# Should I buy insurance?



## teetee (Aug 25, 2011)

My husband and I are going back and forth on whether or not we want to purchase insurance for the dogs. Our cat, Taji, got really sick a few months ago and we spent about $800 at the vet in 2 days. That was the first time he'd ever been seriously sick like that. So we got insurance for him. He's almost 8 now and we want to have it just incase...

I am shocked at the price of insurance. It's so expensive! So we're trying to decide if we want to get insurance for the dogs as well. My argument is that we could make a separate savings account and set up and automatic transfer to send money to each paycheck and use a credit card for any excess. His argument is, what if we have an emergency and exhaust all of our savings. The insurance for the 3 of them would be around $1100/year. Miya doesn't really give us any troubles, but Domo seems to have some digestive troubles and we've been to the vet with him much more than we ever have with Miya. ehhhh...idk what to do. it's impossible to predict the future!


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## jesuschick (Dec 5, 2010)

I was having the same thoughts as you. Hope's our biggest concern and I had insurance on her. Her issues likely would not have been covered as they had been documented so were considered preexisting. We added Ruby when we got her. I canceled their insurance when we got Eden. Thinking about paying premiums for 3 and not knowing if the one with the issues would even be covered did not make sense. We have a nice savings account that is just theirs. It is there if we need it and anything remaining after the girls grow very old and leave us will go to our grandkids for college.

There are valid reasons to do it either way. The thing that is not good planning is to neither have insurance nor a savings account.


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## jan896 (Dec 9, 2009)

Both of mine have Insurance. I got Peso insurance as soon as I walked in the door with him...before his first VET visit, just in case. After all of the expenses with Chico, I will always have insurance for them.

the kind I have ...Petplan... you still have to pay up front so depending on your financial abilities, an 'Emergency' bank fund might work better....

personal preferences/choices


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## teetee (Aug 25, 2011)

I have petsbest for Taji, but would not use them for the dogs. 

I was considering petplan. Jan, are you pretty satisfied with them?


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## jan896 (Dec 9, 2009)

teetee said:


> I was considering petplan. Jan, are you pretty satisfied with them?


*VERY* pleased with them.... I used it twice in Chico's short life.... the last one was for $5300.00.... it was paid within a month.... never had any problems with them... I kept all of the paperwork so had everything ready when the time came to file a claim....


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## cpaoline (Oct 9, 2012)

I just got pet insurance through Pet Plan, only got it for Vito since he seems to be the problem child. He will probably be needing LP surgery somewhere down the road, thank god the vet didn't document this so it will not be considered a pre-existing condition. They will cover hereditary prblems and things of that nature. Some do some don't so if your going to get incurance make sure you do your homework. I opted for the $200 deductible and 100% reimbursement, it's costing me $37 a month which is relatively inexpensive rougly $400 a year. $1100 hundred seems pretty steep, which insurance did you look at?


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## Jayda (Jun 15, 2012)

I have Pet Plan insurance for each of my three. I also had an ongoing issue with one of our cats that eventually passed away. We spent a good deal of money on the cat....we loved her. I decided I wanted the peace of mind of having insurance for the dogs. It is pricey though. I think for all three is is just over 1300 a year with the gold plan and a 100.00 deductible and 90% coverage after that. I was fortunate that they do not have preexisting conditions at this point.


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## cpaoline (Oct 9, 2012)

I went with the bronze plan it seems to cover my needs.


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## KrystalLeigh (Aug 17, 2011)

Odie has insurance but our cats do not. We would love to have it for all of them, but can't afford it. Since Odie goes out of the house and plays with other dogs, etc., we figured she'd be more prone to injury and infection so she was the one who got it. 

Originally we wanted to set up a savings account just for the pets, but we always needed the money for something else so insurance is the best route for us so at least there's something there (and we have a credit card just for pets so paying up front wouldn't be an issue). 

We have pet plan and do the $200 deductible with 100% coverage after. I wish I would have done the $100 deductible. We've claimed a few visits already but nothing has been over he deductible. Still happy to have it though! 


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## Jayda (Jun 15, 2012)

cpaoline said:


> I went with the bronze plan it seems to cover my needs.


I agree the differences are subtle between the plans. One reason I went with the gold plan is it covered "replacement" cost if the pet is lost, stolen or dies from an accident. I documented the price of each dog when I enrolled them. In my heart they could never be easily replaced of course.


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## KrystalLeigh (Aug 17, 2011)

Jayda said:


> I agree the differences are subtle between the plans. One reason I went with the gold plan is it covered "replacement" cost if the pet is lost, stolen or dies from an accident. I documented the price of each dog when I enrolled them. In my heart they could never be easily replaced of course.


We have the gold plan as well. I chose it because of the $20,000 coverage. Most likely will not be necessary, but I figured why not.


