Recently, Bogey got sick (more on that later). This spurred our family into panic-mode; How could we afford an expensive visit to the vet? We've had a recent job loss and, like many Americans, we've been strapped for cash.
Luckily, we found a low-cost clinic. It was still quite a hit, financially, but to us, there was no other option.
As Bogey recovers, I started to think about our options. Admittedly, we've skipped a routine visit or two because of finances. I'm certainly not proud of this fact, but I'd like to remedy this and make sure we always have a cushion for unexpected situations such as these.
Pet Insurance is probably the only option for us. I'm thinking we'll pay annually, if it's more affordable, with tax returns (as well as having a Bogey fund in the back of my closet). But as soon as I Googled "Pet Insurance", I knew this was going to be a much larger task then I imagined.
There are many different types of insurance you can get, as well as varying deductibles and percentages of coverage. Don't forget if you have a diagnosed preexisting condition. Bogey was diagnosed a week ago, and although we'll need to recheck him in a week, the cost to manage his condition isn't unreasonable. Still, it would be great if we could get some help; any little bit helps.
Do you have pet insurance? If so, with whom? And are you satisfied with your coverage (what kind of coverage do you have)? Have you had an experience in which you had to use the insurance? Does insurance pay the vet directly or do they reimburse the individual? Do you think it's more cost-effective to have insurance pay for the yearly visits or just save the money you would spend on the insurance for these visits?
Feel better soon!
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I personally think pet insurance is a scam. I had it for one dog and it sucked. I think it's better to have money automatically put into a savings account from your paycheck. But, if you do want insurance, I looked at this plan recently: http://www.petfirsthealthcare.com/petfinder/ It SAYS it covers IVDD. I'd still think a savings account is better.
We're trying to stick to the savings account idea too - putting away the cost of pet insurance every month and just having it to use on our own.
Seeing as the issue is just knowing you can pay for emergencies, I think it's just as easy to keep the money yourself and not worry about what's covered and what's not.
I have been doing the same as Ben and Courtney too. Much more useful to have a pot put aside for them. (At least the money is readily available).
I keep looking into it, but have been unable to decide (my dog is about 1 year old)... I am thinking about accident-only insurance, but setting aside money may be the better plan
I have Embrace Pet Insurance for my beagle Buckley and I actually work at Embrace as well. Doxies are a favorite breed of mine and my heart always breaks when I see claims come in for them. We see a lot of spinal claims and cancer claims for Doxies, two things that are quite costly to treat. Here's a link to a claims story for a Doxie named Maggie: http://www.embracepetinsurance.com/why-choose-embrace/claims-stories/dachshund-b-cell-cancer.aspx
With all the thousand dollar claims that I see come in daily, I can say first hand that pet insurance is worth it. Vet bills have become so expensive that it's tough to even come close to covering them with just a savings account. Good pet insurance works just like car or home insurance, covering you for the big, unexpected accidents and illnesses that can occur. It's a life saver!
That's my two cents though, if you want an unbiased look at pet insurance, check out www.petinsurancereview.com - that site contains super helpful reviews from actual pet parents with insurance. No insurance companies are affiliated with it at all.
If you guys have any questions at all about Embrace, let me know. I'm happy to help. :) kz@embracepetinsurance.com
Thanks, Kate Z.
I appreciate the perspective, Kate. Thank you for taking the time to comment.
Oh - and now I feel like a jerk.
Miss B? I hope Ike feels better!!
I used to think pet insurance was a scam and its really not needed too much until "something happens" right? well for the first year of my Riley's life I didn't think to get it because most vets have "vaccination hours" in houston, where you just pay for the office visit. But after losing our first doxie pickles, pet insurance is very much needed and helps out a lot especially when you have to get insulin for an eleven year old doxie. that really hit home and we we got it now for riley and for our 1 year old doxie pepperoni. i think and believe that though you may have a young healthy spry pup, there will always be that "something." if you don't want to spring for the pet insurance, the savings plan like $25-50 from each check put aside would be sufficient i believe. =) my opinion. i just recently took riley and pepper for a routine visit and since i had pet insurance i only had to pay 75 bucks just for their heartworm refills and they had the works, including a mani-pedi and teetch cleaning!
