Pet Insurance

[95EG6P]

Originally posted by z24_wheels
I was going to get this, but then I looked into what was truly covered. It wasn't a whole hell of a lot. So instead of paying $50/mo into an insurance plan that *might* cover me, I put $50/mo into a savings account and will use that money should my pups have an issue.

i do that too

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by Troll-ol
No point then if it's that young. It should be cheaper just to pay for whatever it needs.

As with people, it will cost more to start later. And some won't even accept dog over 5 years old.

My dog didn't even had surgery but the check up and drug to keep his heart problem in check was roughly $3000 for the last 6 months of its life. And before that, the only medical cost is just shots and yearly check ups that probably cost around $300 a year.

If i paid insurance, it's probably about even.

[Mibz]

We also looked in to pet insurance but with the high deductibles and low coverage it made way more sense to just save the money.

[403Gemini]

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt
So $40/mo, lets say your pet doesn't have problems for 10 years, you've already put in $4,800, so you would need to claim more than that to make it worth it I guess.

Very true, but to most people $40/mth is much more manageable vs a $3000 bill that can creep up on you out of nowhere.

[summerlove.xo]

Just wanted to bump up this old thread to see what people are doing nowadays. Does anyone have pet insurance on their dog currently? From what I've read in this thread, seems like majority of the people recommend saving the money in a bank account instead of paying for insurance. Opinions? If you do have pet insurance currently, could you please let me know with which insurance company and how much you pay a month for what kind of coverage??

[psycoticclown]

I got Trupanion insurance for my dog when she was 6 months old. Now a little under a year old and I've already made back the premiums for this year. $34 a month premium, $250 deductible. My dog had cherry eye which they covered 90%. She was also spayed which wasn't covered under the insurance and had to get some antibiotics, we didn't try to claim the antibiotics because we thought they wouldn't cover since they didn't cover spaying. When we submitted the receipt for the cherry eye, they automatically started a claim and reimbursed us for the antibiotics without us asking. I was pretty impressed. Great service too, gave me lot's of emails updating me on the status of the claim and processed the claim quickly.

[summerlove.xo]

Originally posted by psycoticclown
I got Trupanion insurance for my dog when she was 6 months old. Now a little under a year old and I've already made back the premiums for this year. $34 a month premium, $250 deductible. My dog had cherry eye which they covered 90%. She was also spayed which wasn't covered under the insurance and had to get some antibiotics, we didn't try to claim the antibiotics because we thought they wouldn't cover since they didn't cover spaying. When we submitted the receipt for the cherry eye, they automatically started a claim and reimbursed us for the antibiotics without us asking. I was pretty impressed. Great service too, gave me lot's of emails updating me on the status of the claim and processed the claim quickly.

That sounds awesome. Thanks for sharing the info. We were contemplating between Trupanion and PetSecure but it seems like Trupanion is a bit better because they let you choose your deductible amount. With a $250 deductible, ours works out to be $37.84 without the extra coverage. I guess it's less than $500 a year so that's not too bad.

[Tej.S]

I registered my dog under PetLynx and they also provide pet insurance(through Pet Secure) with different rates/plans. Here's a quick list of what they offer:

Plan 1 - $1000 illness and accidental coverage. $300 deductible annually, costs $33.81 monthly.
Plan 2 - $2500 illness and accidental coverage. $300 deductible annually, costs $44.88 monthly.
Plan 3 - $5000 illness and accidental coverage. $300 deductible annually, costs $60.97 monthly.
Plan 4 - No limit for illness and accidental coverage. $400 deductible annually, costs $92.11 monthly.

Unfortunately, none of these plans give dental coverage but their general coverage is 80%.

[403Gemini]

Just make sure you read the wording carefully and inquire about your specific breed. A LOT of insurance doesn't cover common problems associated with breeds. ie. my min pin's knee wouldn't have been covered because it's a known problematic issue.

That pisses me off because to me, that is the purpose of pet insurance is incase that specific issue arises.

[R-Audi]

I have gotten my moneys worth out of Pet Secure from my English Bulldog... I almost cancelled it before my first claim... very very happy I didnt.
From rough calculations I saved roughly 3k. (As opposed to being out of pocket with out insurance)

[Tej.S]

For those of you that got insurance, how old was your dog/puppy when you got him/her insured? I have an 11 and a half month old black labrador and I plan on holding off until he's a year and a half or two years. Any thoughts?

[zipdoa]

Originally posted by Tej.S
For those of you that got insurance, how old was your dog/puppy when you got him/her insured? I have an 11 and a half month old black labrador and I plan on holding off until he's a year and a half or two years. Any thoughts?

Look into the policy requirements. I have a Malamute and in order to qualify for hip dysplasia coverage I would've had to insure him before the age of 6-months. This was the only big ticket item I was concerned about, and so I opted not to go with insurance because he was too old to qualify at the time.

Obviously different companies will have different policies, but definitely check into them to see if there's an advantage to getting it while they're still a pup.

[Tej.S]

Oh alright, thanks for the heads up!

[codetrap]

.

[reese]

Im with trupanion as well with $0 deductible since my great dane was about 6 months old.

90% is covered including prescription drugs. The only thing that it doesnt cover are exam fee and annual shots.

My dog requires average of $150 of prescription drugs per month (epilepsy/hypothyriod/athritis), let alone the surgery and accidents he's had in the past six years (ie dog bite, cuts from the park, eating foreign objects etc..)

Im glad I have insurance and I know my total claims uptodate have exceeded my monthly primiums by atleast a couple thousand

[summerlove.xo]

We ended up going with Trupanion with the $100 deductible. It works out to something like $41 a month, which is not too bad.

We didn't go with PetSecure because it doesn't give you the option of opting out of preventive insurance and other extras. If we wanted to go with a similar plan with PetSecure that was unlimited coverage for accidental and illness, it would have cost $100+ a month with a $250 deductible.

Has anyone been with Trupanion for a significant period of time? They mentioned that the premium could go up annually but they are writing a new rule to cap it to 20% per year. They said the increase depends on what the insurance cost is in whatever area you live in. Hopefully it's not a drastic increase.

[masoncgy]

I had Petsecure insurance for my dog for a few years. I ended up putting in a few claims early on and it was great at that time, but as more and more months drag on and the premiums increase, it became too costly and I cancelled it two years ago.

The dog is 8 now, not worth shelling out money any longer. Once it's her turn to go, she's gone.

[Cos]

.

[Squishy]

I have 3 dogs, only one has needed significant surgery. It was $3000.
My oldest one who is ten has been extremely healthy, my middle one is 9 and she suffered an accute injury going down the stairs which cost $3000, but she also has allergies & because of old age had some growths removed which was ~$280 (I call her my problem child) and my youngest is almost 4 and she had a weird tail injury which I don't think ended up costing more than a couple hundred for the check up and medication, and none have ever had pet insurance. In regards to their health, in hindsight, I was better off not having pet insurance because it would've cost me more in the long run I think.

[blairtruck]

my dog is 6 and so far only out about $900 to get a few growths removed and sent for testing. came back negative.
no insurance.