Insurance

[Guest SweetJordan]

Does anyone have insurance for their animals? W/ the high cost for wellness exams and what not I've been thinking about getting insurance. I've been a member of the ASPCA for a number of years and they have been sending me info. on their insurance. I found a plan that I may go w/ but would need to read over the complete policy. I like the fact that some of the money goes back to the organization, and I'd get a 10% discount for each pet after the first. While 10% isn't a lot it is something. Just wondering if anyone else carries insurance and if so from where?

[Dexter9607]

I have insurance on Dex. It is almost the bare minimum, though. It covers all emergency things that (god forbid) may happen. It doesn't cover any preventative stuff (though I did consider that) because I do the wellness plan through my vet. It gives me a lot of piece of mind simply because Dex is very active and very interactive...and I'm planning on agility so...there's a lot of risk with these energetic dogs and I want to make sure I'm going to be able to take care of him no matter what happens.

 

On a side note, for a while there, Dex had better health coverage than me....oi! My goodness, he has me whipped!

[JMack]

I'm thinking of investing in insurance and would appreciate hearing from those of you who have it or have had it in the past. Which company? Does your vet file with the company? or do you pay and ask for reimbursement?

[afrancis]

We thought of getting insurance for Skye after our experience with our first dog, Riley. She had cruciate ligament surgery, an immunological disorder and cancer toward the end of her life, as well as various and sundry accidents and injuries. We calculated how much we had spent on her during her life, how much we would need to pay for Skye's insurance (premium level was the only one that covered things like those Riley suffered from) and determined that if Skye lived as long as Riley and had the same kinds of health problems, we would break even. The only reason we thought that we might take out a policy is if we couldn't afford any large one-time payments for health (i.e. surgery, blood transfusions or things like cancer) which we decided we could. Of course it is a gamble and we're keeping our fingers crossed that Skye's life is 1. longer and 2. serious illness-free - TOUCH WOOD!

Ailsa

[sweet_ceana]

We have insurance for Ceana, but not yet on Poke. Make sure you read every exclusion in a policy before you sign up. I sell insurance, not pet but pretty much anything people related and believe me you need to make sure a policy is going to cover what you want.

Make sure you check to see what part of exams, x-ray etc that the company covers. Most companies also exclude any coverage for anything that could be deemed pre-existing or genetic/ common breed issues. The company and policy we have for Ceana is the only company that will cover birth, hereditary, and genetic health issues (I know that sounds redundant but that is how they list them.) *** This is especially important for us because Ceana's pain is still has an unkown cause, and it is costing a lot for us to figure it out. We get blood test results hopefully Monday.***

The main reason we do not have insurance on Poke yet is his health problems that he had in rescue and at the pound. I am not 100% clear of what he can be denied for, ie some companies will say because he had tapeworm and kennel cough they will not cover any respitory or digestional issues he may have as a result. Some companies may deem him more suseptable(sp) after these issues and may not cover any digestional or respitory issues. Other companies may say he is all in the clear after a certain period of time. Make sure you are paying premium for a policy that will cover your particular dog, not just in general.

Ceana's insurance has a limmit to the amount they will pay for some services and for certain sections of the body. Her hip x-rays fall under the skeletal section where other tests may fall under muscular. Look at any policy to see how they breakdown the payment scheadual.

 

***The biggest thing is to see how you would file a claim if you ever have one. Unlike human insurance, Ceana's policy does not send the vet money. We pay for the services first. I then have to have the vet fill out a detailed claim form and send it in to the comapny for review. They will then send me a check for whatever amount is covered under their policy. I have only filed one claim and I am pleased to say the company processed it in a week and I got the check a week later. If you are worried about having the money and cannot wait for reinbursement I suggest having a dog card. I have a credit card set aside speciffically for dog emergencies. I do not use it for anything else to make sure that it is always available if needed.

[donna frankland (uk)]

after having (and still in) very lean times financially i had to stop my pet insurance. what i do now is have a standing order that transfers £25 ($50ish) per month from my wages into an account with the vets.

i like this set up better because;

1.) if i dont use the money, ie i have no vets bills, the money remains there and my pot increases.

2.) if i get into real bad financial trouble and have to stop the order, my pot remains there till i use it.

3.) if i had an emergency that costs lots more than i have in the pot, the practice already know there is a set amount being paid every month so i would be able to have the treatment done 'on tic' so to speak.

what i transfer to my veterinary account each month works out at about half of what it cost to insure my 3 (at the time) dogs and five cats.

the fourth reason i like this arrangement is that it will obviously cover anything i need. insurance here doesnt pay for shots, neutering etc etc. also i have 4 rabbits and 13 rats, so if needs be i can use the pot for them as well.

 

you may find an arrangement like this to be more suitable?

[airbear]

I recently cancelled my insurance on my dogs. Bear's premiums were about $500/year, and Wick's were $400/year. I've had insurance on them for 8 and 6 years respectively, during which they have accumulated a total of about $1000 in vet bills between the two of them, for which I was reimbursed about $200 total. Not very good value for money.

 

Like others have suggested, I have a rainy day account that can take care of even the most catastrophic bills.