[MHDDOG2016]

My title says it all. We will be getting a new puppy sometime late Spring or early Summer and I am wondering if it is worth getting pet insurance for it. My friends who got it have mixed feelings- some think totally worth it and some say waste of $$. Thoughts?

 

[TruckersMom]

I think it is worth it, but I like to be prepared in case of emergencies. My family would have had to put out Toy Poodle down because of Cushing's disease(due to the shear cost of medications) when I was growing up but was allowed much more time with her because we had pet insurance.

It is a worst case scenario thing, you get it because you hope to never use it.

 

[Laco]

We have had medical insurance for Samantha since we adopted her. We seem, always to at least recover the premium every year, so the reality is, in the six years we have had Samantha, the insurance has cost very little. One year, she was sick for about 8 months or more, and the insurance really kicked in and helped that year. Turned out she had a reaction to a long lasting antibiotic shot she got, because she had bronchitis. It was really touch and go for awhile, but she came through and is fine now. Lots of Vet visits and trips to specialists.

 

[diamondback2k9]

I dont carry pet insurance on our dogs but our dog ate a bottle of IBPrufin last year. She ate about 80 pills. After seeing our vet bill from that I sure which we had it.

 

[SusanLynn]

I would suggest contacting your vet's office to see what kinds of insurance they accept. I'd also get it as soon as possible before there are any preconditions!

 

[Laco]

Most pet insurance will not pay the Vet directly, they will reimburse you after you pay the Vet. At least that is the way ours works. Also in my experience, they will exclude any pre-existing conditions. Samantha had an ear infection when we adopted her, and insurance excluded treatment for ear infections, until she had gone six months with no recurrence. Don't know how other insurance companies work, but we now have zero exclusions for Samantha.

 

[Naira]

It is absolutely worth it. For 30 dollars a month--the cost to eat out or buy some drinks--my dog is insured up to 22K a year.

You never plan for accidents to happen. Look at how many dog gofundme's you see. Pet care is very expensive. You never plan for your dog to develop a chronic disease. Addison's disease is very common in standard poodles and requires lifelong treatment. It can be extremely expensive...with pet insurance, the treatments are very cheap.

It is a very good idea, especially bringing home a new puppy. A couple weeks ago my dog and I had a mishap with a chuck it ball that necessitated an emergency vet visit. I'm so glad it was covered by pet insurance. Pet insurance even covers medications for behavioral issues.

If your dog breaks a bone...it can be extremely expensive to even get the imaging required to diagnose it, let alone medication and surgery. With all the variables that can happen in a dog's life, I often wonder how people can afford NOT to have pet insurance.

 

[laceyfaye]

So worth it! Other people have explained it fairly well, it's not very expensive and it insures quite a lot of money in case of an accident. Pet costs can get extremely expensive and it's nice to have that cushion in case it gets way up there. There are some that even pay for their yearly check-up and shots.

We're getting a new puppy and planning on getting her insurance after the holidays.

 

[icemaiden]

Yes definitely worth. In the last few months 2 of my dogs needed unexpected veterinary treatment which added up to £3000. I only paid the excess, my insurance paid the vets directly.

 

[TruckersMom]

Today alone my insurance covered my dogs $200 ear infection vet visit which is awesome because we were just there 2 weeks ago having his ears cleaned and checking him for allergies. So worth every penny. I pay $350 a year and they just covered a $200 bill for one visit (that we have to go back for a check up in 2 weeks for), I would say it is worth it.

 

[Sonkos]

At the moment i pay 30 AUD monthly for my pet insurance. I have read everywhere that they raise their prices every year and some people pay more than 100AUD.
The way i see it is that if I figure out how much i would spend on pet insurance throughout the dogs life, which at 30AUD would be around 5000 to 6000 throughout his life. And then you have to ask yoirself how much vet costs are and how likely you are to spent more than 6000.

With 30 a month i find it worth it. With 100 definitely not. Of course you have to have the savings to be able to use in an emergency.

Also youll have to look at the excess ect. I think i have 100 or 200 AUD exess and after that they pay 80% of the bill.... but if i got the insurance covering more, i woild be paying a lot more monthly and it would be worth it for me.

 

[icemaiden]

Some insurance companies increase premiums when a claim is made. So it's important to do ones' reasearch and find out what the company will pay for, read the small print, as some companies have lots of exclusions such as they will not pay for investigative procedures if the suspected problem does not exist. Example - a dog is very lame, vet wants to xray because he thinks there may be a fracture. If there is a fracture the insurance will pay for the xray, if no fracture, the insurance won't pay for the xray. So getting a bad insurance may, in some cases be worse, than no insurance and putting money aside.

I am with PetPlan (UK) and they do not increase premiums when a claim is made. They increase premiums every year, very slightly for everybody. They are more expensive than most, but you get what you pay for. I wouldn't be with anybody else.

 

[youarelle]

Everyone is saying it's worth it, and it definitely is. You never know what's going to happen, and insurance makes life so much easier when the worst occurs. When we got our puppies we had a trial with an insurance company, and one of them ended up having a severe case of giardia. The vet bills came out to over $300 for a puppy we'd had less than two weeks. Because we had insurance we only had to pay $30. Get the insurance, just find the type that works for you.

