a repetitive and specific activity that leads to
decontamination (i.e., the induction of vomiting, stomach pumping, or treatment
with charcoal), medical, or surgical treatment of your pet, if the same or a
similar activity occurred two times within 18 months prior to the policy
enrollment date. For example, the two incidents must arise from similar
behaviors, such as the ingestion of nonfood items or potentially toxic
substances (food- or chemical-related), the ingestion of human food or pet food
that is not intended for your pet’s species, or injury stemming from repeated
contact with species such as porcupines, rattlesnakes, or dogs;
(4) Abnormalities that are present at, or during the 18 months prior to, the
policy enrollment date. This includes conditions that are detectable by a
routine physical exam by your veterinarian or those that have been noted from
diagnostic testing, screening or radiographs.
I do not have pet insurance, but wish I did. My boyfriend and I recently took our dog to the vet for a limp in his right leg. Turns out he could have shoulder OCD, which requires surgery that can cost about $2,000. We are going to pay for it together and get our dog all fixed up, but if we would have had pet insurance (which we were thinking about getting), it would have saved us a bundle of money. In my opinion, pet insurance is worth is. You pay usually a couple hundred dollars a year. With that in mind, pet insurance pays for itself if something like shoulder OCD were to happen. You never know what could go wrong. Everyone loves their dogs, but it is nice to have a sense of security if something were to happen instead of having to pay full price out of pocket. Just my opinion. I suppose it could also depend on what breed of dog someone has..some dogs have more health problems than others. We are looking into pet insurance now for future problems.
Alex
I have had pet insurance in the past from two different companies and it was always a huge plus. Good companies cover ALL basic care, routine shots, one dental check up and cleaning per year, discounts on any needed medications, full ex-ray per year, and lots more.
I have a rottie, and for the first year any pre-exsisting or hereditary health issues, but after the first year they will cover a percentage, which saves me money.
Buying pet insurance is just as time consuming as buying your own personnel insurance. You need to look up the different companies, print off the coverages and rate plans, to really be able to compare them.
They may seems expensive at first but in the long run it has always paid off for me. Like getting spaying and nutering, dewclaw removal etc.
Also ask your vet who they recommend. They’ll usually know what company is willing to pay for the most services and care for your pet.
Ryan
We bought ours when Kol was born, so there are no “pre-exisiting conditions” and it had definitely ben worth iit, but I know a lot of them aren’t. If you didn’t get it as a pup, I might consider putting that same amount of money into a just in case savings account each month instead of giving it to the insurance company. That way you’re slowly building up a nest egg for their emergencies without dealing with limitations on what that money can be used to treat.