Health insurance for pets

[Sable99]

Does anyone have pet health insurance? If so, what company do you use? How much is it? What does it cover? And, is it worth it?

I have two cats that are 7 and 2. They don't have any major issues. I've thought about insurance before but haven't gotten it. Last night, a friend from Virginia told me she just spent $8,500 on surgery, MRI, etc for one of her dogs! Yikes!

So, now I'm thinking about it again!

[llapoint101]

I have pet insurance thru Healthy Paws for my goldendoodle. It's well worth it.

[llapoint101]

I have pet insurance thru Healthy Paws. I've used it several times and they are very quick to respond.

[Jaggy]

Wish I had the hindsight , foresight, or whatever it is called to buy Doggie Insurance.. Just got back from the Emergency Vet Clinic... My dog ate a pill which was for human.. long story short. she started to shake,, drool, etc. . $1100 so far to just treat her.. and $65 just to call the pet poison hotline.. I will know tomorrow if she needs more care . etc.. I did sign a DNR and felt like something hit me hard in the heart. I pray she makes it with no long term effects.. but I can't see getting to $8500 with her. wonder what my cut off will be?

[Barefoot]

Wish I had the hindsight , foresight, or whatever it is called to buy Doggie Insurance.. Just got back from the Emergency Vet Clinic... My dog ate a pill which was for human.. long story short. she started to shake,, drool, etc. . $1100 so far to just treat her.. and $65 just to call the pet poison hotline.. I will know tomorrow if she needs more care . etc.. I did sign a DNR and felt like something hit me hard in the heart. I pray she makes it with no long term effects.. but I can't see getting to $8500 with her. wonder what my cut off will be?

Oh, Jaggy, how terrible for you. I wish you the very best of luck. I pray your dog gets through this experience with no long-term issues.

[BettyCrocked]

Wish I had the hindsight , foresight, or whatever it is called to buy Doggie Insurance.. Just got back from the Emergency Vet Clinic... My dog ate a pill which was for human.. long story short. she started to shake,, drool, etc. . $1100 so far to just treat her.. and $65 just to call the pet poison hotline.. I will know tomorrow if she needs more care . etc.. I did sign a DNR and felt like something hit me hard in the heart. I pray she makes it with no long term effects.. but I can't see getting to $8500 with her. wonder what my cut off will be?

So sorry to hear this. "How much would you spend" is something every pet owner has thought but didn't want to answer. I've been in your position and it's so hard. Please update, I'm so saddened thinking of you and your buddy but we're all pulling for both of you.

[DDoug]

We have Banfield vet coverage from over at Petsmart.Two dogs cost 49.90 per month and that gives you quit alot check into it

[getdul981]

Pet insurance is like Life Insurance. You never need it until it's too late. We have had 4 dogs. The first one had many health issues and we did not have insurance, so we had to pay out of pocket. The second one had to have back surgery and we paid out of pocket. She didn't have many problems until she developed a blood disorder and we had to have her put down at age 8. THEN....we got the 2 girls we have now. Decided not to get the insurance. They both have had seizures and take medication for that. One has had a lung problem for about 10 years and takes medication for that. She has had to make several trips to the emergency vet, and that isn't cheap. They both have had calcium deposits develop on their eyes and they both have been to the Vetinarian Opthamologist and get drops twice a day for that. I don't know how much of this the pet insurance would cover, but their medications cost us around $100 per month and that's not counting any Vet visits or other incidentals.

I do know that the younger your pet is when you start coverage, the cheaper it is. Our girls are 15 now and act like they are puppies when they are feeling good, which is most of the time.

[Barefoot]

Pet insurance is like Life Insurance. You never need it until it's too late. We have had 4 dogs. The first one had many health issues and we did not have insurance, so we had to pay out of pocket. The second one had to have back surgery and we paid out of pocket. She didn't have many problems until she developed a blood disorder and we had to have her put down at age 8. THEN....we got the 2 girls we have now. Decided not to get the insurance. They both have had seizures and take medication for that. One has had a lung problem for about 10 years and takes medication for that. She has had to make several trips to the emergency vet, and that isn't cheap. They both have had calcium deposits develop on their eyes and they both have been to the Vetinarian Opthamologist and get drops twice a day for that. I don't know how much of this the pet insurance would cover, but their medications cost us around $100 per month and that's not counting any Vet visits or other incidentals.

I do know that the younger your pet is when you start coverage, the cheaper it is. Our girls are 15 now and act like they are puppies when they are feeling good, which is most of the time.

I wish every dog could have a caring owner like you.

[gustavo]

We have Banfield vet coverage from over at Petsmart.Two dogs cost 49.90 per month and that gives you quit alot check into it

I thought the Banfield plans were for preventative wellcare, not insurance for accidents, conditions etc.

[Jaggy]

Our dog is home.. She survived the crisis .. have to watch her for neurological issues but she seems fine , although her gas will run you out of the room ( I shared too much?? ) haha.. I had the feeling she was a goner from the way the Vet Dr spoke yesterday but she called this AM and said we were lucky.. I will never drop a pill again.. or try not too.. goofy dog is like a Hoover.. will eat anything that drops on the floor.

