Pet Insurance? Do you get it for your pets?

[dainthomas]

If people donated the money they waste on health insurance for animals to an organization that distributes supplies to prevent malaria, they could easily save the lives of hundreds of children.

Oh, and feel free to flame me. I don't care.

 

[Canun]

I have the pet wellness plan from Banfield. Pay $30 a month, but all things like shots, teeth cleanings, exams, xrays, and emergency visits are paid for. I've already saved about $650 by going on the plan.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Originally posted by: dainthomas
If people donated the money they waste on health insurance for animals to an organization that distributes supplies to prevent malaria, they could easily save the lives of hundreds of children.

Oh, and feel free to flame me. I don't care.

Do you with all of your disposable income? I bet not.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Originally posted by: Anonemous

Originally posted by: Capt Caveman
I have three dogs and have found it well worth it.

Cancer, hurting themselves running thru the woods, etc has paid out a lot more than I've had to pay in.

I use VPI (Veterinary Pet Insurance) and it costs between $250 to $600 on my dogs. The price range is based on age, extra-cancer coverage and size of the dogs. Pretty much everything is covered from 50% to 90% with something like a $50 deductible per incident.

It's not good for routine stuff but all you need is one emergency vet incident or surgery and it pays for itself.

I'm assuming that's annual and it's spread over 3 dogs. Do you get to choose your vet or is it a designated location? What I'm afraid is that there might be a vet that insurance won't cover or they have their own designated vets that won't be there to cover for emergencies.

I can't remember off the top of my head but I believe it's something like 600, 250, 250 annually for each dog. The $600 is for my 11 year old dog and is for premium coverage and extra cancer coverage.

You can go to any vet. You have to pay up front but you get reimbursed by the insurance company pretty quickly.

 

[Gooberlx2]

Originally posted by: dainthomas
If people donated the money they waste on health insurance for animals to an organization that distributes supplies to prevent malaria, they could easily save the lives of hundreds of children.

Oh, and feel free to flame me. I don't care.

Oh please! Won't someone think of the children!?! :roll:

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: Techdog
Sounds like a scam

Pet insurance does work, but it's really not for those looking to save / spend no money on their pets.

It's really for catastrophic things (they will throw in one vet visit usually with the premium plans, but at about $500 a year for premiums it's just a perk).

Also it doesn't work like human insurance and this is the rub. YOU HAVE TO PAY FIRST. Most vets will want payment up front for major items. Unless you can come out of pocket a few to several grand then you may as well not have insurance.

On top of that pet insurance has 'per incident' limits that are usually around 10k.

If you want vaccine and routine procedure coverage then you tack on another premium of $10-20 a month. You could be spending about $60 per pet/month to have true full coverage and still be on the hook for 10%+ of somethings and much more for most things.

All of this is readable on VPI and Pet's Best's sites. They are the two major players in the market.

Pet insurance is for those that are truly willing to spend what it takes to insure their pet has the longest and best life possible. It's a great product, but it's really not about money saving.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: Techdog
I'v got a dog thats 7 years old. Never been sick before in her life. What do you people do to your dogs?? Feed well and give regular exercise, save yourself thousands.

You are lucky. I never had much incidents with any of my cats and all have lived 16years+.

However, my one cat in a period of 1 month scratched his eye and then developed a urinary tract blockage....about $1000 when all was said and done.

My parent's cat developed a rare liver disease. He was saved, but it cost around $10k. This cat was considered very healthy by the vet.

Animals get sick, most of the time it is human caused, but not all of the time.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: Techdog
Oh well. Sorry about that. It just seems that Life insurance for a Human is understandable. Humans can live for about 80 years or more, were as animals live probably max 20. I hope your animals don't get involved with anymore medical troubles. I wasn't intimating poor care by the way. Didn't mean to come across that way, sorry to the two above.

You are confusing life with health insurance. I am thinking you must be young and that dog your parents.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: TallBill
Not a chance that I'd ever have a pet.

You're a sad man.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: TallBill
Not a chance that I'd ever have a pet.

or a girlfriend.

 

[TallBill]

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: TallBill
Not a chance that I'd ever have a pet.

You're a sad man.

Originally posted by: alkemyst

or a girlfriend.

Actually, I have a very strong relationship with my wife and am quite happy thanks. Doing better then the average cat lady. It is better to love humans after all.

 

[bctbct]

I checked into it 8-9 years ago when it was cheap, $7-8 month per pet. Wish I would have gotten it because I have probably spent 4-5k since then. Seemed expensive back then.

 

[DrPizza]

I don't find that procedures to save the lives of pets are anything near the costs to save a human life. (which can be 10's or 100's of thousands of dollars.)

It's nice to pool the costs and spread out your own risk a little bit, but don't forget - these companies are in it to make money. If you have 1 dog or 1 cat, it may be worth it, but if you have several, then over the long run, you're probably better off putting the premium into a savings account for your pet. (imho)

With some research, you can also cut a lot of the costs of the care of pets. For example, just to get a rabies shot, it may cost $50 or so at the vet (including the check-up). Or, quite a few communities offer free rabies clinics. A lot of other shots can be administered yourself (even rabies, depending on the state; I know that NY doesn't recognize rabies shots if administered by anyone other than a licensed vet - weird, but I don't know why.) Of course, it takes a lot of research/knowledge ahead of time, so that you know what you're doing.

 

[Kirby]

I can't imagine spending thousands of dollars on a pet. If it needed treatment that cost that much, well....time to go behind the shed with a pistol (assuming it was suffering).