After Baxter's bout with HGE and his $1200 visit to the emergency vet, we went with PetPlan USA. I haven't googled info on them lately but at the time we were shopping for insurance these folks had the least negative opinions, and seemed the most well regarded. I liked that we had several different coverage options relative to deductible amount and % reimbursement beyond that. Reimbursement is direct to the individual. If I recall correctly we chose a $200 deductible with 100% coverage, Accident and Illness only. But like I said you can specify different levels for both. The math for us didn't really support the purchase of a Wellness plan. If I understood what I researched correctly, the caveat with some insurers is that if a dog develops a condition in say the current year of coverage, it may well be considered a "pre-existing" condition when you try to sign up for coverage in subsequent years. Not so with Petplan. I also think there is allowance for congenital issues. The website allows for an instant quote, so it's pretty easy to see what level of coverage might be right for you.
And no, we thankfully have not had to use it. If anyone has had issues with Petplan USA, I would love to hear from them.
I'm a "if I don't have it, I'll need it" kind of person (something my mother instilled in me...thanks a lot), so we have VPI pet insurance for our doxie Vito.
We haven't (thankfully) needed it for anything big, but it's there waiting for us in case we do.
Many pet lovers now a days are planning for pet insurance which shows their care towards their pets. There are many advantages of pet insurance, top reasons to go in for pet insurance are Bears the cost of medical expenses, Insuring multiple pets and many more.
When we were looking at adopting a second dachshund, the foster parents told us about Banfield's Pet Health Plans (usually at PetSmarts). They have a few Health Plans to pick from and in the end it looks like you would save money; they all include all annual vaccinations, two physical exams, free office calls, free interstate health certificates, heart-worm/Lyme/Ehrlich test, 2 intestinal parasite fecal exams, 2 roundworm and hookworm dewormings, and two of their plans include a yearly dental cleaning, the anesthesia for the dental cleaning and the cost for the pet to stay there. We love our current vet and haven't switched, but if these are things you do on a yearly basis it might be worth looking into to save a money if you can. Each level of health plan also comes with additional discounts on other services ranging from 5-20% off. It might be worth calling if you have one in your area. We didn't sign up for it this year, but in a sense I wish we would have as we just had to have a tumor removed from our dachshund and we did it at the same time as when he had his teeth cleaned; I think it would have been nice not to have had to pay for the teeth cleaning and the anesthesia (and to get 20% off the cost of the rest of the surgery), but we are happy that he is home and feeling better and that we had some tax return money to cover the cost. That's one thing about having animals is that you never know what could happen, but it's good to know that there are owners out there who are taking good care of their pets. We got our dachshund from a shelter and are so thankful to have him, we have no idea how anyone could have given him up.
I honestly tried to do the whole store money aside in a different bank account for a while but it became too difficult for me! Haha. I heard about pet insurance and I did extensive research on all the companies and I ended up going with Trupanion: http://www.trupanionpetinsurance.com. I looked at pet insurance review sites as well, check this one out: http://www.petinsurancereview.com and I found that to be extremely helpful. With Trupanion I was able to pick out my own deductible (which range from $0-$1000) and so I chose a $0 deductible, my monthly premium is a little higher than it would be if I chose a higher deductible but I figured a few dollars isnt too bad. Also there is no limit on the claims you submit and there is a lifetime coverage of $20,0000 (which I hear is very difficult to reach). I definitely recommend taking a look at their website. It is so informative and I guess they redid their website so there is even more information like breed guides on there. Ben I think you should definitely take a look into pet insurance. I know that it can be pricy but for me it is worth it in the end!
I second Lucy, I'm using Trupanion and they've been really good to work with. Our vet reccomended them, and it's the company she uses (as well as the majority of the vet techs at the office)
For $46/month CDN, we don't have a deductible. While it doesn't pay for routine things, it does cover the kind of stuff I wouldn't be able to afford. Stuff like that emergency back surgery I'm scared will happen one day.
We have VPI pet insurance for all 3 of our dogs. One dog used his coverage frequently, the other two have not, yet. But, I know they will need it. My insurance reimburses me and I have several months to put in the claim. I can also put multiple claims on the form.
The first time I thought of getting it I completed all the paperwork and then backed out because it was too expensive. A week later Gus, a redbone coonhound rohdesian mix, had tail issues. $3000 later he still had his tail and I was kicking myself that I didn't buy the insurance.
Gus also recently had to use his insurance again for an emergency trip. The bill was between $500 and $600. We got most of that money back. The trip didn't end the way anyone would like, but the insurance reimbursed us for final arrangements and refunded the money for the remaining months. We paid annually because it reduced the cost.
I think it is great to have because I know I wouldn't be able to do the savings thing.
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