Pet Insurance?

[rockllews]

Hi All,

So two evenings ago I gave myself a little scare. I was cleaning one of our dogs teeth and thought I broke one of them. I actually considered trying to pull the broken piece myself (yikes!) but after a little research, realized the stupidity of such an idea. We also realized that the tooth had probably been broken for a little while, since there was some buildup around it and it was already discolored. Plus... it was broken vertically and horizontally- it would have been impossible for the amount of pressure I use with the scaler to do damage like that. That old cow knee/knuckle probably had something to do with it... I've really had my family cut down on giving dogs cooked bones (we can buy raw from a rancher friend) but this thing appeared in the yard one evening and the dogs have been gnawing on it for over six months now since we charred all of the trimmings off of it.

Anyways, here comes another vet bill. Fortunately for us, the more expensive options (vital pulpotomy or root canal therapy) aren't really applicable in our case due to the tooth shape and breaks... we're just going to have the thing extracted. That'll make her more comfortable I'm sure.

So the point of this whole post : does anyone here have pet insurance? From the vet or what company? What do you (and don't you) like about it? What's the policy/rate like? Does anyone feel like it's a gimmick or waste of money or just plain silly?

I think it's a fairly new thing. We don't have any and I've never really considered it at all. But I'm curious if any the working dog folks utilize pet insurance.

[PrairieGoat]

I got suckered into a "health plan" at the local Banfield (vet office in PetsMart). It runs about $22/month and mainly covers one comprehensive physical/year, all puppy vaccinations, all office visits (but not any type of procedures/tests they might want to do other than the previously mentioned), and neutering. Don't really feel that I got my money's worth out of it......especially given that it covers neutering, and I've about come to the conclusion that I probably won't have ours neutered until he is about 2 years old. It seems to me that they nickel and dime me for stuff that isn't covered.....course in this case, there could be a bit of a conflict of interest (since they do both the work and offer the "plan"). If I were going to do it again, I might look at one of the third party insurance companies. The real drawback to this type of insurance is that to get a comprehensive plan (accident, sickness, routine stuff), you end up paying $40-$50/month and then they generally have a 20% copay and a yearly max.....at least this is what they quoted me if I remember correctly. Kind of depends on your luck as to whether it pays off......kind of like life insurance......it's betting against your luck!!!

[Kiki's Mom]

Yes!! I have a Pet Care Insurance policy on my oldest boy, Dutch. We decided on the "Quick Care" policy for him back in 2005 when he spiral fractured his front leg to the tune of $6000. ( he was sitting on 1 pt to finish his DC title at the time - hence the decision to insure him in case of future accidents AND the decision to spend such a grand amount of money to fix him) It is their emergency care policy and costs me $12.95 a month. It recently paid off for me when he decided to take off on some deer during a training run and came back in 45 minutes later on three legs. He had broken his leg again and the surgery this time to fix him was $1500+. Pet Care paid the entire bill within about 3 weeks.

He needs to move to a senior plan now but I'm a FIRM believer in having at least an emergency care policy on my personal competition dogs.

[Kiki's Mom]

http://www.petcareinsurance.com

[topher40]

No animal is worth that much money to me, I couldnt see paying 6000 for a vet bill like Kiki did. In my opinion all my animals, me included , have a financial threshold that once its met ......its over. JMHO Dont tell my wife about the threshold on me!

[Chaingang]

I use PetPlan: http://www.gopetplan.com/WhyPetPlan.html

I have their Bronze policy which covers all vet expenses up to $8000 per year. cost me $25/month, and I purchased it mainly for emergencies. Have not had to make a claim as of yet (knock on wood), but after researching many this one seemed the best.

You pick the plan (gold, silver, bronze) and then you can customize it by picking what coinsurance percentage or deductible rate, or any combination of both you want depending on how much you want to spend per month. I chose a $200 deductible rate. Gives me piece of mind, I guess that is what any insurance plan does.

[rockllews]

Thanks all for your input! I'll definitely be checking out those links you've offered. Perhaps something might prove beneficial, affordable, and practical for us.

---I guess it's that $6000 emergency vet bill for which the insurance would come in handy.--- (Well, heck, it'd help with those $500 bills too :roll: ) We take care of shots/wormings and keep their routine care up pretty well without relying heavily on our vets. In the past year or so, I've noticed a pretty big fee increase at the clinic, so I cringe whenever our dogs get into trouble... foxtail removals from ears run us over fifty bucks/dog now, our most frequent antagonist. It's the price, I suppose, we pay to have the pups.

[phermes1]

A few years ago, I got a policy with VPI for our oldest dog, I think it came out to $12 a month or so. I paid my premiums every month for a year and a half before I filed my first claim, which was for about $250. After they got done applying all of their restrictions and limitations, they gave me a check for $20. I cancelled the policy shortly thereafter. They found every little BS reason to exclude a charge, and the charges that they did cover had such big limitations that VPI barely ended up paying for anything.