 

[0roo0roo]

from what i've read its not worth it.
its highly profitable though the insurance costs way more than most people spend on a pet accident anyways. so if you just saved that money in a savings account you would be way better off and not have to worry about exclusions and other nonsense these companys put u through
just keep enough saved up for a booboo trip as always

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: nkgreen
I can't imagine spending thousands of dollars on a pet. If it needed treatment that cost that much, well....time to go behind the shed with a pistol (assuming it was suffering).

That would be highly illegal in most places.

 

[TallBill]

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: nkgreen
I can't imagine spending thousands of dollars on a pet. If it needed treatment that cost that much, well....time to go behind the shed with a pistol (assuming it was suffering).

That would be highly illegal in most places.

People have been putting down sick animals since they have owned animals. These are domestic, useless animals that serve no purpose in the ecosystem or work force. Shooting it is probably the quickest and most painless way.

 

[Xavier434]

Originally posted by: Anonemous

Originally posted by: Xavier434
I am not an animal activist or anything ridiculous like that, but I still love my pets like I love my kids so I figured that if I am willing to spend hundreds per month per kid on insurance then I can spare a few extra bucks a month to protect my pets.

It only took one experience costing me $2000 spread out over several months to learn my lesson. I further reinforced my decision after averaging how much I spend in total per year at the Vet and how much I could be potentially spending if I took my pets in religiously for everything. I never have to hesitate bringing my pets to the vet if they are sick anymore and nor do I have to be concerned with them requiring surgery in the case of emergency. My insurance costs $125 per year for 80% coverage in cost that are reimbursed to me in a matter of a couple weeks. $1500 maximum coverage per incident and $8500 maximum per year. I could raise some of those numbers if I wanted to pay more but I feel that this is enough.

Which insurance do you use?

ASPCA

They claim to have a 140 year record of protecting animals with life saving programs. I chose them because their plans and rates are good, but even more importantly because I figured if I went with an agency that has a track record like that one then most likely they actually care about more than just my money.

 

[Linflas]

Originally posted by: TallBill

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: TallBill
Not a chance that I'd ever have a pet.

You're a sad man.

Originally posted by: alkemyst

or a girlfriend.

Actually, I have a very strong relationship with my wife and am quite happy thanks. Doing better then the average cat lady. It is better to love humans after all.

Fortunately both my wife and I came with unlimited love capabilities so we manage to love both each other, other family members, and our dogs, cats, and other critters that we are fortunate to share our lives with.

 

[Xavier434]

Originally posted by: TallBill

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: nkgreen
I can't imagine spending thousands of dollars on a pet. If it needed treatment that cost that much, well....time to go behind the shed with a pistol (assuming it was suffering).

That would be highly illegal in most places.

People have been putting down sick animals since they have owned animals. These are domestic, useless animals that serve no purpose in the ecosystem or work force. Shooting it is probably the quickest and most painless way.

The reasons why I chose to spend the money on mine:

1. My cat was only 6 years old and had a life expectancy of almost 10 more years. The money was worth trying to extend his life considering that kind of potential.

2. I needed closure. I love my pets and the thought of putting one down before finding out for sure that there is little to no chance that I can do something to help them would be much harder for me to deal with than knowing that I am putting them out of their misery. Some things in life are worth more than money to me and that is one of them.

 

[Xavier434]

Originally posted by: TallBill

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: nkgreen
I can't imagine spending thousands of dollars on a pet. If it needed treatment that cost that much, well....time to go behind the shed with a pistol (assuming it was suffering).

That would be highly illegal in most places.

People have been putting down sick animals since they have owned animals. These are domestic, useless animals that serve no purpose in the ecosystem or work force. Shooting it is probably the quickest and most painless way.

I am not going to discuss the legal side of this or the humane arguments, but I will say that shooting is also a way which can be tremendously harder to perform or deal with knowing you took that route afterwards for a great many people. While putting them down at a Vet costs more money, they do give them a sedative before hand which helps a lot and makes it painless. People pay the money for the pet, but they are also paying it for themselves.

 

[Kirby]

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: nkgreen
I can't imagine spending thousands of dollars on a pet. If it needed treatment that cost that much, well....time to go behind the shed with a pistol (assuming it was suffering).

That would be highly illegal in most places.

Meh, if it's good enough for Old Yeller it's good enough for my dog.

 

[Jack Ryan]

Originally posted by: Linflas

Originally posted by: TallBill

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: TallBill
Not a chance that I'd ever have a pet.

You're a sad man.

Originally posted by: alkemyst

or a girlfriend.

Actually, I have a very strong relationship with my wife and am quite happy thanks. Doing better then the average cat lady. It is better to love humans after all.

Fortunately both my wife and I came with unlimited love capabilities so we manage to love both each other, other family members, and our dogs, cats, and other critters that we are fortunate to share our lives with.

ditto.

Also, why come into a "Pet Insurance" thread to make comments on why you wouldn't have a pet?

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: TallBill

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: nkgreen
I can't imagine spending thousands of dollars on a pet. If it needed treatment that cost that much, well....time to go behind the shed with a pistol (assuming it was suffering).

That would be highly illegal in most places.

People have been putting down sick animals since they have owned animals. These are domestic, useless animals that serve no purpose in the ecosystem or work force. Shooting it is probably the quickest and most painless way.

doesn't mean it's legal and shooting is not the most quickest and painless way.

Not even putting the pet in the picture, discharge of a firearm is outlawed in many places.

You need to read about these things you just spout off concerning shooting things left and right.

 

[Beattie]

Instead of buying pet insurance, save that money and pay for what you need if something happens. More than likely you will never end up spending that money anyway as evidenced by the fact that these companies are still in business. If something serious does happen and the pet needs that much money worth of care, just get it put down.