pet health insurance

[dogear52]

Does anyone have a policy for their pet and what's a good plan you have found? After my last vet bill I need to cover my companions before I hit the road.  

 

[NickTheoBennett]

I hear you! I just paid out $350 for a nasty bacterial ear infection on my newest dog. It's downright depressing.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Did you consider asking your Vet for a recomendation?

I'm guessing their offices would be familiar with any plans available in your area.

Regards
John

 

[Preacher]

Would be curious to hear about folks' experiences with dog/cat health insurance.

My Aussie had a streak of remarkably bad luck the summer past -- "cancer" that turned out not to be (after they cut it out, naturally), a torn ACL in rear knee, a broken tooth...  Then damaged her other ACL...  All within about two months.  At the end of which, the truck broke a transmission

The old girl is family, so I paid most of the $5500 that her bills cost.  On a working man's salary in Pennsylvania, it very nearly sank me.  It certainly hastened my departure for the North Dakota oilfields...

Moral of the story: make triple sure you've got A PLAN for when -- not if -- something goes wrong for your fuzzy friend.  Else, risk having to make a gut-wrenching decision.  

And yeah, having learned a very painful lesson, I'm quite curious to see how y'all prepare for potential pet health issues.

 

[LucyImHome]

The pet insurance companies disallow coverage for the more common diseases and ailments of an inherited nature. They have a list of the breeds and the stuff they don't cover with those breeds. Mixed breeds create a gray area that leaves some room to provide greater coverage if there's some question of what breeds are represented in the dog. I haven't looked over the lists lately, but as an example...... a Dachshund might not be covered for spinal disorders, but that may be covered in a Pembroke Welsh Corgi. If the dog is a mix and it's long bodied, a shelter might label it as Dachshund mix. It may not be, could be a Corgi mix. This is just an example, hypothetical. By the way, few shelters are good at identifying mixes. No diss on them, just a lot of breeds to know about.
Any previously diagnosed illness may be disallowed.
That said, pet insurance is a good idea.
Some vets will take carecredit. It's a credit card for vet bills. I haven't looked into it so can't give an opinion.

 

[dogear52]

I'll ask a mobile vet I use. I was finally ready to hit the road by month's end when my cat was diagnosed with diabetes and pancreatitus and spent 5 days on an IV plus sonogram, 2 blood work ups etc at a KC ASPCA facility. Cost was $855 and counting (they did give me insulin and syringes free of charge). I gave them $188 my 1st visit and racked up the rest when I had to take him back into ICU. They'll let me pay off at least $655 of the bill monthly since I'm drawing a disability pension and low income status but they want it paid in 6 months. I asked about insurance but the finance dept gal didn't have any info....I'll ask the vet on the case. As far as insurance I doubt I can cover him now but I have 2 dogs and another cat and the only way I can cover them all now is to live rent free on the road as planned as soon as he's back on his feet and insulin dose figured out. His sister had diabetes and got along well for years until she died from a heart problem. If anyone else gets sick soon we're screwed unless I get them covered. This crap comes out of no where like a freight train. I'll post any info I can get.

 

[TravelingDruid]

I have HealthyPaws pet insurance for my 8 month old Bengal kitty. http://www.healthypawspetinsurance.com/ My cost for 90% coverage with 200.00 annual (not per incident) deductible with lifetime discount comes out to be 15.78 per month with a 25.00 one time setup fee. I have my cat checked every 6 months, and that should be good enough for the insurance company to see that I am caring for my cat (if they do check for this). I get the 3 year purevax rabies vaccination for my cat so he does not have to be poked so much. There is also a 3 year FVRCP combo by purevax as well - these seem to be the safest vaccinations.

They seem to have the highest customer service/claims payment rating. They also have a smartphone app you can take a picture of the bill and send to them for quick claims processing.

