Pet Insurance

[lasimmon]

So we got a puppy on friday, an 8 week old pure bred border collie.

We have looked into a couple options for pet insurance and depending on who you talk to you seem to get such a wide range of opinions. So I thought I would ask here if anyone has any opinions? What are you guys paying for a pup? With who? Should we skip on insurance?

TIA.

[firebane]

We use Trupanion.

No issues. Deductible can be adjusted.

[bjstare]

TL;DR - my vote goes to skip insurance.

We've got two dogs, no insurance. So far coming out way ahead of vet bills vs. insurance cost. We decided to take the educated risk, since neither of our breeds has common/expensive problems. We've only had one incident so far (cherry eye, was somewhat common to breed), and it was not expensive to fix.

Another data point, is the dog I had growing up lived for like 16 or 17 years. No insurance, no issues. I don't think I'd ever get pet insurance unless I had a dog with lots of common/expensive problems (e.g. great dane). Moot point, because I'd never buy an expensive dog that has lots of common problems.

[A2VR6]

We use Petplan.

Pretty good except the claim process is all after the fact and my vet has to send in medical records/paperwork manually before claims can be processed. Cheques take like 3-4 weeks.

We pay around $65 a month (malumute/chow mix) and this year we had to claim a fair bit (~2k) due to some dental issues with our pup.

[sabad66]

Don't use it either, but when i was shopping around and reading reviews Trupanion was the one i would have went with.

Purebreds generally have more problems than mixed breeds (or so i've heard), so probably not a bad idea to get it.

Pics of the pup?

[lasimmon]

Thanks for all the info guys, much appreciated.

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Pics of the pup?

Here's a photo of the little terrorist

[firebane]

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TL;DR - my vote goes to skip insurance.

We've got two dogs, no insurance. So far coming out way ahead of vet bills vs. insurance cost. We decided to take the educated risk, since neither of our breeds has common/expensive problems. We've only had one incident so far (cherry eye, was somewhat common to breed), and it was not expensive to fix.

Another data point, is the dog I had growing up lived for like 16 or 17 years. No insurance, no issues. I don't think I'd ever get pet insurance unless I had a dog with lots of common/expensive problems (e.g. great dane). Moot point, because I'd never buy an expensive dog that has lots of common problems.

Pet insurance comes in handy for many things other than just insurance.

Getting pet insurance when a dog is a pup is great because if anything happens your ass can be saved. Also if something DOES happen to your dog and you try to apply later pre-existing conditions can cause an issue.

My dog is a big runner and likes to be be ruff and tumble with others and if she broke her leg there is no way we could pay out of pocket. At least with insurance we'd have something to help out.

100% totally a pet owners choice.. but I would err on the side of caution and get it. ESPECIALLY with a puppy.

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Thanks for all the info guys, much appreciated.



Here's a photo of the little terrorist

FYI tennis balls and rope toys are bad for dogs and I'd find a good alternative.. Not to self promote but I know a good company and if your interested PM me and I can give you the details.

[RX_EVOLV]

We use Pet Plan. We purposely set the deductible higher in exchange for a lower monthly payment (~$45/month) as we don't anticipate that we would actually use it until maybe near the end of my dog's life where she might need to undergo major surgery or what not. My wife's last dog had cancer at an earlier age (<5yo) and they ended up spending >$10K in treatment over times. Unfortunately she still didn't make it at the end. We don't want to be in the position where we have to have to put her down because we can't afford the treatments, so we see pet insurance as more of a forced 'saving' plan than anything else.

[finboy]

It depends....

If I had a single pet, wasn’t really sure about the background of the animal OR it was a breed with a lot of recurring issues (ex. Hips on labs, cancer in larger dogs, etc.) the yes. We have 2 cats and 2 dogs and don’t insure because it would probably cost us $200+ per month. That said, we have done a lot of research on our dogs specific health history a few generations, and had good vets check out known issues. Our dogs do a ton of dog sports but they also have a physio therapist to make sure they don’t wear themselves out early or exacerbate issues (me fiancé is a crazy dog lady, but at least I don’t have to have kids).

We have had some incidents (animals eating things they shouldn’t), but are still ahead by a large margin. We do have friends who have insurance and it has paid off big time, but their dog eats a LOT of things it shouldn’t.

[R-Audi]

We use Pet Secure..

I did the calculations, and as of the 10 year point, we are down $1,200 for the claims we made vs cost (Including monthly fees, our portion and deductibles) and generally ok with it. The big reason for us was when something went wrong, it was usually a big ticket item. ($5k+ which happened 3 times) We could have been closer to breaking even had we made sure to get teeth cleaning more regularly on the years when the deductible was already fulfilled. Id rather be safe than sorry but it also depends on your financial situation.