Now - things might have actually changed. I might go back and actually consider some sort of plan for emergency use only, but for regular care, I'm still pretty skeptical on whether it makes any sense.

[Chaingang]

A few years ago, I got a policy with VPI for our oldest dog, I think it came out to $12 a month or so. I paid my premiums every month for a year and a half before I filed my first claim, which was for about $250. After they got done applying all of their restrictions and limitations, they gave me a check for $20. I cancelled the policy shortly thereafter. They found every little BS reason to exclude a charge, and the charges that they did cover had such big limitations that VPI barely ended up paying for anything.

Now - things might have actually changed. I might go back and actually consider some sort of plan for emergency use only, but for regular care, I'm still pretty skeptical on whether it makes any sense.

One reason I did not consider VPI, heard too many negative reviews on them :roll:

[hosejockey2935]

A few years ago, I got a policy with VPI for our oldest dog, I think it came out to $12 a month or so. I paid my premiums every month for a year and a half before I filed my first claim, which was for about $250. After they got done applying all of their restrictions and limitations, they gave me a check for $20. I cancelled the policy shortly thereafter. They found every little BS reason to exclude a charge, and the charges that they did cover had such big limitations that VPI barely ended up paying for anything.

Now - things might have actually changed. I might go back and actually consider some sort of plan for emergency use only, but for regular care, I'm still pretty skeptical on whether it makes any sense.

One reason I did not consider VPI, heard too many negative reviews on them :roll:

I had them as well, it ended up being the same thing. I was mislead by a friend, who said "it's great...It covers everything!" I should check to see how much of their Great Danes round of bloat costed them in the end!

However, I did come out ahead for the first year, between neutering, vaccinations, visits, and any of those random "puppy things" that just seem to happen. But once the first year was up, I didn't renew and started vaccinations on my own.
~tom

[romeo212000]

I use PetPlan: http://www.gopetplan.com/WhyPetPlan.html

I have their Bronze policy which covers all vet expenses up to $8000 per year. cost me $25/month, and I purchased it mainly for emergencies. Have not had to make a claim as of yet (knock on wood), but after researching many this one seemed the best.

You pick the plan (gold, silver, bronze) and then you can customize it by picking what coinsurance percentage or deductible rate, or any combination of both you want depending on how much you want to spend per month. I chose a $200 deductible rate. Gives me piece of mind, I guess that is what any insurance plan does.

I think I am going to go with the bronze plan with 10% coinsurance and a $200 dollar deductible as well.

[Goose2112]

I work for one of the companies mentioned. If anyone has specific questions, by all means fire away on here or message me.

[romeo212000]

Who do you work for and what do you think of the plan I was thinking of purchasing?

[r.r.rouse]

What happened to goose????? I mean someone fired away and no response!!!!

[Goose2112]

Sorry guys (and gals). The Great Computer Crash kept me away for a bit. I'll try not to do that again

For Romeo, I work for Petplan and I have the exact same policy on both of my dogs. I know I can handle a $100 vet bill, it's the stuff that gets into multiple hundred and thousands that I know would make my Visa cry blood. And I've been a licensed vet tech enough years to know how fast an emergency visit can burn through a savings account. Not a chance I recommend or one that I plan on taking. If there ever is a day that fate takes me into another profession, I'm not letting go of the policies on my dogs.

[1vizsla]

We also have one on Dyson through embrace pet insurance. As he eats everything known to mankind, I figured we would have at least one emergency surgery. We pay $23.00 and you pick and choose what you want covered. It would take me years of paying $23.00 a month to come up with just one emergency surgery costs and the coverage is immediate so to me it is worth it. Also in a couple of our sports torn CCl's are commonplace so that is covered also.

Carla

[Killer Instinct]

Our springer Emma is currently on the free 60-day AKC Pet Healthcare Plan. You have to sign up for it within a certain time frame when you get your AKC papers. I blew it off, thinking I don't need it. So after one week of getting her papers back from AKC, we noticed a nice sized (under 4 inches) laceration on her foreleg (this was nighttime on 9-4-08, Labor Day). Throw everyone in the car & off to Pet Emergency we go. Three hours later & $500 vet bill for 6, yes I repeat, 6 stiches. Needless to say, that same night I enrolled her in AKC's "free" 60-day insurance which assured me that coverage would start the day I rec'd the papers. There's a limit of $500 per injury with a deductible of $100 & coinsurance of 20%. If I get a check in the mail for $300, I will be soooo lucky!....

Anyway, AKC Pet Healthcare Website: http://www.akcphp.com