Download a sample policy to figure out any exclusions ( http://www.healthypawspetinsurance.com/PolicyDocuments/Sample Policy.pdf ) but from what I have researched, they cover more than most if not all other pet insurance companies and they have great pricing. They also have lifetime discount of 10% I believe. One of the exclusions are they do not cover diseases that are preventable by vaccination. I guess their thinking is that this nudges people to care for their cats. They do cover chronic and congenital diseases if they occur after the initial 15 day waiting period. Hip dysplasia is covered if it occurs after the 12 month waiting period. Of course, no pre existing condition is covered.

Hope this helps.

 

[DrJean]

Thanks for reminding me to follow up on this.  Went looking for accident insurance only, broken bones, snake bites, etc:

For 9$ a month or so  (I already have Banfield Preventative Special Care)  I found Pets Best

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Thanks for reminding me to follow up on this.  Went looking for accident insurance only, broken bones, snake bites, etc:

For 9$ a month or so  (I already have Banfield Preventative Special Care)  I found Pets Best

Interesting.  But the web site says that one of the factors that determines your premium is "location".  How did they react to a full time traveller who wanders all over?

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

I have HealthyPaws pet insurance for my 8 month old Bengal kitty.  http://www.healthypawspetinsurance.com/  My cost for 90% coverage with 200.00 annual (not per incident) deductible with lifetime discount comes out to be 15.78 per month with a 25.00 one time setup fee. 

Thanks for this info.  I'm going to get a quote for my dog.  A quick look of online reviews and they have hundreds of great ones on multiple sites.....yelp, google, canine journal, usually a pretty good indication of the type of company they are.  

In years past, I would have drawn the line at a few grand but I'm def getting softer the older I get and ever since becoming disabled myself I think I look at life a lot differently.  Not sure there is an amount of money I wouldn't spend if my current dog needed it.  Might as well get some insurance just in case.  

Matt

 

[Ella1]

I haven't looked into animal insurance for years, so take this with a shaker of salt:
My girl was a service dog. At the time, 16 years ago to more recently, it was the general opinion of many owners
in the Service Animal community, that the insurances available at the time were expensive and rarely covered what was needed.
The advice was often to sock the premiums into an untouchable account of our own so it was there to cover whatever
our animal needed.
Things may have changed, but do be careful. I noted a couple of items above--the fact of travelling, the mixed breeds,
etc.

 

[DrJean]

I still have a 'home' address and based it upon that.   Travel is still free in the USA for now

I went that route with my last service dog, without insurance. I thought the wellness plan I had with Banfield covered such things and when I realized not, I never got around to adding to it.  Caleb tore a ligament and after 9 months of home therapy, was fine and received his health certificate to fly.  When we got home from that trip, he was diagnosed with cancer.  The vet had missed it?  Anyway... can't cover the details just yet though received a miracle for a bit...but it's only been 2 1/2 years and I sob yet.   (God gave me a wonderful  new doggie.)

 

[ccbreder]

Some vets take Care Credit. It is a credit card that gives you a fixed amount of time to pay in full with no interest. I used mine for my dental work. I had one year to pay $4600.

 

[TrainChaser]

DogsEar52: My sister was just telling me that one of her coworkers has to pay a fortune for her insulin. I read that one vial of insulin has gone up from $15 in 1995 to $270 today. Many people don't know that it costs $25 at Walmart. Keep it in mind. See RxRights.org for more info: http://www.rxrights.org/the-rising-price-of-insulin/

When pet insurance first came out, it covered only a few things that weren't likely to happen, like 1) if a dam broke upriver from you and washed your home away, your drowned dog would be covered if it was in the destroyed house, but not tied to the front porch; 2) if it was hit by a train while walking on a trestle, but not if it was hit by a train on either side of the trestle; 3) if it was hit by a car on a day with a Z in it; 4) no coverage while traveling, etc........... PLEASE read the contract, and save it where you can find it.