[dirtsniffer]

Holy hanna. these costs are crazy. Maybe I'm cold, but if my dog gets cancer or anytihng else that costs thousands of dollars it was good knowing them. I'm going to guess most people who get pet insurance don't have kids.

[dj_rice]

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TL;DR - my vote goes to skip insurance.

We've got two dogs, no insurance. So far coming out way ahead of vet bills vs. insurance cost. We decided to take the educated risk, since neither of our breeds has common/expensive problems. We've only had one incident so far (cherry eye, was somewhat common to breed), and it was not expensive to fix.

Another data point, is the dog I had growing up lived for like 16 or 17 years. No insurance, no issues. I don't think I'd ever get pet insurance unless I had a dog with lots of common/expensive problems (e.g. great dane). Moot point, because I'd never buy an expensive dog that has lots of common problems.

This. My dog has been the same for the past 10 years no major issues. Only issues were last year he had acute pancreatitis and had to rush him to ER and then regular vet was $550 and then this year, he was diagnosed with Diabetes Mellitus $680 for diagnosis/bloodwork/urineanalysis and then about $80/monthly for insulin/syringes. But my vet warned me he could develop cataracts and go blind potentially, which getting quotes are around $4-6K/eye. But also seen blind dogs adjust to their surroundings as well.
I put money away every month for a rainy day fund. And as others have stated, they will not cover any pre-existing conditions. My co-worker bought a Italian Greyhound, and then it was climbing the close off barrier, and ended up breaking its leg. $6K he had to pay out of pocket. He then got insurance after that, and surprise, a few months ago it broke its other leg, but insurance paid the 2nd time. Him and his gf thought it was a great idea to get a 2nd one from the same litter again.


I tried getting a quote for insurance now, and it was around $90/month with $700 deductible. $277/month no deductible.

[AzNxHyDrA]

We use Pets Plus Us who have recently added a discount for Costco Members.

https://www.petsplusus.com/partner/costco

[sabad66]

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I'm going to guess most people who get pet insurance don't have kids.

what do you mean by this? how do you figure the two things relate to each other?

[Kijho]

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We use Trupanion.
No issues. Deductible can be adjusted.

+ 1 for Trupanion.

I think I'm paying around $60/Mo. but forget my deductible. I have a purebred Italian Greyhound which is a very prone dog to leg breaks (because they're very very thin). Biggest recommendation when I was researching the breed was to get insurance and make sure you get in writing about broken bone coverage, etc..

Here's the monster...

DSC01572 by Spencer, on Flickr

Since sight-hounds don't have much fur, winter clothes are necessary haha... they literally shiver uncontrollably in the winter..

DSC01504 by Spencer, on Flickr

[rx7boi]

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Holy hanna. these costs are crazy. Maybe I'm cold, but if my dog gets cancer or anytihng else that costs thousands of dollars it was good knowing them. I'm going to guess most people who get pet insurance don't have kids.

Neighbor across the street got a new german shepherd pup that just finished chewing through a shit load of stuff and ended up needing $7000 of surgery after it got all cut up.

[Tik-Tok]

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Purebreds generally have more problems than mixed breeds (or so i've heard), so probably not a bad idea to get it.

Show purebreeds are definitely more prone to problems due to inbreeding to keep the physical traits. Working purebreeds don't have many inherited problems because they've been bred out of the lineage.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Friends of ours have always had several dogs and always have insurance. Even the insurance is very expensive though at $45-60/mo. One of their dogs had over $10K of dental work alone over it's (short) life.

If you have a point where you would put the animal down instead of paying, I guess that is another thing, but otherwise vet bills can be absolutely insane.

I do think it's a very individual decision though, because the ratio of people who have been bailed out by insurance and those that haven't had any problems is always going to be about equal, and obviously if you gambled correctly, you are going to be an advocate of whatever worked out for you. Whether or not the next dog is as lucky (or unlucky) is totally up in the air.

[bjstare]

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Holy hanna. these costs are crazy. Maybe I'm cold, but if my dog gets cancer or anytihng else that costs thousands of dollars it was good knowing them. I'm going to guess most people who get pet insurance don't have kids.

Yup, not a chance would I pay for cancer treatment for the little guys. Love 'em and all, but jesus. They're animals, not humans. You can just buy more, and the beauty is you'll love the next ones and they'll love you back (i.e. manipulate you for food and shelter) just the same.

[Toilet_X]

Anyone know where i can get gerbil insurance?