PET INSURANCE

[cheetome]

Do any of you use a pet insurance? If so who do you use? I just do't know if it is worth the cost or not. I know they most likely have improved quite a bit since I got my two dogs, now 3 & 4 yrs. but I had heard a lot of bad things back then like paying premiums (sometimes for a year or more) with no claim and then when you do they don't cover anything. Has this changed? With hunting season here, heading into snake country and all the other things that can go wrong in the field it might not be a bad idea to have.

[postoakshorthairs]

you might check with a search. i believe there was a thread on this a month or two ago

[phermes1]

I'm not a huge believer in it. What I would want it most is for accidents, injuries, snakebite, etc - and in those cases, you need to check the coverage very closely as it really isn't that great.

[cheetome]

Found the thread from about a month ago. Thanks. From what I can see I'll save my money and pay for any vet bills that arise. The insurance really seems like a joke! I checked out several websites offering pet Ins. with all their pre-existing garbage and fine print I can't imagine ever getting my moneys worth. My dogs are healthy now, never been to the vet for anything other than routine stuff. But from what I can see the insurance companies would still find a way to get out of paying . I'll just have to save my dunkets and keep fingers crossed nothing bad happens.

[Sharon]

I have insurance that covers my dogs if they get lost and when found by someone or Animal Control need emergency treatment. $50.00 a year for $3000. of emergency surgery plus any expenses used to find the dog.

I had a lost dog several months ago. The person who found the dog covered the cost of the emergency surgery needed. I was lucky; few would have done that and the dog would have been put down.

That's why I invested in emergency surgery ins.The dog wears a tag that alerts any vet to the insurance coverage.

[phermes1]

I have insurance that covers my dogs if they get lost and when found by someone or Animal Control need emergency treatment. $50.00 a year for $3000. of emergency surgery plus any expenses used to find the dog.

I had a lost dog several months ago. The person who found the dog covered the cost of the emergency surgery needed. I was lucky; few would have done that and the dog would have been put down.

That's why I invested in emergency surgery ins.The dog wears a tag that alerts any vet to the insurance coverage.

Where did you get this insurance?

[Sharon]

24PetWatch

www.24petwatch.com

[windswept]

Here's my take on pet health insurance.
Generally insurance, be it human health, auto, home etc... is a very profitable venture for the insurance company. Over the long haul and thousands of premium paying customers the company comes out way ahead.
You and I need insurance because of very expensive catastrophies like cancer, heart problems etc. We need home owners insurance and vehicle insurance for the same reason - catastrophy. If all of us count the amount of money we spend on insurance and then deduct the expenses from that number the remaining balance would be very large for most of us. But we gotta have it just in case. With our dogs the biggest health catastrophy can only be so bad - nothing like us humans.
I just pay my vet bills as they come and call it good.

[outdrguyjr]

As an insurance salesman who is also a loyal dog owner I have not found a pet policy that is worth the money. Most of these policies limit the payment for vet bills and if you breakdown the math IMO you will be money ahead to just put some money each month into a "slush fund" account that you can save for dog's needs. Hope that helps...

[Grange]

I've been thinking about getting it for hunting injuries. I've already had to make an appt. with the vet before the first day of hunting was over. With the cost of around $150 for that one incident already paying $12-$14 per month may be worth it. Last year I spent around $500 in vet bills for another hunting injury so insurance definitely would have been worth it.

[outdrguyjr]

Just an quick update...again in my opinion it might end up costing you more in the long run to purchase the insurance, but if you are going to purchase it then I would definately consider using 24PetWatch. It is underwriten by MetLife and has good customer statisfaction. However just know what you are getting.

Current premiums are $29 a month and that gives you the following coveage:

$3000 per accident with a $100 deductible for each occurance--Company pays 70% of the claim

$3000 per illness with a $100 deductible for the following conditions; Company pay 70% of the claim
cardiovascular & respiratory system • digestive system • urogenital system • musculoskeletal system • nervous system • eyes • ears • skin • endocrine system • blood & lymphoid system • infectious diseases • cancer

Accidental death $500
Hospital boarding $250
Recovery costs for a lost dog $150
Euthansia $100

This is just a sample plans...they several to choose from.

[Chaingang]

I think you can make arguments for both sides of the Insurance vs slush fund debate.

Hunting dogs unlike your run of the mill house dog can and do incur serious injuries from time to time. Does that mean your particular dog will? possibly... possibly not. A cruciate tear which may require a TPLO on that up and coming youngster may wipe out a slush fund in one incident. Better pray you don't have another or some other serious illness or injury in the near future. If one doesn't have the means to keep a substantial amount of money set aside, then $300 in yearly premiums to me seems a small amount to pay if the coverage is worthy. I've done a little research on some of the different providers for pet insurance and while there are some with bad reviews, there are also some with very favorable reviews. Petplan USA is one of them that ranks very high. They rate very high when it comes to paying out claims. I could certainly see the case for a basic plan to cover emergency vet services where the costs can escalate quickly.

[outdrguyjr]

That is why we call it insurance...the good thing is that we all care enough about our dogs to worry about things like this.