Pet insurance...yes another dog thread

[spikerS]

OK, so, there are now 2 of us Beyonders looking to get a dog in the near future, myself and @R-Audi . Looking for the general thought here.

I have heard a lot of stories about how pet insurance has saved a lot of people a lot of money. How does it actually work though? Who are the reputable insurance providers, how easy is it to submit a claim? Are there any that do direct billing with the vet, or is it all just a straight-up reimbursement model?

Any companies to steer clear of? Who are easiest to get ahold of and submit claims to? What are the general processes like?

I was planning on just putting a modest reserve fund aside for the dog, and if any ridiculous costs arise, putting the dog down was a good plan B. Callous, I know, but I am a farm boy and a .22 was cheap and dogs were plenty. I know this isn't the popular thought these days, but, it is still in my head. But @tirebob did point out that my kids would probably never forgive me.

So here I am. Using Google to search for pet insurance is just overwhelming as there are a billion places to go through, so I am looking for some first-hand experiences here.

[R-Audi]

I had Petsecure with my previous dog... typically vet filed the claim and you would get a cheque in the mail a week or so later. No complaints about them what so ever. Vet was a lot of help with tricky claims as well, always willing to help. I assume most major providers work like this.

Other things to watch:
-With our plan, deductible went up and coverage went down with age. (I didnt see this until I used it and had to ask what was up)
-Petsecure covered 100% of the cremation cost. (Some dont cover at all)
-Watch dental inclusions.. mine only covered cleanings, not tooth extraction.

[pheoxs]

I'm with Trupanion

My mini schnauzer monthly fees: 36$ first year, 45$ second year, 55$ third year

So far no claims and haven't used it. But pretty minor cost in the grand schemes of things, schnauzers have a high chance of pancreatitis down the road. I spend more than this on dog food anyways.

I was planning on just putting a modest reserve fund aside for the dog, and if any ridiculous costs arise, putting the dog down was a good plan B. Callous, I know, but I am a farm boy and a .22 was cheap and dogs were plenty. I know this isn't the popular thought these days, but, it is still in my head. But @tirebob did point out that my kids would probably never forgive me.

This is a big part of it for me. With insurance if something big comes up then I'll do whatever I can to save him. If its money in a savings account it'll come down to having to make a decision if you wanna try or call it quits. With kids that gets even harder

[JordanEG6]

We went with Trupanion. So far, no complaints and the premiums are pretty fair. Here's how their claims work:

https://trupanion.com/pet-insurance/claims-breakdown-v2

The key is once you get a pup, take it to a vet right away for an exam. Our vet filled out forms for us for the insurance on the spot with the examination results. This way, if everything is all good upon sign up, the dog essentially has no pre-existing conditions and the insurance company can't weasel out of paying out claims.

Our main concern with our pup is that for most pups, the first few years are pretty crucial and in alot of cases, any problems he/she runs into will be during his/her development. So we kept his insurance. He's 2 now and we're thinking about stopping the insurance and just setting money aside from what we have already. Usually, passed a certain point, if they remain healthy during the puppy years, they'll generally remain healthy unless their breed is prone to inherent diseases or medical conditions or if the dog gets injured. Some breeders screen their dogs for health issues before breeding.

[ShermanEF9]

We also opted for trupanion. It's nice knowing you have the coverage even if you don't use it. We have a higher deductible to keep the payments low, but the coverage seems to be pretty good. We also have no had to use it yet.

[killramos]

We have pet secure, it’s not cheap but I feel like divorce is more expensive.

Having a sick pet can really drive a wedge in a family and taking away the financial side of it, or taking the edge off, helps a bunch.

[nzwasp]

So I want to chime in on this thread because we opted out of pet insurance 12 years ago when we got our dog. I have no idea what pet insurance would cost over 12 years but I’m sure the monthly cost does go up with age. According to my files we have spent approx $4000 over the years on routine vet visits. And about $2000 on emergency vet visits when he’s eaten stuff he shouldn’t of (a wooden skewer, corn cobs, chocolate bar). And we have so far had one dental cleaning at beddington that cost $400 total. So that’s approx 6500. My dog is a purebred Lhasa apso. This year he has started to have some strange symptoms mainly drinking loads of water and peeing a lot. 8 blood tests and 400$ later we find out he has something called Cushings disease, otherwise heathy. He now has approximately 3 years to live and his medication will cost around $100 a month.

I also have another cleaning coming up because I never brushed his teeth....

By the way I have a friend who just got a puppy and his pet insurance premiums started at $50 a month with a $750 deductible. Does pet insurance not cover routine maintenance like yearly checkups?

[killramos]

Good news is all but the most expensive pet insurance doesn’t cover routine shit. That’s sunk no matter what.

