Pet Insurance---Anyone Have It?

[Hera]

Hi Everyone,
I had a scare today that got me thinking about pet insurance in case of a big emergency or illness. My cat Cassanova (Cass poof for short) was snapped at by my dog and my cat either ran into a wall or was hit up by the dog''s muzzle. Cass poof started sneezing blood and I just about had a heart attack because I thought he might have internal injuries. We ran out to the pet hospital and they just told us he had a bloody nose (like humans do). Of course, I have like the spunkiest cat and he was back to running around the house after we got him home.

So after a minor emergency I was wondering if any of you pet mommy (and daddies) have pet insurance for your pets and what your experiences have been.

Here''s a pic of Cass Poof. I''m finally getting around to posting pics of my kitty so I''m running over to the Siamese kitty thread.

 

[Sparkalicious]

Casanova is such a lovely Siamese ... no wonder he''s your baby!

I competely understand how you feel ... I would have been concerned as well!

While I never had any insurance for my cat, Cuddles, she never had any medical bills until she got sick just before she passed away. If I were to ever get over my heartbreak and have another pet, I would certainly invest in pet insurance b/c vet bills are just so expensive!

My neighbor had pet insurance for her dog and it worked out really well for her. She was rarely out of pocket for vet visits and, if so, it was only for a minimal (relatively) amount. She swore by it and seemed to feel that it was fairly easy to navigate.

Good luck!

 

[777_LDY]

What a fantastic picture! I''m glad Cass poof is feeling better and it wasn''t anything serious.

When we first got our pup Kingston I had looked into insurance but then I ended up having to take him to the hospital on the 2nd day we had him. DH had gotten him from an awful pet store on a whim and the poor dog was so sick. Not only did he have numerous parasites, he also had an upper respiratory infection, a heart murmur, and a hernia (typical of the breed when they are pups but has to be watched). DH was told our new addition was perfectly healthy so we were very upset to say the least. Anyway, we were told that because of the murmur we would not be accepted by the insurance and so I didn''t further pursue it. He no longer has a murmur and the hernia has healed as well but I still don''t think he would be considered.

 

[bee*]

I was going to get it years ago for Amber however one of my colleagues in the clinic said that I''d be better putting the money into a savings account so that it''s there if I ever need it and also if I don''t need it. Veterinary fees are high in Ireland but not extortionate and the most that you would pay for a fairly serious accident with vet boarding fees while being looked after would be about €600-700 which I could afford if it did happen. If fees were a lot higher though I would reconsider getting the insurance.

 

[WTNLVR]

We just cancelled our policy after 8 years. Every year it went up with the age of the dogs and it just got to be too much. Plus I only used it a handful of times, and it pays very little. If there were a major problem it would be nice to have. It is better to just put that money aside and keep for when things happen. Basic insurance only covers non-routine visits with a $50 deductable per visit. So, when we did go, I would only get back less than $20. I think it was up to over $400 a year per dog (we have 2) when we cancelled it.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Insurance is paying for peace of mind. If you are worried and rather pay a little each month rather one large vet bill it might be something to look into.

BTW, you might want to block out your phone number on her tag.

 

[lyra]

Date: 2/2/2008 6:51:50 PM
Author: bee*
I was going to get it years ago for Amber however one of my colleagues in the clinic said that I''d be better putting the money into a savings account so that it''s there if I ever need it and also if I don''t need it. Veterinary fees are high in Ireland but not extortionate and the most that you would pay for a fairly serious accident with vet boarding fees while being looked after would be about €600-700 which I could afford if it did happen. If fees were a lot higher though I would reconsider getting the insurance.

I have to agree with this. My dogs are 12.5 and 10.5 and only the older one has ever needed major vet care. In that case it was in the $2000 range for treatment. It was something unexpected, but it was nothing chronic. I don''t know if insurance will cover chronic diseases that might pop up. That would be something else to consider.

 

[Hera]

Thanks for all of the replies so far!

I guess I worry more about costs that are above $3,000 and major things like cancer.

Thanks Tacori, it''s a very old phone number though

 

[VRBeauty]

If you do decide to get pet insurance, be sure that you understand what the terms are. There was a story in the local news lately about "insurance policies" bought through a national pet suppy store chain. It turned out it isn''t really insurance, but more a way to pay for expected annual costs on a monthly basis. As a result, customers had to continue making the monthly payments even after the pet died, which in one case happened shortly after they signed into the program.

I have a healthy rainy day fund so I''ve never considered insurance for my two cats. I''m not sure what I''d do if one of my cats was faced with a chronic illness. I live near a university that has a large veterinary school, and I imagine the treatment options available would be limited only by what I was willing to pay.....

 

[BigDiamonds]

Glad to hear that Cass poof is feeling better. It can be so stressful when we think our furbabies are hurt or sick.

We don''t have insurance for our cat Coltrane yet, but we intend to get it once he gets his microchip next week (you get a discount.) We debated about it a lot because he will be a totally inside kitty, so the chances of something happening to him are pretty slim. However, we also know that we would never say "no" to a treatment that could save him, regardless of the cost. I know too many people with $10k cats, $20k dogs, and I don''t want to be one of them.

I looked into all of the major companies, and concentrated on plans that provide only for major medical coverage, i.e. no coverage for expected, regular visits. The one that I like best is called PetPlan. It has several levels of coverage, with no fixed dollar amount per incident, just the annual max. They cover "for life", meaning that it will continue to coverage chronic illnesses if the pet is insured when diagnosed. They have several deductible and coinsurance options for each plan.

This seemed the best for me because they don''t have a per-condition or per-incident limit. I worried about that because it seems that pet incidents are a slippery slope - the cat swallows some string, and then several tests, a surgery, some drugs, another surgery, and some more drugs later, you have far exceeded the per-incident limit for "ingestion of a foreign object." Also, I like that they won''t cancel your policy if the pet develops a chronic illness. I think you can get coverage starting around $12/month for a cat.

Hope that helps!

 

[Samantha Red]

We spend about £50 per month on Pet Insurance (for three dogs and one cat) and for us it is more than worth it. We have an elderly lab, who is on several different medications for different conditions. The Meds mean she has a great quality of life, but there is no way we could afford them without the insurance. When she was staying with my MIL last Summer whilst we were on holiday she was taken ill with a urine infection. It was such a relief to be able to say just do whatever it takes to diagnose the problem and get her better.


That said if you can be really disciplined and put the equivalent money away every month into an account that would work too

It just gives us peace of mind

 

[omieluv]

I did some research on this a few years ago and the common piece of advice was not to sign up for policies that covered routine pet care because it was not worth the cost, so, I signed up for an accidental policy. Recently, my cat has had a surgery, so this will be the first time in 3 years that I will make a claim. The surgery cost nearly $1500 (US dollars), and I will be very interested to find out how much will be covered.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Okay, just making sure! I had them block it out anyways.