ejano Posted February 21, 2010 Report Share Posted February 21, 2010 After this weekend's experience, I've been looking into pet health insurance....for the two pups, it would be $25 per month with either a 100 annual deductible (ASPCA)and 80% coverage of covered expenses, or $50 per incident deductible with 90% coverage... (VPI) - just the standard policy covering unforseen illness, injury or accident, no extras. What are your experiences? Is pet health insurance worth the cost? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timberviewfarm Posted February 21, 2010 Report Share Posted February 21, 2010 After this weekend's experience, I've been looking into pet health insurance....for the two pups, it would be $25 per month with either a 100 annual deductible (ASPCA)and 80% coverage of covered expenses, or $50 per incident deductible with 90% coverage... (VPI) - just the standard policy covering unforseen illness, injury or accident, no extras. What are your experiences? Is pet health insurance worth the cost? I'll let you know in a month or so..I just sent in my first claim on my dogs injury I have 24petwatch insurance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted February 22, 2010 Report Share Posted February 22, 2010 I know at one time in the past Bill Fosher did a cost analysis of insurance and determined you'd be better off just setting aside in a special account the money you'd pay the insurance company and then use that money for pet care. Others will tell you they're perfectly happy with their insurance. I, for one, figure that the insurance companies are in business to make money and so instead try to keep enough money (and credit) in reserve to cover any surprises rather than paying my money to a third party in hopes that my dog will be covered when I need it. J. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaggieDog Posted February 22, 2010 Report Share Posted February 22, 2010 I decided to get accident/injury/illness only coverage via PetPlan for my two youngest. For a dog under 25lbs (Ziva) it's $10/mo and for a dog under 45 or 50lbs (Kes) it's $12/mo. Both dogs are covered for up to $8000 per year after a $250 deductible. After the deductible is met they pay 90% at the regular vet's or 70% at a specialist. If a pet develops a congenital issue after coverage begins it's still covered unlike the vast majority of other insurance companies I looked at. Similarly, PetPlan is one of the few companies that will not consider a condition diagnosed in a prior plan year "pre-existing" in the next. As long as you maintain coverage they will continue to pay for treatment. Add in that they cover alternative care (acupuncture/chiro specifically, but they may cover others) and have one of the highest ratings around for customer satisfaction and you've got a winner imo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maralynn Posted February 22, 2010 Report Share Posted February 22, 2010 I decided to get accident/injury/illness only coverage via PetPlan for my two youngest. For a dog under 25lbs (Ziva) it's $10/mo and for a dog under 45 or 50lbs (Kes) it's $12/mo. Both dogs are covered for up to $8000 per year after a $250 deductible. After the deductible is met they pay 90% at the regular vet's or 70% at a specialist. If a pet develops a congenital issue after coverage begins it's still covered unlike the vast majority of other insurance companies I looked at. Similarly, PetPlan is one of the few companies that will not consider a condition diagnosed in a prior plan year "pre-existing" in the next. As long as you maintain coverage they will continue to pay for treatment. Add in that they cover alternative care (acupuncture/chiro specifically, but they may cover others) and have one of the highest ratings around for customer satisfaction and you've got a winner imo! Are your dogs listed as mixed breed with Pet Plan? When I looked into Pet Plan I found it would cost $15/month for Kenzi and $19/month for Kipp, with a little bit of a discount if I paid for one year at a time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diane allen Posted February 22, 2010 Report Share Posted February 22, 2010 It's been five years or more - I had VPI for two years, then took Bill's advice and quit the company. The paperwork was a nightmare - they wanted vet NOTES, not just report, etc. etc. Saving is a MUCH better way to go! diane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alchemist Posted February 22, 2010 Report Share Posted February 22, 2010 Liz: My DH read in "Consumer Reports" that you should just invest the $ in a T-bill, so we didn't get insurance when we got Duncan. Of course this presupposes that health issues only occur with age. If I could do things over again, I would get pet insurance at the outset, but I'd be very careful in choosing a carrier, from everything I've read. I posted something on the BC Boards in response to a question someone wrote some time ago. To repeat the most relevant part: "Trupanion and Embrace were the two carriers that were recommended highly to us at our orthopedic vet. I had also followed with great interest the readers' comments to the "Puppy Diaries" article in the NY Times on Oct. 3 that related to the topic of whether or not to purchase pet insurance: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/03/garden/05puppy.html?_r=1 (see readers "comments" for an extensive description of different experiences). VPI, which I understand is one of the biggest carriers, seemed to earn an awful lot of criticism and very little praise. One of the readers of this NY Times article provided a link to a website that compares pet insurance, along with consumer ratings and costs of various plans: http://www.petinsurancereview.com/ . We found their summaries of coverage - as well as consumer reviews - very helpful." In short - some people seem very happy with a few carriers. Some of the larger carriers (esp. VPI) appear to earn mainly criticism. I would guess it pays to do your research. Some of the "comments" to the NY Times article were very telling, indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertranger Posted February 22, 2010 Report Share Posted February 22, 2010 If I could afford it I would. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaggieDog Posted February 22, 2010 Report Share Posted February 22, 2010 Maralynn, both of my insured dogs are listed as mixes. We also got discounts for signing up online, microchipping, and paying in full annually instead of monthly. A coworkers' chocolate lab was insured with a similar plan with PetPlan for $16/mo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmandaMJL Posted February 22, 2010 Report Share Posted February 22, 2010 Five of our six are covered by insurance and I've definitely received my money's worth on it, especially for the oldest 2 girls. But it's not something for everyone. I have to get Fluke on our plan, hmmm maybe I'll do that today! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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