Do you have Pet Insurance

[blueyezz74]

Loren's article on New wheels for Shotz reminded me that I wanted to look into insurance for Harley. If it's not too expensive I really want to get it.

My manager's 5 yr old mini doxie had to have his disks scraped last christmas day. They had pet insurance and he recommended me to get it too. Max has made a full recovery since then.

[dutchman]

Within the past year or two Consumer Reports did a review of pet insurance and with so many exclusions and limitations in the majority of policies their conclusion was you were better off putting the same amount of money that you would pay for the insurance into a pet savings fund for potential emergencies.


I would be curios as to which pet insurance paid for the back surgery and how much it cost. Many companies will exclude back surgeries for dachshunds in their fine print.

[Meemoo]

DO cover disc disease, one has since gone under and the other I have currently. All the rest DO NOT cover.

[TessieMom]

I can to the same conclusion as Consumer Reports when I looked at the cost and what it covered. It might be fine in some cases, but it covered little of what I needed and was terribly expensive for seniors.

[Patt]

No, I do not have insurance but have a savings account set aside for any vet visits and emergency care.

[Me&DappledDuo]

Nope- we have a big emergency Pup saving account. I looked into them before we got our first- but they just weren't anything that was worth it. AND- I just HATE insurance. I poor too much into my car, house, life, dental, and health. If I really had a choice on those- I might not do some of them, either!

[Tammara]

I read up on all of the policies too, but didn't see where they would be of much use. The man and I concluded we'll use our savings if need be, rather than add to our monthly expenses.

I put a couple of free months on Ruben when we got him, (because he is such am amazing "flying dog"- jumps off EVERYTHING!) but wouldn't you know it, during that time, Trenyce sprained her leg.:( We just paid the vet bill and laughed it off.

[quavec]

Nope, we will just have to "wing" it if something comes up. That is what those wonderful plastic things in our wallets are for ;) I hope we wouldn't have to dip into savings but if the need arises, we would. The same for our hooman kids......

[joeysmom]

Since disc problems in doxies usually first show up when the dog is between four and seven years old, a good financial plan, IMHO,(instead of insurance) would be to save an amount each month so that by the time your dog reaches four years of age, you will have enough $$ saved to cover the surgery. So, for example, if you put away $62.5/month starting when you get a puppy, you'll have $3000 by the time your doxie is four years old.

You probably won't need these funds, but the cash would be there for whatever emergency may crop up. Plus you get the interest on the savings instead of the insurance company.

[Steven]

I do, however, it only covers routine stuff -- shots, exams, and office visits -- but no illness. There is a 10% discount for any service the plan doesn't cover. It helped when YC was getting his puppy shots and I didn't have much money. It also covered snip snip. If your doing pay check to pay check with no way of saving and you have a young pup, a plan can help. However, with an adult, unless it covers illness -- back surgerys especially, it's probably a waste of money.

I'm also starting to save money -- slowly but surely.

[blueyezz74]

Loren,
What was the insurance plan that did cover back surgery that you mentioned you had? I'm sure it is probably very pricey!

[Meemoo]

http://petcareinsurance.com/

Yep..it's pricey..but to me it's worth it! They only cover major illnesses or surgery which is really only what I care about.

[blueyezz74]

Thanks Loren!

Do you have the Quickcare, the Quickcare Gold or the Emergency plan?

[Meemoo]

I believe we have the Quick care gold, I'd have to double check though.

[blueyezz74]

That sounds like the one because the quickcare plan covers just routine stuff. It's 19.95 a month.

[Meemoo]

Right and I'm not interested in insurance for that. I just want for emergencies and serious illnesses.

[Steven]

Loren,

I haven't looked at the site yet, but do you pay the vet first and than the insurance company pays you back or does it go straight to the vet?

[Meemoo]

No you pay out of pocket first and then get reimbursed. I honestly don't know ANY company that would just accept insurance. If so, I want THAT one! :D

[blueyezz74]

Loren,
have you ever used the insurance yet?

[Steven]

Hehe, it's to bad it's not like health insurance for humans -- on the other hand, maybe it's good that it's not. So, really, you need either a high limit credit card or loads of money in a savings account to get the out of pocket taken care of -- unless a vet would do payments which I doubt and then pay the balance off when the insurance reimburses you.

That company sounds good, however. They give you 10% discount if you have three or more pets -- yet another reason to get more dachshunds. :D

[Meemoo]

I think all the insurance companies give a percentage off for additional animals. The prices also go up as the animal ages. I'm thinking we'll stop after he gets between 8 or 9 as the frequency for a major back problem reduces although obviously it is still possible.

[PennyLover]

I looked into insurance, but after talking to several vets who did not accept it opted against it.

