Pet insurance

[Greenman]

Anyone got a recommendation? Looking to cover my two mutts, but like everything else, the market is so fragmented as to make it nearly impossible to make an informed decision.

 

[Rifter]

I looked into this for my cats, and came to the conclusion that unless you get it when they are kitten/puppies its pretty damn expensive. In canada anyways. Now i just throw $50 a month into a Vet fund.

 

[Kyle]

It's been years since I looked in to them, but in 2010ish I went with PetPlan...it did get more expensive every (6?) month renewal, but in the end it more than paid for itself. I had a golden retriever who ended up w/ cancer when she was 4, and having the insurance let me not worry about the cost when she was staying overnight in the emergency vet/having scans etc done. In the end she didn't make it, but I would have felt horrible if I at least didn't try every reasonable option due to the substantial cost. I think they reimbursed around $8k and I had nothing but a positive experience with them. They didn't reject any part of the claim or ask for more proof/justification, and paid quickly.

That being said...I was probably a couple years from the point of cancelling due to the ever increasing cost - I don't know if it's really worth it for older pets, but if/when I get another puppy I'm sure I'll get insurance for at least a few years.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

I used GoPetPlan. It was worth it for a long time when I got a huge payout for my Dach's back going out, but my dogs are so old now with high rates I really would be better off just putting cash in a pet savings account. On net, I'm probably down $2k for 2 dogs over 9 years--not terrible, but most people won't need a $6k payout for back surgery either. Based on GPP's rate increases, I think the smart play is to get it when they're puppies, keep it until they're ~3 or so. At that point you're covered from all the dumb shit puppies do and you know if the dog generally has health problems or not. Then switch to stashing cash away for freak accidents and when they're old.

 

[Capt Caveman]

I've been using National Pet Insurance(used to be VPI). It's not as costly as others but doesn't cover as much usually around 60%. I keep it b/c I can switch to another plan for my senior dog without losing coverages and I get multi-plan discount. It helps if you have to make a visit to the emergency hospital and when your senior dog starts having issues like cancer, needs hospitalization, etc. I've received way more in coverage payments than I have paid in.