VPI pet insurance

[mta0019]

what are your opinions of VPI? have not heard good things about banfield and am considering VPI. what are your opinions on pet insurance in general?

[Sharon]

You can save up money for a pet emergency, use your credit card or get pet insurance.

I have Pet Care Insurance and it saved me a bundle two months ago.I consider it very worthwhile.
I lost a dog who was injured when found.

The insurance covered most of my "Lost Dog" advertising fees ( up to $250.00), and up to $3000. of emergency care ( has to happen when lost).
Of course it also cover illnesses.

$80.00 a year fee ( for 3 dogs)

It is a Canadian Company and may not be available in the USA.

[GSP 4 me]

I've had VPI for my GSP for almost 3 years. No complaints so far and I currently have a claim in for some minor emergency vet visits. VPI even covers dogs for cancer.

Cost is about $35 per month, but trust me.....it only takes one visit to see the $$$$ fly out of your pocket. Our dog once got into the garbage and chewed my wife's slipper in the same night....the next morning he was vomiting so we took him to the vet for an exam. They were concerned about a possible blockage and took some x-rays and they decided to give him some fluids to make sure he could pass everything along. We had a conversation about the worst case scenario which would have required surgery. We were looking at a bill in the thousands if that had happened...Imagine paying that bill without insurance coverage....OUCH!

[shanebevel@gmail.com]

Yeah, I can imagine it... my ES is going in tomorrow to have the stitches removed. It was a cat toy from the neighbors yard or dog park or somewhere... complete with sharp edged velcro closure. You can imagine the damage.

$1200 total damage. Not to mention the 12" of small intestine he lost. Glad me made it through okay, but wish I had pushed the "buy" button on VPI insurance when I shopped it a few months ago. "bleep".

[phermes1]

It might work for emergencies, but I got it for our older male a few years ago. $25 a month for 18 months, and when we submitted our first claim for about $300, which was all for very basic, general-care related stuff, they excluded almost all of it. I ended up getting a check back for $25.

[GSP 4 me]

phermes 1,

I opted for the "premium" rider that tends to cover more of the general office visits and even some meds like heartworm. I think it adds another $140 or so to the general coverage.

One other note with VPI-

Pre-existing conditions may be excluded from coverage unless it it something that can be cured and a vet could sign off on. If that's the case, VPI would have to see documentation to prove the condition is no longer an issue to drop off the exception clause.

[phermes1]

phermes 1,

I opted for the "premium" rider that tends to cover more of the general office visits and even some meds like heartworm. I think it adds another $140 or so to the general coverage.

One other note with VPI-

Pre-existing conditions may be excluded from coverage unless it it something that can be cured and a vet could sign off on. If that's the case, VPI would have to see documentation to prove the condition is no longer an issue to drop off the exception clause.

I forget what coverage I chose.
That's basically what they did, though - they manufactured pre-existing conditions and excluded 90% of the claim as being related to each condition. Bear in mind, none of these conditions were diagnosed by my vet or VPI prior to the claim being submitted, and even afterwards my vet did not agree with their findings. The only pre-existing condition was that the dog was old.

[1vizsla]

Haven't used VPI but we have insurance through http://www.embracepetinsurance.com. One claim so far and was very easy to use, nice people. Now if I only had insurance on the dog that tore her ACL, it would've been better.

Carla

[jt807]

Just to give everyone a data point, of the premiums you pay on this insurance, about 30% goes to cover their actual costs of the treatments. The other 70% covers operating costs, administration, and profit.

What that means, if you take about 50% of your premium and put it in a savings account, in the long run you will come out way ahead. This insurance doesn't protect you financially; the only value in it is the peice of mind you are getting.

[alaskantruck]

I have the AKC Pet healthcare Plan for my GSP's. On my four year old they have paid nearly $9,000.00. Cruciate Ligament, then a broken leg, barbed wire encounter and a porcupine tangle combined with a blocked intestine from eating grass. The vet loves him and has nicknamed him "unlucky". There is a $13,000.00 life time max under my plan, so I will probably be dropping the insurance after his next event.

[1vizsla]

However, if you have insurance, you are covered from day one. For our friends bill the other day ($5000.00), she would have had to wait around three years to save up that much for the one bill. Personally, I like to have both a savings acct and insurance.

Carla