Pet Insurance????

[luzdeluna]

>
I just spent $400 for a years worth of pet insurance.

It was the priciest coverage offered by Petcare. They are a Petco company. It seems to cover everything pretty completely.

Henry is four and a half and has never been sick but I have had many dogs that have needed expensive Vet care in the past.

I hope I did the right thing. Does anyone have any info or experience with pet insurance or this company in particular?

ldl

[mopinko]

1. i wouldn't buy it myself

i have looked at it, but have too many pets to afford the premiums. but i don't think it is a good idea. the thing that really got me was that i have a $100,000 life insurance policy that costs me less than $200/yr.
we just bought a health insurance policy for my 19 year old son that is only $75/mo. it's decent coverage, too.
you would be so much better off to have a savings account that you put a small amount of money into automatically. that $400 would have given it a good start.

[SiouxJ]

10. That's not a bad idea

putting away money every year if you can afford to, instead of buying the insurance. That way if you don't ever end up needing it, you haven't lost anything. I'm not saying it would work for people, the way idiot boy seems to think it will because a lot of people can't afford to put money away for anything.

[auburngrad82]

2. We have insurance on our horse.

It paid off when he collicked. Then he had to have a bone chip removed from his coffin joint. About $10,000 for the surgery and the insurance covered most of it.

We have five dogs and never thought about insurance on them but we've paid about $700 in stitches on just one of them during the last two months (three trips to the emergency vet. Don't ask...) and insurance would have paid off there as well.

[sleepyhead]

3. I have a client who is very glad she got insurance.

She has a 3-year-old dog who had to have one of his hips replaced a couple of years ago. No sooner had that incision healed than he decided to eat a needle and thread and ended up having to have it removed surgically. They had several thousand dollars worth of vet bills in one year. Insurance covered about 70% of it. Not perfect, but better than no insurance at all. You can't always predict what kind of trouble pets will get into, so it's a good idea to be prepared.

Having said that, $400 sounds a bit steep. But if you are faced with a huge bill like my client, it would definitely be worth it. You might also want to look into Care Credit, which is a line of credit that is only used at veterinary hospitals. Depending on the total balance, you can get 3, 6, 12, or 24 months interest free - better than a credit card! We advise our clients to have both insurance and Care Credit (which by the way is free - no annual fee or anything). This helps with any unexpected expenses. You can apply for Care Credit over the phone (takes about 5 minutes). The catch is that if you don't get the balance paid off on time, they will apply 24% interest retroactively, so you do have to make sure to pay the installments promptly.

[SW FL Dem]

4. I have VPI pet insurance on 3 of my furkids

It doesn't cover everything, but if one of them gets sick it does help. When my Maggie (Rainbow Bridge June 1999) was diagnosed with congestive heart failure, the insurance was a lifesaver. It cost us around $400 a year, but we got much more than that in benefits. It's easy to file claims and I have never had a problem with a claim being denied or getting reimbursement.

[RebelOne]

6. I just checked out VIP pet insurance and enrolled.

Their rates were the lowest for my dog. She is a Rottweiler and the other insurance companies' rates were a lot higher for her breed. I purchased the most expensive plan, plus cancer insurance and it is only $41.67 a month, a lot less than another insurer that charged about $60 for a lot less coverage.

[luzdeluna]

5. I'm glad I did it...

I went back over my records from last year and I found a Vet bill for $314.00. Seems Henry stuck his head in the hew hedges and scratched his eye.

I took him to the Vet, they put green dye in his eye to make certain that he hadn't scratched his cornea and sent us home with eye drops.

We live in Bergen Count NJ. To walk in the door at my Vets cost $70.00.

LDL

[sleepyhead]

7. Where in Bergen County?

I used to live there (Westwood) and worked at a local animal hospital for 7 years. Just curious.

[luzdeluna]

8. My groomer is in Westwood

But I moved down to Rutherford a few years ago. I use Oradell Animal Hospital.

In the past twenty years I have adopted dogs with heart conditions, diabetes and cushings. In 1999 I wrote over $7000.00 in checks to them.

I never insured any of my dogs before because they all already had their illnesses before I brought them home.

Henry is my first "well" dog in a long time.


ldl

[sepia_steel]

9. Wow.

I never considered that. I'm getting another dog soon.

Thanks for posting this; now I can check it out, too.

[kslib]

11. $20 a week X 52 weeks is $1040 a year

to save up for vet bills. I think if you can afford this, it's a good way to go; if you aren't so good at saving, then insurance is better!

I have a Christmas fund, that I put $20 every paycheck into. I use it for pet stuff if it comes up, but kitties can sometimes be cheaper than dogs at the vet, plus vet care is definitely cheaper in Kansas that where you live!

I think you did the right thing. You can never do wrong when you care for your pets! :)