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## cpaoline (Oct 9, 2012)

we need a like button, similiar to facebook...lol


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## doginthedesert (Oct 10, 2011)

I just wanted to say I've also been very happy with petplan. While Copley was ill a few years ago we were at specialist and doing bloodwork and just spending over and over for about 6 months and I got everything back after my deductable from petplan even when there wasn't really a diagnosis. They even paid back 80% for a visit that was just a second opinion. All the dogs are covered and I'm pretty happy with it.

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## TinyTails (Jun 24, 2011)

I have Healthy Pets insurance for my 2 dogs and 2 cats and have had very good experiences so far, my mom uses it for her pets too. There's a website that reviews all the insurance plans where people can post reviews http://www.petinsurancereview.com/index.asp?v=full

I've had a couple large claims since you never know what can happen so I prefer to be covered instead of facing a huge bill all at once, my last one for Deuce was over 3 thousand when he ate a pill. My moms very healthy shepherd all of a sudden needed a double hernia replacement which was about 8k after everything. We were really relieved to have most of those bills covered 
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## LadyDevlyn (Jul 8, 2013)

I just got a quote for the PetPlan insurance for my 2. Holy smokes!!! $90 a month for Romeo and $45 for Candi. That's insane. I'll stick with the savings acct for now. 


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## Wicked Pixie (Oct 14, 2011)

I looked into insurance but I can't justify the expense. I have a credit card for vet emergencies, and even if I spent £3000 on vets fees my monthly minimum repayments would only be £80. If I don't spend anything on vets fees I don't pay anything, so it seems better for me than paying out money every month for insurance. I don't like buying things on credit, I prefer to save, but I like the security of knowing it is there if one of the dogs needed it. 
I have been going to my main vets for over 10 years so they are always happy to send me a bill to be paid within a month, I don't have to pay at the time of treatment. I am sure they would work out a payment plan if I had a big emergency too.


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## KrystalLeigh (Aug 17, 2011)

doginthedesert said:


> I just wanted to say I've also been very happy with petplan. While Copley was ill a few years ago we were at specialist and doing bloodwork and just spending over and over for about 6 months and I got everything back after my deductable from petplan even when there wasn't really a diagnosis. They even paid back 80% for a visit that was just a second opinion. All the dogs are covered and I'm pretty happy with it.
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Just wondering how it works with multiple appointments for the same issue. Will petplan cover it if your vet writes a different reason for appointment on each claim form? For example, Odie had been experiencing some digestive issues and was tested for pancreatitis but doesn't have it, and she might have to get an endoscope in the future. Hopefully not, but if that happens the reason for visit wouldn't be pancreatitis but is technically for the same issue.


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## doginthedesert (Oct 10, 2011)

KrystalLeigh said:


> Just wondering how it works with multiple appointments for the same issue. Will petplan cover it if your vet writes a different reason for appointment on each claim form? For example, Odie had been experiencing some digestive issues and was tested for pancreatitis but doesn't have it, and she might have to get an endoscope in the future. Hopefully not, but if that happens the reason for visit wouldn't be pancreatitis but is technically for the same issue.


For me it was all issues related to lame-ness, inability to jump and overall tiredness. Although it was always different parts of the body and not all the vets thought they were related. I submitted the first claim, paid the $200 deductible I had and on every claim after that I checked a box on the paperwork that said yes by "Is this a continuing claim?" Then they had a place to put the previous claim number. They counted it as all one thing and I would get checks for $75 office visits here and there and then $150 x rays. None of those would have met my deductible if they weren't counted as a continuing claim. I don't know how they determined if it was continuing, but since they were sort of related and I checked that box they went with it.
I do know that my deductible is PER YEAR, so if I went back now for the same issue that I would have to pay the deductible again.


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## TinyTails (Jun 24, 2011)

Wow that is an expensive quote, I pay 150 a month for 4 pets with Healthy Paws


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## doginthedesert (Oct 10, 2011)

LadyDevlyn said:


> I just got a quote for the PetPlan insurance for my 2. Holy smokes!!! $90 a month for Romeo and $45 for Candi. That's insane. I'll stick with the savings acct for now.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App





TinyTails said:


> Wow that is an expensive quote, I pay 150 a month for 4 pets with Healthy Paws
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


It is based on average vet costs in your area, so don't get scared by the numbers, get a quote! I pay $18 a month Kerri and Nova and $21 for Copley, but stuff is dirt cheap around here! I get a discount for paying it all annually too, so it works out to less than that in the end.


