Pet health insurance?

[skyblu]

In my quest to be a responsible pet owner (not an owner yet, but actively looking), I want to be prepared for realistic veterinary costs. We're getting an older dog (not senior, but not a puppy).

I'm wondering if anybody has pet health insurance and if it's worth it?

Thanks!

[Freckles]

We do. We go to Banfield, which is a national vet. They have three types of insurance, and we have the middle choice. It is expensive----I think for our cat it costs $200. or so. However, this past year he had over $1000.+ worth of medical bills due to a cut he recieved at the groomers that got very infected, and it saved us 30%-70% or so.

[camberne]

I got it after our then-puppy managed to break his leg and it cost me over $1000 for all the vet and vet hospital bills. I cancelled it after they told me that everything would still be out-of-pocket and then I could submit a claim for reimbursement if whatever fell under their coverage. :rolleyes: Didn't seem worth the expense to me to play russian roulette with whether or not they'd reimburse me for something.

[meagle]

I've been investigating pet insurance for my kitten and came across a suggestion in a magazine (I think) that a pet owner just set up a separate checking account for vet expenses and have about about $50 directly deposited in it each month. This way, you'll be putting away about $600 a year which you will have whether or not your pet becomes ill/injured and you can pay for your furbaby's routine expenses directly from the account. I'm considering a variation of this instead of pet insurance because for most plans, you don't get your premiums back unless something catostrophic happens. I'm thinking about setting up a savings account so I can get better interest and then I will just make cash withdrawals from the account as needed.

[ee_chick]

We have it for our two dogs. We originally got it through the AKC as a trial. I am so glad that we kept it. Our pups are bad-luck dogs, and they've been to the vet more than their fair share of times. We pay the vet, then submit a claim for reimbursement. They reimburse a percentage of what they deem fair and reasonable. We seem to get back 50 - 60% of our costs. The first year that we had them my little girl ingested something very bad for her, and the five months of treatments cost us thousands. I was (and remain) very very glad that we spend the ~$20/month for it.

OTOH, I think the majority of pets won't benefit nearly as much as our do. :shrug:

[skyblu]

Thanks for your input, everyone! We just got a dog (I'm sure you saw me posting all over the board), and he needs to be neutered. We found one insurance that covers that, as well as injury and illness (I have to look at all the details) at 90%. It costs about $15 per month, so I think we should definitely get it. The neuter alone would cost $300-$400 around here!

[jesvet]

bump