Does anyone have pet health insurance?

christar2000 · December 2009

With my little Luka coming down with various ailments about every two weeks I am wondering if it is worth it. I always thought pet insurance was a bit of a scam...but a friend told me that she thinks it is more legit now. I am just wondering if anyone has had any experience with it? Thanks!

jCamsquared · December 2009

Here's my .02...

When we got Billy, his first year cost us an absolute fortune. He had two different parasites, demodectic mange, conjunctivitis, and got lime disease. We didn't know about pet insurance, but found out after all of that stuff.

We at first wished we had gotten it, and were going to get it in case anything else happened, but then found out that it doesn't actually cover a lot. We figured that with all he had, plus all the regular visits to the vet, we could have saved so much, but it only would have covered half of it, plus you are paying for the insurance, so it would have balanced out to be the same amount.

Now there might be another kind of insurance out there that we missed, but that's just what we found.

(And since he has still always had his issues.. remember his paws over the summer? And other stuff too.. and we still don't think it would have been worth it).

Buckeye608 · December 2009

We thought about it for Lucy, especially since she had some ailments when she first came home too, but hasn't had any in the last month or two, just when we first brought her home.

We came to the same conclusion jCam did, that it didn't really seem to cover much and equalled out anyways. Also, when we asked our vet, she gave us the spiel about how it can be helpful, etc., but we didn't get the impression from her that it was an absolute must. Maybe we'll reconsider it later on, or look at what health issues are specific to her breed(s) and see if it seems like a wise investment.

MrsC968 · December 2009

We had a free 30 day trial when we adopted our cats. It was actually nice to have because Bella developed this weird cough soon after we got her and did get money back from the visits and tests they needed to run. However we decided not to actually buy any since we only have cats and they are indoor.

Lucky_Dragonfly · December 2009

I think if you have a pet that will need it then you should get it, but look into it first. I have 2 cats that are really healthy so it would not be worht it for me. I do have them on a wellness plan at my vet that covers the twice a year check ups, shots and a teeth cleaning once a year and that it worth the money.

christar2000 · December 2009

jCamsquared:
Here's my .02...

When we got Billy, his first year cost us an absolute fortune. He had two different parasites, demodectic mange, conjunctivitis, and got lime disease. We didn't know about pet insurance, but found out after all of that stuff.

We at first wished we had gotten it, and were going to get it in case anything else happened, but then found out that it doesn't actually cover a lot. We figured that with all he had, plus all the regular visits to the vet, we could have saved so much, but it only would have covered half of it, plus you are paying for the insurance, so it would have balanced out to be the same amount.

Now there might be another kind of insurance out there that we missed, but that's just what we found.

(And since he has still always had his issues.. remember his paws over the summer? And other stuff too.. and we still don't think it would have been worth it).

I was looking online last night, and basically could not find anything without at least a $50 deductible--so like you said it probably is not worth it. Hmmm....I was hoping someone would know of some fabulous insurance without a deductible, but I guess that would be too good to be true! Luke got Lyme disease last week....so basically I have been at the vet consistently every two weeks since we got him, and I have to go back this Friday for sure...and then two weeks after that. Hopefully he will be all better by then. Sigh....

jCamsquared · December 2009

Oh man, it sounds like you have been dealing with a lot of the same issues we did when we first got Billy! Poor Luka My advice with the lyme disease (which I spelled wrong in my op, oops!) is to put him on the antibiotics right away if you haven't already. The doc gave us some other options for shots and stuff too, but said they weren't necessary, just extra precautions.

Well Billy has had it for over two years now and it only acted up once - we got him on the antibiotics again and within 12 hours he was running around like normal again.

christar2000 · December 2009

We caught it early---I had removed the tick Monday night and took him to the vet Friday. The vet said that if you catch it within five days of removing the tick then the treatment is three days of strong antibiotics. She also thinks the frontline is not cutting it, and we need to switch to Adantix....which we will once he finishes up the treatments he is getting for mites. He will be all done with that in three weeks.

jCamsquared · December 2009

That's good - that's what we did too was the antibiotics and then nothing until he had the episode about a year and a half ago. Then they just gave him the antibiotics again and it went away right away.

We're using Advantix now too.

PunkyBooster · December 2009

I think you just have to watch out for premiums, deductibles, and fees. We don't have it, we just set aside money for vet emergencies and costs.

Bride0603 · December 2009

I think we pay about $35/mo for our dog and I will say it has been very handy. When we first got Sophie, she had kennel cough which tuned into walking pneumonia...lots of expensive antibiotcs that were covered at 80%. THEN she poked her eye on a rose bush and ulcerated her cornea...very serious and many trips to the dog opthamologist which totalled around $1000. We only had to pay 80% of these costs. She required two knee surgeries for luxating patellas. These were not covered because it is a congenital defect in her breed, however, the investigational X-rays needed for diagnosis were covered at 80% and these ran at about $250-300. Last year, she cracked 2 teeth chewing on a nylabone that needed to be extracted. I can't remember how much this cost but it was not cheap and this was covered at 80% as well. So, all told we saved ourselves over $1K even when you factor in the deductible and the cost of the insurance. It's kind of like people insurance....you generally don't need it but when you do, you're thankful you have it. My friend's dog tore it's ACL and she had to pay over $5K for surgeries..this is something that is covered by my pet insurance.

HarwichBride08 · December 2009

I am currently switching Murray from ASPCA to VPI. Both my parents and I haven't had a great experience dealing with ASPCA and from what research I have done and speaking with the rep it seems like the coverage is better. I'm doing the Superior plan with Caregaurd. You get $400 a year covered for routine care, shots, heartworm pills, advantix/frontline etc. Anything after that you would have to pay for.

If you have any illnesses/emergencies they are covered with the $50 deductible and then they cover a certain portion.

HalleyGirl · December 2009

We have had great luck with VPI. They have a deductible but it is low and the coverage is comprehensive. We pay annually and get a bit of a discount. The coverage we have covers spay/neutering, annual vacs and other ER services. The only thing to worry about is surgery, there might be extra costs with surgery. Also, you can purchase a cancer rider, which we did not do right now. We may add the cancer rider once our dogs get older. The other thing to look out for is pre-existing conditions. GL.

http://www.petinsurance.com/

CrysW08 · December 2009

I've looked into it a couple of times but didn't feel like it would be worth it until Brady gets older, he's been really healthy so far.

Be sure to watch Luka after you put advantix on him the first time, Brady had a really bad reaction to it when I tried to switch him to that. He got really lethargic and acted like he couldn't hold his tail up and I finally had to bathe him in dawn dish detergent to dilute the stuff.

Bride0603 · December 2009

Just an FYI for those of you who wait until your pet gets older...any pre-existing conditions are not covered so the longer you wait, the more chance your dog will have some pre-existing conditions. Also, the premiums go way up for older dogs. My parents looked into it and it was something like $100-150/mo for their older dog.

Does anyone have pet health insurance?

Re: Does anyone have pet health insurance?

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