[FOREVER A DAXIE]

I'd rather spend extra money on good quality food, make sure Charlie \gets exercise & regular Vet Check ups.

[lotsadox]

I usually just put the expensive things on the credit card and pay them off. I have started a savings account for extra expenses (including vet bills) so that it isn't such a burden when it happens.

[ShewShew]

We had pet insurance on Dred when he was a puppy, and on Kelsey for a while. When I got my renewal, I found they change the rate according to how much you used the insurance in the previous year. I spent one more year on it, and then cut it off, cause I never used it. At $30 a month, that's another bag of dog food.

[schroeders mom]

I'm lucky to have a vet that works with us. When I had Marcy & Schroeders dentals done, they let me make payments till it was paid off. I make sure everything is paid right on time, that way if we have an emergency, they'll be more willing to work with us.

[mamaw]

Since I have a 14yr old with cataracs and a 13yr old with allergies and my baby who will turn 12 yrs in July of this year who has had back surgury and neck surgury I don't think anyone would insure my babies. I am lucky enough to have a savings acct that will take care of my babies. My children don't think I should take money out of a savings acct to pay for major surgury with my babies. (The more I spend on my babies-the less my 2 legged kids are going to get when I go to the bridge to reunite with all my babies who have 4 legs.) As long as I am breathing I will give my babies whatever they need and my 2 legged children will just have to accept it and deal with it. It's a shame that they can't understand the bond between me and my doxies.

[fuzzybunn]

Since we just got Lucy pretty recently and she is our first dog, I have been wondering about pet insurance.. It sounds like it is probably better just to save funds in an emergency account in case. Thanks for the tips.

[HnkyTnkGrl85]

I voted no but we are on a wellness plan at the vet. It's about $20 a month and it covers all of her visits and shots. It will even cover getting her spayed this July!! And we get 10% off anything not covered. We've already saved a couple hundred dollars!!!

[SaraInCT]

I did. It cost $48/dog and was a fight to collect on so I gave up. I'm trying to put aside money every month just in case. I haven't been too sucessful yet.

[Stanley's Mum]

i have just taken out pet insurance for Stanley, i get so worried that something might happen. I found an insurer (Australian site, sorry :sorry: ) that covers per year up to $7500, it costs me $28 a month and if anything happens accident, illness, disc whatever i pay an excess of $100 and all his medical expenses are paid up to $7500 anything beyond that i pay the balance. The only things they dont cover for dachsies if my memory serves me correct was spina bifida and wobblers (?) disease and any problems caused after being spayed. You just ring them when something happens and they take care of it with the vet so you dont have to worry about it all while you are worring about your pet. They also have a 24/7 vet emergency hotline which could come in handy. To me that was my best option apart from using the credit card if something happened.

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h30/stanleysmum/inthegrass016WinCE.jpg

[Brooke]

I have VPI pet insurance and they too cover the back surgery.

[Suzanne R]

I voted no but we are on a wellness plan at the vet. It's about $20 a month and it covers all of her visits and shots. It will even cover getting her spayed this July!! And we get 10% off anything not covered. We've already saved a couple hundred dollars!!!

Wow - that's great! Who's your vet? I'd like to have that one!!!

[Tammara]

Amazing that this popped up in my email today. We opted out, and did have a savings account until an expesive trip recently. We don't have any debts, except the house and car, but Ruben's surgery is something that will set us back for years now. I wish the insurance had been a better option, and that we had built our savings up better. But we did not anticipate that just after turning 3 he would need this extensive surgery.

[Rhys10]

Rhys is insured with pets best, so far its been a huge help with the vet bills and vacines. I get they pay 80% of the total bill, and yes it covers back injuries for her as well. Actually its really not that expensive either i think i pay around 30 dollars a month. Its worked for me not sure if every one would agree with me.

[ame8199]

Wow - that's great! Who's your vet? I'd like to have that one!!!

I know this is an old thread, but I seen that this didnt get answered. That plan sounded like what you get at Banfield Vets in Petsmart. Zach was on that when he was a puppy. Saved us alot of money. It paid for his neuter as well as about half of his stomach surgery when he was a baby. Well worth the money if you like Banfield.

[longtimecouple1]

I have VPI Superior Plan and they do cover the back surgery, that's the one thing I checked on before I signed up. It's $27.and chg for Coco and $26 and chng for Chanel (10% multi pet discount) but it's worth it, and I just put the vet bill on my charge card and submit the form, then I get a check about 30 days later, just in time to pay the bill. It covers about 1/2 of all I've submitted so far, including the spay and neutering. And by putting it on my ASPCA charge card the ASPCA gets a cut on everything I charge, it think it's either 4 or 5% of my total charges, plus an additional $75 after I keep the card and use it for 6 mos, I just past my 6 mos in March so they should be getting a check from Chase soon.
Eileen