Pet Insurance

[MtnRacer]

Get it.

There are not a lot of things that have brought me to tears in my adult life. But one of them was the 2 or 3 seconds I weighed the cost of life saving surgery vs. his expected life span. It is gut wrenching. I always figured that something like this would happen as he got older and that's how I would know it was his time, but not in the middle of his prime. Fortunately I can afford it, but if I can never have to consider that ever again, it is absolutely worth it.

Steve

 

[revnort]

Get it.

There are not a lot of things that have brought me to tears in my adult life. But one of them was the 2 or 3 seconds I weighed the cost of life saving surgery vs. his expected life span. It is gut wrenching. I always figured that something like this would happen as he got older and that's how I would know it was his time, but not in the middle of his prime. Fortunately I can afford it, but if I can never have to consider that ever again, it is absolutely worth it.

Steve

Wise words. Considering the lady and I just picked up a pup last night, we talked about this on the way home.

I hope he makes it through OK. Poor little guy. Sending healing vibes his way Steve!

 

[corndog67]

I've thought about this also. We like German Shepherds, and they're prone to some issues. Right at the moment, our 12 year old girl, is getting reoccurring melanomas in her mouth, about 8 month ago, $300 to remove it with a laser. Its back, they're talking about removing part of her lower jaw, but I'm not going to that. But in the past 7 years that we've had her, she has been pretty maintenance free. I mean, basically, nothing. But our last one, had ear infections, skin infections, just all kinds of stuff. Then died of a tumor on her spleen at 6 years old. I checked all the options, they could remove the spleen, then chemo, but the average life after that was 2 months. For $4000? If life expectancy was 2 years, I would have sprung for that. Not 2 months of pain. Damn, now I'm getting all choked up.

I think you have to weigh it on a dog by dog basis. Some dogs hardly ever have to go to the vet. Some do.

 

[kevin 714]

My vet hates pet insurance because in many cases it's a huge scam. Like buying that extended warranty, it never covers what you need.

She says the amount of claims denied is staggering. Which leaves the people even more distraught.

 

[gnahc79]

I did the math years ago and stopped our pet insurance for our dog. You're better off just saving $X/month into a medical pet fund.

 

[wally]

I did the math years ago and stopped our pet insurance for our dog. You're better off just saving $X/month into a medical pet fund.

yep.

 

[Honey Badger]

I did the math years ago and stopped our pet insurance for our dog. You're better off just saving $X/month into a medical pet fund.

This. I had pet insurance for a short time, then actually sat and did the math and realized I'd be far better off just setting that money aside myself, especially when I took into consideration what the insurance didn't cover.

 

[MtnRacer]

How much do you guys set aside? Insurance was looking like something in the $30-$65/month range. I'd be ahead right now at that rate with these bills.

Thanks,
Steve

 

[Killroy1999]

I don't like the insurance companies getting rich on me. So, no.

I always have a lot of cash for a rainy day, so you may say that I am self insured.

 

[revnort]

I did the math years ago and stopped our pet insurance for our dog. You're better off just saving $X/month into a medical pet fund.

yep.

This. I had pet insurance for a short time, then actually sat and did the math and realized I'd be far better off just setting that money aside myself, especially when I took into consideration what the insurance didn't cover.

This assumes you know when the problem will occur doesn't it?

 

[HeavenzJai]

I have a indoor cat, at what age do you think I need to get it for my cat?

I looked into it and its weird. They have like levels of insurance. Basic/Plus, then "extra" on top of it.

 

[Med23]

We pay something like $370/year (fair price in my mind) for our pup's insurance which covers 75% of claims and has some limits on different conditions. In his old age, my pup has had a lot of skin issues and a few injuries. The pet insurance has saved us close to $1k over the last 3 years...even with the denied claims (which were minimal) taken into account. I think it is well worth it. I'm also a gross over-insurer (life, uninsured motorist, umbrella, etc.) so take what I say with a grain of salt.

P.S.- We don't insure my wife's cat...because fuck cats.

 

[wally]

This assumes you know when the problem will occur doesn't it?

i guess if you start from a zero balance, then you have to worry about if you'll have enough saved if/when your pup needs treatment. but if you have a zero balance, you should probably buy food, not a dog.

