Pet insurance

[TooPatient]

With one of our dogs in surgery, it got me thinking and then a friend suggested we look again. Does anyone use pet insurance? I had looked in the past but found that they didn't cover older animals and that the premiums were high enough it made more sense to just maintain savings. It looked like there were a lot of routine things excluded and claims could be denied for not being "current" on whatever exams, tests, etc might be called out. Just wondering if there is one I should look into before we have any more major vet expenses.

 

[dk168]

I am in UK, so the policies are likely to be different to yours.

However, I have always had pet insurance for my cat and dog.

When I got my new dog, I took out a new policy with a new provider, and looked into transferring my cat's across.

As she was 16 and elderly, the premium was more than doubled, so I kept her on her existing plan. Touch wood she continues to be healthy now that she is 18yo!

For my old dog, as soon as he had something done, it would be excluded from his policy the following year.

Soon after I got him as my own (he was my late partner's dog), he had some kind of abscess on his face. Took him to the vets to be treated, and found he was not going to be covered if he had it again, and I complained as it was an infection and did not believe they could rule out all infections in future, and they backed off.

I had to pay for his scale and polish and dental work in the last 6-7 years of his life (he died about a month before he was 14, a good age for a Border Terrier).

I thought I was getting my money's worth after paying for his insurance for over 11 years when he needed to take 2 medications for his cognitive behaviours and joint pain due to old age; for him to die peacefully at home 2 days later without any complications. Bless him.

He was pretty healthy and trouble free apart from his teeth, so I was very grateful.

With the new dog, I took out a cover as soon as I got him when he was 5 months old, can't remember the details of the policy, however, castration and umbilical hernia repair were excluded from the policy.

I believe it is worth having pet insurance for a peace of mind myself.

IMHO, pet insurance is worth taking out as early as possible before any issue comes to light. A course of antibiotics or pain killers or eye drops was just over the excess on the policy so it is not worth the hassle of filling in a claim form.

Thinking of you and your dog.

DK

 

[yssie]

Depending on how long ago you looked it might be worth exploring again, there are a few companies that have cropped up on the past decade or so. We use Lemonade, Pets Best and PetPlan - different animals are insured with different providers depending on coverage and premium. Definitely shop around a bit though, they vary pretty (bizarrely) massively in terms of what they’ll cover, age restrictions, what’s excluded, how much you’ll pay, all that stuff… Seems like human health insurance is more predictable even between providers. In the US anyway.

I hop your doggy does okay!!

 

[Cerulean]

we decided against it for our cat with health problems bc she already had documented conditions that would be considered "pre-existing" and accounted for the lion's share of her expenses.

maybe it was the wrong choice, but once i understood the laundry list of things that would be excluded, especially pre existing conditions, i passed.

 

[TooPatient]

Just woke up from surgery. They were able to do incision without having to cut a chunk out. They did find some sort of fabric up near the stomach. Hoping he can come home tomorrow.

 

[Austina]

Again based on UK experience, we didn’t have pet insurance until we got our last girl, because she was 2 1/2 years old and a rescue, so we had no prior knowledge of health issues. The premium was very reasonable, and when we did need it, they paid up immediately without any fuss.

Overall, we estimate we were quids in with the others over a 30+ year period not having insurance, as they only had major health issues at the end of their lives.

I don’t know if it’s the same in the US, and I’m certainly not encouraging anyone to lie, but if your dog was a ‘mixed breed’, insurance was certainly a lot cheaper than a pedigree dog.

 

[Arcadian]

For Gigi, yes. She's a klutz have had to use it twice. With Lucky, no. even though I thought about it some years later, it made no sense. The worst of it was the dentals but in general they weren't even covered anyway. Lucky didn't start to have any major problems until she became a Sr. And of course, its hard to get insurance on a Sr dog because many won't cover and some, if they do, the premium is outrageous.

For Gigi, it was 500.00 a year. Her 2 ER visits were nearly 2K. So it paid for itself so far. Its gone up a few dollars sense as she's now 4. Also does not cover dentals and flea and tick stuff but they're not too pricey.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Just woke up from surgery. They were able to do incision without having to cut a chunk out. They did find some sort of fabric up near the stomach. Hoping he can come home tomorrow.

oh poor baby
get well soon woof woof

 

[SparklieBug]

Just woke up from surgery. They were able to do incision without having to cut a chunk out. They did find some sort of fabric up near the stomach. Hoping he can come home tomorrow.

One of our Smooth Fox Terriers used to chew and consume little twigs. He had an obstruction that occurred on a long weekend. Of course it did. The obstruction resulted in emergency surgery, and turned out to be half of a dryer sheet. We stopped using dryer sheets after that.

Our wee fellow's obstruction was also right near the stomach. The thin fabric got caught going around a "curve". He was absolutely fine after the gazillion-dollar visit to the emergency, and regular vet follow-up appointments.

All the best wishes for your furry one!

 

[TooPatient]

One of our Smooth Fox Terriers used to chew and consume little twigs. He had an obstruction that occurred on a long weekend. Of course it did. The obstruction resulted in emergency surgery, and turned out to be half of a dryer sheet. We stopped using dryer sheets after that.

Our wee fellow's obstruction was also right near the stomach. The thin fabric got caught going around a "curve". He was absolutely fine after the gazillion-dollar visit to the emergency, and regular vet follow-up appointments.

All the best wishes for your furry one!

Glad we don't use dryer sheets! I am curious if I can identify what it was when I go tomorrow. I know he likes to chew a particular blanket, but we took that away permanently a couple of months ago.

I am trying not to be anxious as our little girl dog is now refusing to eat. Pretty sure she is just worried about him. They are the closest of friends. After a bumpy start, she absolutely adores him.

 

[Arcadian]

Glad we don't use dryer sheets! I am curious if I can identify what it was when I go tomorrow. I know he likes to chew a particular blanket, but we took that away permanently a couple of months ago.

I am trying not to be anxious as our little girl dog is now refusing to eat. Pretty sure she is just worried about him. They are the closest of friends. After a bumpy start, she absolutely adores him.

I had to take Lucky in for a vet visit (she's got pneumonia unfortunately) and her sister was just beside herself. She gets like this when her big sister isn't with her. This is the main reason why I have to get her a puppy.