[Barefoot]

Our dog is home.. She survived the crisis .. have to watch her for neurological issues but she seems fine , although her gas will run you out of the room ( I shared too much?? ) haha.. I had the feeling she was a goner from the way the Vet Dr spoke yesterday but she called this AM and said we were lucky.. I will never drop a pill again.. or try not too.. goofy dog is like a Hoover.. will eat anything that drops on the floor.

I am so happy your dog is home. :pepper2: Thanks so much for posting.

It's a good reminder to be really careful what gets dropped, and also what is put into garbage cans. Our dog Lollipop had acute gastric distress from chewing up an almost empty deodorant dispenser that she found in the bathroom garbage can. We called the Emergency Vet's office and they said to rush her in, that she would need emergency treatment. Then we called Poison Control. They asked the weight of the dog (70 lbs) and for a list of ingredients. They said there was nothing toxic in the ingredients and that she would be fine. And she was.

[getdul981]

goofy dog is like a Hoover.. will eat anything that drops on the floor.

Yep, one of ours is actually nicknamed Hoover. Glad your baby is on the mend and back home.

[KathieI]

So glad you dog is home and I'm sure it will be okay. As a mom of Many, Many, Many dogs, we have gone through a lot of accidents similar to this. Quite a few years ago, one of my very feisty schnauzers got into a pill bottle of my husband's and took a few of them. We rushed him to the vet and he was forced to vomit and stay overnight on an IV. He did fine and never had a future problem from it.

When I moved here, I hired an exterminator to take care of a few mice that I had in the house and he put rat bait pellets in the garage, which I didn't know about. My very young female got into the garage and I found her with a blue mouth (the pellets were blue). OMG... HEART ATTACK time. I called the company and spoke to the poison control people who told me to go to the vet, bring the pellets and to have the vet call them immediately. I did that,,, she survived, little brat took 20 mins to throw up, but she did and then I had to put her on Vit K for awhile. I never thought she would make it, but she did and she's fine (still a little crazy, lol).

Getdul is correct, its best to get this insurance when they are young and not after they have medical issues. Unfortunately, I have never been that smart to get it, but I'm lucky, most of my dogs have lived to 15 or 16.

[DoggieDaddy]

We decided to cover our dog with pet insurance shortly after bringing him into our household as a puppy. We have a friend with an older dog that has paid thousands on vet care and so we took his advice and got insurance. We didn't want to be placed in the position of someday making a decision whether to pay for an expensive or ongoing treatment (e.g. cancer). (Even though we would).

So far, covering with the insurance has been the right decision. Augie, our 90 lb goldendoodle is only 2 1/2 but has required two knee surgeries. Not only has the insurance covered the surgery but it has also covered physical therapy at a rehab center (including hydro-therapy and acupuncture).

Our insurance covers any illness or accident at 90%, including any medication or ongoing treatment. The only things that it does not cover are office visit charges, routine preventive medications (vaccinations etc.), and pre-existing conditions. So, for instance if you took a dog to the vet for something like an ear infection, the office visit would not be covered but the ear drops, pain meds. etc. would be covered.

We pay the vet at the time of treatment and they fax the claim form to the insurance company. We have been very pleased that the insurance company responds almost immediately via Email with claim status and we receive reimbursement within a couple of days.

[justjim]

Does anyone have pet health insurance? If so, what company do you use? How much is it? What does it cover? And, is it worth it?

I have two cats that are 7 and 2. They don't have any major issues. I've thought about insurance before but haven't gotten it. Last night, a friend from Virginia told me she just spent $8,500 on surgery, MRI, etc for one of her dogs! Yikes!

So, now I'm thinking about it again!

Unless we are "filthy rich" we have to set our priorities and pet insurance and spending $8,500 on a pet---just doesn't rank anywhere on my priority list. There is too much human suffering in this world where I can make a small monetary contribution for me to spend that much money on a pet.

$8,500 could make a big difference in someone's life. It could mean the difference between dropping out of college and being able to stay in.

I'm not judging anyone else----go for it if that suits your lifestyle.

[DouglasMo]

I use Pet Plan -- google it and go to website and/or call their 800 number to speak to Pet Advisors. I never had pet insurance until a cat I had (2-3 yrs old) was sick and it cost me $3000 in 24 hours and we still didn't know what was wrong. We eventually found out after consulting with a specialist vet. She had a mass in her head and died 6-8 weeks later. I then got insurance for the other cat (I was working at the time). Before that I was lucky re costs with my other 2 previous cats. Pets are expensive as humans. The Pet Plan has helped me and I continue to get pet insurance with Pet Plan.

[Barbob]

Banfields covers office visits and gives discounts on other services. It provides shots and teeth cleaning but you pay $42 per month. It is not actually insurance but a discount med service for your pet. I had it but I always had to pay for meds and services not covered, which were many.

[wendyquat]

Our Cairn came to us with a free 90 day trial for pet insurance from the AKC. A week before it was to expire he swallowed a wing nut with a screw attached that had to be surgically removed. I was relieved to remember that we had the insurance but when I got home and dug the policy out of his file I was dismayed to learn that it excepted out "swallowed foreign objects"! We did not continue the policy but may have been wise to do so because he has been recently diagnosed with diabetes!

[Medtrans]

We used VPI for our chocolate lab who recently passed at 13. It was about $50.00 a month but she had many medical issues throughout her life and we made many many claims. They are a good company to work with. I would do it again if and when we are ever ready.