 

[revnort]

i guess if you start from a zero balance, then you have to worry about if you'll have enough saved if/when your pup needs treatment. but if you have a zero balance, you should probably buy food, not a dog.

I guess I see insurance as well insurance.

I mean I have money saved, which I suppose is more than enough cushion. That money is being saved for other purposes.

However if a pet needs a very expensive operation and some other unexpected bills come along you are cutting way into savings. I mean a couple thousand dollar operation is going to smart a little. What if the problem continue. Etc.

 

[Entoptic]

Pet insurance is a scam. Yes it seems like there is a huge need for it but if you save the money you would have spent on insurance then you actually save money in the long run. Don't forget that pet insurance stops at a certain animal age which can leave you blind sided when you need it.

 

[wally]

I guess I see insurance as well insurance.

I mean I have money saved, which I suppose is more than enough cushion. That money is being saved for other purposes.

However if a pet needs a very expensive operation and some other unexpected bills come along you are cutting way into savings. I mean a couple thousand dollar operation is going to smart a little. What if the problem continue. Etc.

I hear you.
My dog has a DNR tattoo. lol

alternatively, if you put your money into insurance and never need it, that's money wasted. you put it in a savings acct and don't need it for your dog, it's yours to spend as you see fit.

 

[JMack]

Pet insurance is a scam. Yes it seems like there is a huge need for it but if you save the money you would have spent on insurance then you actually save money in the long run. Don't forget that pet insurance stops at a certain animal age which can leave you blind sided when you need it.

Not quite sure this is accurate.

I just read my policy and it doesn't state anywhere that it will stop at a certain age. Your premiums may increase depending on the utilization though.

I have TRUPANION for my 9 month old yellow lab. I pay 29 a month for a policy that has a 1K deductible. I figured with a 12 year life span, I would've shelled out around 4K. Our last boy had 2 knee surgeries that cost us 6 grand at least.

Like Revnort indicated, I look at it as what is, Insurance. It's a gamble.

Sure you can save 30 bucks a month and just stash it but what if a claim occurs before you even have anything significant in that pot?

 

[gnahc79]

This assumes you know when the problem will occur doesn't it?

no. ok let's do the math again

my dog, boston terrier 8 yrs old
- VPI quote
$250 annual deductible -> this is a big reason not to get pet insurance
major medical plan, comprehensive (it's the most popular!) $51.26/month. $14k max annual benefit.
For a dog that's 1 yr old, it's $29.29/month.

don't forget that there's a max allowance for specific conditions and procedures -> another big reason not to get pet insurance. You could still be paying $$ out of pocket with pet insurance. For a big operation you will definitely be paying money out of pocket

https://www.petinsurance.com/enroll/Files/Major_Medical_Benefit_Schedule_qec.pdf

for our dog in the past 8 yrs we've had two non-routine incidents. First was when our dog was 3 yrs old and we thought he ate something bad...~$400 for visit+x-ray. Second was a month ago when he scratched his eye, ~$300 for multiple visits+meds. After the deductible of $250/yr...only $200 out of $700 is covered. worthless.

let's run with $29.29/month for 8 yrs...$2811 that you will never see again.
Put that $3k into a Roth IRA and you can use it for that big $4K operation that may or may not happen when your dog is 10+ yrs old.

 

[TheRobSJ]

I have a indoor cat, at what age do you think I need to get it for my cat?

I looked into it and its weird. They have like levels of insurance. Basic/Plus, then "extra" on top of it.

Our indoor only Bengal died at only 6 1/2 years old. We've had him insured since he was maybe a couple years old.

However. FUCK VPI!. We had the best insurance they offered. Out of the $5k in vet bills we rang up in the span of a week before his respiratory system failed, they've paid a little over $1k. After appealing, they come back with some "after review we've determined that we actually overpaid you by $50" bullshit. We paid far more than that in premiums since we started so we'd have just been better off putting the money in our own fund.

Needless to say, we're not going with VPI again for the pair of Abbysinians kittens we're bringing home next week.

 

[kevin 714]

Just like human insurance, the business model is take as much from your client while paying out the least when they need to collect.


That my own vet pretty much says its a scam says somethinh