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## TinyTails (Jun 24, 2011)

I'm in NY Long Island we have really high vet care costs around here I priced out most companies when so was looking a few years ago and Petplan was one of the highest for me. I went with Healthy Paws based with reviews and cost  Right now I'm paying 45 for Honey 50 for Deuce per month and that is for the 100 annual deductible with 90% reimbursement no maximums or limits to how much is covered. I just did a comparison quote for Petplan to see the cost, for the Gold Plan which would be comparable to my plan, although I have no max with Healthy Paws it would 116 a month just for Deuce, wow!


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## LadyDevlyn (Jul 8, 2013)

I did check Healthy Paws at your recommendation. Much more reasonable. Plus I see that they have no cap on coverage. Nice to know no matter what your expenses add up to it will be covered. 


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## teetee (Aug 25, 2011)

cpaoline said:


> I just got pet insurance through Pet Plan, only got it for Vito since he seems to be the problem child. He will probably be needing LP surgery somewhere down the road, thank god the vet didn't document this so it will not be considered a pre-existing condition. They will cover hereditary prblems and things of that nature. Some do some don't so if your going to get incurance make sure you do your homework. I opted for the $200 deductible and 100% reimbursement, it's costing me $37 a month which is relatively inexpensive rougly $400 a year. $1100 hundred seems pretty steep, which insurance did you look at?


I think Domo may need an LP surgery later down the road so that's why I was looking in to pet plan. They cover it right? The 1100 is for all 3 of my pets together, should I get insurance.


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## teetee (Aug 25, 2011)

I am going to get on their website, but does Healthy Paws cover surgery like LP or things of that nature?


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## pigeonsheep (Nov 8, 2008)

i dont have insurance but i have pet assure :] it saves 25% off ur vet bill for everything except take home meds and off lab bloodwork. it's only $150 a year for the family plan which i have all 3 cats and 2 dogs in and comes with lost id tag site as well


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## LadyDevlyn (Jul 8, 2013)

teetee said:


> I am going to get on their website, but does Healthy Paws cover surgery like LP or things of that nature?



They should cover the LP surgery. From their website "Coverage for any accident, illness, hereditary or chronic condition."



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## cpaoline (Oct 9, 2012)

teetee said:


> I think Domo may need an LP surgery later down the road so that's why I was looking in to pet plan. They cover it right? The 1100 is for all 3 of my pets together, should I get insurance.


Pet plan does cover it as ling as it wasn't a preexisting condition, has your vet documented it anywhere? If not your good, there is just a 6 months waiting period for anything due to the knees being convered. I called and talked with a rep, they were very helpful. I got the insurance just for that reason. Plus his right elbow bows out, doesn't seem to cause him any issues now but down the line it may. I have 4 but only insured him since he is the problem child that always seems to have some type of issue. Started with stomach problems and after spending hundreds at the vets for all kinds of test, xrays and what nots, I thought it would be good to have. Stomach issues have subsided seems that he cannot eat dry food causes constipation because he doesn't drink enough water, he's been on canned for the past few months and knock on wood he's doing good, even poops 3 times a day now


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## TinyTails (Jun 24, 2011)

Healthy Paws covers everything as long as it's not pre-existing which is the same as all insurance. So as long as your vet doesn't have it in the files that your dog will need LP surgery you are good to go.


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## doginthedesert (Oct 10, 2011)

TinyTails said:


> Healthy Paws covers everything as long as it's not pre-existing which is the same as all insurance. So as long as your vet doesn't have it in the files that your dog will need LP surgery you are good to go.


Healthy paws may cover "congenital defects" I am not sure, but when I researched for pet plan they were the only one that covered what they would have considered hereditary issues (so LP in chis, bone cancer in larger breeds, heart issues in CKCS, hip issues in labs etc, cruciate tears in most dogs...). Most pet insurance DOES NOT cover these issues. Make sure you do your research, our neighbors had literally every issue their toy fox terriers had denied by VPI as a congenital issue. I know that trupanion, VPI and the other big one, I am forgetting the name all deny the issues I named above. That was the big draw of petplan, they cover hereditary issues known to the breeds when no one else did. Maybe some other insurance providers have popped up that do now.


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## doginthedesert (Oct 10, 2011)

I just read their sample policy, and healthy paws does seem to cover congenital issues. So it would be them and pet plan for the only insurers I know of that cover LP in the US.


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## Jayda (Jun 15, 2012)

doginthedesert said:


> It is based on average vet costs in your area, so don't get scared by the numbers, get a quote! I pay $18 a month Kerri and Nova and $21 for Copley, but stuff is dirt cheap around here! I get a discount for paying it all annually too, so it works out to less than that in the end.


Wow, those are greats rates for Petplan. I pay in the $40s each month for each of mine. Varies slightly due to age. I terms of cost, I suspect I love in a medium range price area.