Have your pet microchipped and registered (just flat lifetime registering costs about $45, but they will try to add on a bunch of other stuff). Give the ins. co. the microchip number. Then they can't try to wiggle out of paying by saying it's not the same pet.

What do you mean, I don't trust insurance companies??? Whatever gave you THAT idea?

 

[steamjam1]

For my dog, Zia I have her health care covered through Banfield, which is attached to most Pet-Smarts accross the country. I pay $80 a month and all of her shots, check ups are covered. Emergency care is covered. Why Banfield? Because there is always one close by no matter where I am in case Zia gets hurt.. Or other wise needs vet attention.

I'm not one who likes chain stores, or huge corporations of any kind, but in my experiences with Banfield so far they have been excellent.

 

[Fairlight]

The pet insurance companies disallow coverage for the more common diseases and ailments of an inherited nature. They have a list of the breeds and the stuff they don't cover with those breeds. Mixed breeds create a gray area that leaves some room to provide greater coverage if there's some question of what breeds are represented in the dog. I haven't looked over the lists lately, but as an example...... a Dachshund might not be covered for spinal disorders, but that may be covered in a Pembroke Welsh Corgi. If the dog is a mix and it's long bodied, a shelter might label it as Dachshund mix. It may not be, could be a Corgi mix. This is just an example, hypothetical. By the way, few shelters are good at identifying mixes. No diss on them, just a lot of breeds to know about.  
Any previously diagnosed illness may be disallowed.
That said, pet insurance is a good idea.
Some vets will take carecredit. It's a credit card for vet bills. I haven't looked into it so can't give an opinion.

VPI (Veterinary Pet Insurance) is a specific brand of pet insurance that is infamous for breed exclusions. As a CVT (board certified veterinary nurse), I've done a LOT of research for my own pets.  
I would never ever recommend VPI (among several).

I DO recommend PetPlan & TruPanion.  
Both are excellent. & don't have breed exclusions (I know that's true for PetPlan & believe it's also so for TruPanion.)

Also check to see if the plan has limits for certain types of care (despite a total dollar value that seemingly would provide coverage). 
Again - VPI is notorious for this (grrr). 
Theoretical example- If you have a $20k policy, but VPI puts a $5k limit on orthopedics.  If your bill is $8K for orthopedics, you're responsible for the remaining $3k. So much for your $20k policy.
(Per my personal experience- PetPlan does not put such limits on individual treatment categories. )
 
PetPlan requires payment upfront & will then provide reimbursement, so securing a Carecredit card in advance is recommended.   I have seen TruPanion overnight a check to an emergency clinic on the weekend to ensure care (pretty impressive).

Go to petinsurancereviews.ORG to read about policy comparisons & customer reviews.  

I have the most personal experience with PetPlan.  They do not cover routine maintenance - no vxs, no heartworm preventative, flea control, or dentals.  Those things can be factored into a budget.  
What PetPlan covers are the situations that can knock you flat financially: illness, injury, &/or trauma /emergency.  They also cover cancer treatment, and also cover chiropractic & acupuncture.

Mixed breeds cost MUCH less to insure than purebreds.  If you don't have registration papers for your animal, your animal is technically a mixed breed. Run the numbers through their quotation generators to convince yourself (again- personal experience).

Get pet insurance before your pet ages out. Check each insurance- some don't accept applications for pets as young as four; others go to six or so.

Sorry for 'going on' but I could give a seminar - have had 6+ pets pass over, with a variety of ailments over the years, & am sadly familiar with the benefits & challenges.  

I will say this- pet insurance takes away the tightness in your chest when your pet is hurting / needs care & your budget didn't have the financial surprise built into your plans.  It allows you to focus on helping your pet instead of finances/euthanasia.
For me, it's a no-brainer - I feel so much better with it, and I have received FAR more $$value than I've paid in (such is the nature of insurance) but sadly have had my pets be in a state to require such reimbursements.

That's my take (your considerations may differ)