 

[Naira]

I'm not directing this at anyone in particular, just a general frustrated statement. There are so many dogs put into shelters or put down for very, very, very treatable conditions that would be covered by insurance. Like Addison's disease that I mentioned. My friend put down her 3 year old dog because of it....had she had pet insurance, she would have paid 5-10 dollars a month or so to treat the disease. She was looking at 500 a month or more for steroid treatments....for the rest of the dog's life.

I'm looking into rescues now because I want to add another dog to my family. Just came across two dogs, who are in rescue because......they broke their leg. That's all. Great dogs, but broke their leg and needed surgery. The owners couldn't pay for it. Some of these dogs waited weeks or months without medical attention. When animals injure themselves, people are reluctant to even figure out what's going wrong because of the cost. I wish more people would invest in pet insurance from puppyhood and I'm so glad you are.

 

[PoppyKenna]

@Naira, are you in the US? Can I ask what company you use?

I've tentatively looked at pet insurance but there seem to be a lot of companies out there and I'm trying to sort out good vs. bad. Since you seem happy with yours, it may be one to add to my 'maybe' list.

 

[crazy]

absolutely get it! because whatever the dog suffers from and you put in a claim its insured for its life unless the company go bust and another takes other then your not but honestly worth it.

Why? because with being on low income and paying for insurance for Jessie i needed it since her first UTI to anal gland removal last year my family couldnt afford the $900 operation so i rang pet n sur and explained the situation on how we keep having to express her anal glands every 4-10 days and how they always infected despite anti biotics and the vet reccomended getting them out however we cant afford the $900 and wondering if they would please help us pay it? told them it will help lower the amount of claims for Jessie so they willingly paid my vet directly if we paid the first 30% which i transferred over to mum to pay because i had a very sleepy Jessie in my arms.

Ever since the claims are reduced by 95% and the only time we had to claim was for her heat stroke this time last year and when she got ill with vomiting non stop. Thats about it.

i calculated the insurance paid out since got her just over $3000 in relation to her health and anal glands, cystitis, ear infection, spay, allergies, urine crystals, urine ph problems and tests etc.

cant do without it me

 

[TiggerBounce]

It can be, but you do have to be very careful because pet insurance companies are not at all regulated the way human insurance is. Most of them require you to pay the cost up front. Then you have paperwork and stuff faxed to them, you file the claim, and they reimburse. A friend of mine had to pay over $9k after her dog fell mysteriously ill and it involved a lot of bloodwork, an ultrasound, an exploratory surgery, tissue biopsies...And several days being hospitalized at a specialty hospital with an internist. After she filed the claim? Denied!

She's been fighting them for months, hearing excuses like "Oh we didn't get the paper work!" and "Oh we don't have enough info!". She's faxed them multiple copies of multiple doctors notes and records. She finally has, I think $5k covered? Obviously it payed off right there for her. But you first have to have the means to be able to cover a bill that high. That's not easy for a lot of young adults to do if they're still building credit history or have no credit. It was also a lot of headache and stress trying to deal with that company and pushing them to cover what they did.

 

[icemaiden]

Pet insurance companies in the UK are all regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Same as human insurance companies. Vets tend to deal with claims rather than the claimants themselves.
Many vets and insurance companies are happy to do direct claims. Meaning that vets only get the excess from their clients and the insurance pays the rest to the vets.

Yes, there are insurance companies who delay payment. - whether to claimants or vets, by saying they didn't receive the claim or need additional information. These are the cheap companies, the ones with 50 pages of small print legal jargon policy with more exclusions than conditions covered.

Like I say you get what you pay for and go for PetPlan covered for life. Their policy is short, in clear language, they pride themselves in settling most claims within a week.

 

[Naira]

@Naira, are you in the US? Can I ask what company you use?

I've tentatively looked at pet insurance but there seem to be a lot of companies out there and I'm trying to sort out good vs. bad. Since you seem happy with yours, it may be one to add to my 'maybe' list.

I use PetPlan. @PoppyKenna I think they are one of the biggest companies? They are very good about reimbursing you in a timely manner.

"

Petplan pet insurance offers life-long coverage for all hereditary and chronic conditions – including cancer, diagnostic testing, prescription medications, non-routine dental treatment, MRI, CAT Scan and ultrasound imaging

diagnostic treatments
surgery
prescription medications
imaging – mri, cat scan, ultrasound
cancer treatments
dental treatments (non-routine)
rehabilitation
alternative therapies
referral + specialist treatment
behavioral therapies
boarding kennel fees

advertising + reward

loss due to theft or straying

death from illness or injury
vacation cancellation "

I would consider adding it to your "maybe" list. As breeds go, I have a more expensive breed to insure. And I chose a more expensive plan. Some of the plans were pretty cheap based on what you wanted. Even if I couldn't afford to get my dog fully insured...I would consider partial insurance so you're not overwhelmed in a tragedy.

I love my dog, but last year if she had an injury that cost 5000+ dollars...if I hadn't been insured...I would have had to rob a bank.

 

[Naira]

Like I say you get what you pay for and go for PetPlan covered for life. Their policy is short, in clear language, they pride themselves in settling most claims within a week.

I agree with you.