[dj_rice]

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This year he has started to have some strange symptoms mainly drinking loads of water and peeing a lot. 8 blood tests and 400$ later we find out he has something called Cushings disease, otherwise heathy. He now has approximately 3 years to live and his medication will cost around $100 a month.

Sorry to hear dude. My dog had the same symptoms, but our bloodwork came back with diabetes mellitus. About the same monthly costs for his insulin meds/needles. But with his sugars under control now through strict measured foods, twice a day and meds twice a day hes living a healthy life.

[killramos]

I skimmed your post. Really sorry to hear that before. That’s fucked.

Sorry bud. Thoughts are with you.

[gmc72]

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So I want to chime in on this thread because we opted out of pet insurance 12 years ago when we got our dog. I have no idea what pet insurance would cost over 12 years but I’m sure the monthly cost does go up with age. According to my files we have spent approx $4000 over the years on routine vet visits. And about $2000 on emergency vet visits when he’s eaten stuff he shouldn’t of (a wooden skewer, corn cobs, chocolate bar). And we have so far had one dental cleaning at beddington that cost $400 total. So that’s approx 6500. My dog is a purebred Lhasa apso. This year he has started to have some strange symptoms mainly drinking loads of water and peeing a lot. 8 blood tests and 400$ later we find out he has something called Cushings disease, otherwise heathy. He now has approximately 3 years to live and his medication will cost around $100 a month.

I also have another cleaning coming up because I never brushed his teeth....

By the way I have a friend who just got a puppy and his pet insurance premiums started at $50 a month with a $750 deductible. Does pet insurance not cover routine maintenance like yearly checkups?

That sucks to hear about your dog. Ours got a cancer diagnosis last year. Went through the treatments ($400/week/8 weeks) and the tumor shrank enough that surgery wasn't needed. Then they said that she needs to keep taking another drug ($400/month) to keep it in check. We have decided to let nature take it's course.

Over the past 7 years of dog ownership (one dog 7 years old the other is 5) we have paid out close to $15000 for our dogs, and that does not include regular check ups/shots, etc. We didn't have insurance for any of it, and it's too expensive to get it now.

[A2VR6]

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S
By the way I have a friend who just got a puppy and his pet insurance premiums started at $50 a month with a $750 deductible. Does pet insurance not cover routine maintenance like yearly checkups?

Nope, pet insurance does not cover routine and wellness care or pre-exisiting conditions prior to getting coverage. We've had insurance on our 5 year old dog and so far we've basically broken even (had some dental bills for tooth extractions so far and nothing else) on the premiums based on the emergecny stuff that we had to go through.

[R-Audi]

Thought I would throw this out for others who may be looking, but we went with Dejardins Pet Insurance. Not as widely advertised as the other big options, but their packages seemed to be a way better fit for us. (Monthly price/deductible/coverage)
Apparently they are the provider for some of the other brands as well.

[AndyL]

Bumping, as I'm trying to decide on insurance...

Any post covid thoughts - I know a few people complaining trupanion renewals have been exponentially increasing. Pets+us and BCAA keep getting mentioned, but it looks like pets+us is way up there compared to desjardins? I'm getting crosseyed trying to compare because they all seem to make it apples to oranges comparisons in some way.

[shakalaka]

I did a lot of research on this 1.5 yrs ago when we got our pup. Lot of articles online, including some commentary from lawyers that deal with pet insurance. The consensus was that it was a rip-off (even more so than regular insurance companies) and they will look for every which way to deny claims. They don't cover routine stuff and just overall sucks. So we didn't bother with it. The one article I read said if having sufficient funds at a time of need was a concern then better to put aside the monthly premium in a separate account and let it save up. I ultimately didn't bother with insurance but also cause if God forbid something happens we can take care of it but since that is not the case for everyone maybe having some assurance isn't a bad idea.

[firebane]

One of the big things about pet insurance is which ones direct bill and most don't but Trupanion does.

Yes their costs have gone up but you can offset that by changing the deductible. We are with Trupanion and won't switch because of the direct billing option.

[dirtsniffer]

Dogs cost like $500.. why would you need insurance?

[ExtraSlow]

Found busters alt.

No, but for real, most owners should not insure their animals health. It should be an unusual situation where it makes sense to do so.

[AndyL]

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Found busters alt.

No, but for real, most owners should not insure their animals health. It should be an unusual situation where it makes sense to do so.

Yeah, French bulldog has some known really expensive health issues. Wouldn't have been a pup I normally would have considered for that reason.

I mean ...
Desjardins

Pets+us

Trupanion


I'm not sure the direct billing is worth double the gold level of desjardins - which actually covers checkups and the basics...

[msommers]

We have been using PetLine and I can't say enough good things about them, great coverage and payout in a few days or less. Many places will submit claims for us even though the company doesn't say it's a feature.

$55/month, single annual $100 deductible. The only con is a limit for operations but if I'm spending $10,000 on a dogs vet bill, that's a different conversation anyways.