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## TinyTails (Jun 24, 2011)

Yeah they really are I wish! I still can't believe they want over a 100 a month per dog for me, that's insane


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## teetee (Aug 25, 2011)

cpaoline said:


> Pet plan does cover it as ling as it wasn't a preexisting condition, has your vet documented it anywhere? If not your good, there is just a 6 months waiting period for anything due to the knees being convered


So I have to wait 6 months before i can make any type of claim?


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## teetee (Aug 25, 2011)

Thanks everyone for the input! This is really helpful. I'm 99% sure i'm going to purchase the insurance.


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## doginthedesert (Oct 10, 2011)

teetee said:


> So I have to wait 6 months before i can make any type of claim?


There is a 30 day waiting period after you get insurance for most all illnesses, and I think 15 days for accidents, but some orthopedic issues have a 6 month waiting period.


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## nabi (Nov 25, 2004)

I just had an interesting situation with insurance on Izzy...last August were notified that the ins co we had would no longer be covering in Canada but there was another ins co available to cover them we if wanted...so Izzy was covered until Oct 15 with one co and then continued coverage with the new company..Oct 10 th she had sx for enclueation ( not covered as pre-existing condition ) she had 2 cardiac arrests and ended up in ICU for 4 days..then came home with Holter monitor for 72 hrs...so we had the overlap of coverage in that time period...she required further surgery for a pacemaker and treatment for pulmonary hypertension which was done in feb/14 as she required time to recover from the cardiac arrests...we called the ins company in Feb to see what would be covered and what would be considered pre-existing in regards to her heart condition...they required a report from the cardiologist...after that the original ins co paid for Izzys cardiac care and surgery..the new company continues to pay for her follow-up care...which really surprised us but it is very welcomed...the monthly payment is steep...over $150 a month for both the girls..I don't submit bills for Izzys monthly meds as I know from Bella that they will reduce the percentage paid if too many bills are sent in..


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## teetee (Aug 25, 2011)

For any future readers of this thread...

healthy paws insurance does cover those important things like Hereditary, Congenital Conditions & Hip Dysplasia (if not preexisting), but they do not cover what most other companies do like vet exam fees, medications, wellness care (vaccines, teeth cleaning) etc...I felt it was important to note that because I am looking for those things in the coverage that I choose. That would explain while they are somewhat cheaper than other companies IMO.


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## teetee (Aug 25, 2011)

maybe a silly question but would LP be considered congenital? Domo does not have LP but I want to make sure we have insurance to cover it should he ever develop it. I guess I'm just confused as to how a vet will determine if the LP has always been there or if it developed recently?


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## TinyTails (Jun 24, 2011)

Healthy Paws doesn't cover the vet exam fee - that is the only thing that differs from Petplan - I took that into account as well when picking but I didn't feel that a $50 vet exam fee that I might only pay once or twice a year justified the extra $70 per month I would have to pay with Petplan per dog. 
Healthy Paws and Petplan both cover prescription meds and both only cover non-routine routine dental care, neither covers any routine care including vaccines. I don't think I've seen company yet that covers cleaning.


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## teetee (Aug 25, 2011)

TinyTails said:


> Healthy Paws doesn't cover the vet exam fee - that is the only thing that differs from Petplan - I took that into account as well when picking but I didn't feel that a $50 vet exam fee that I might only pay once or twice a year justified the extra $70 per month I would have to pay with Petplan per dog.
> Healthy Paws and Petplan both cover prescription meds and both only cover non-routine routine dental care, neither covers any routine care including vaccines. I don't think I've seen company yet that covers cleaning.


Taji, our cat, has PetsBest. They will cover $100 for teeth cleaning. We'll find out soon how it works exactly since he's going to be having his teeth cleaned.


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## doginthedesert (Oct 10, 2011)

teetee said:


> I guess I'm just confused as to how a vet will determine if the LP has always been there or if it developed recently?


It has nothing to do with what a vet determines, or even with your individual dog. Our neighbors learned that the hard way! If insurance does not cover hereditary issues it will not ever cover LP, hip displasia etc...


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## cepwin (Jan 19, 2014)

I've had pet insurance since my first pet as an adult, a cat named P.C. got F.U.S. at a young age and I had to pay for surgery for him. My bird has VPI, Edie had 24hr petcare (a pain to file clams...the vet *had* to fill in a diagnosis and they paid nothing for a dental procedure that included an abscessed tooth.) and I bought healthypaws for Chuck. It doesn't cover as well as human insurance but it does help. When P.C. was on regular meds the last 6 years of his life they covered part of the cost. Most likely you'll have few claims when your pet is young but it will be a help when they get old. If you wait until their older you might run into pre-existing conditions.


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## teetee (Aug 25, 2011)

I know the meaning of congenital and hereditary, but how can the vet know if it was preexisting or not? For example say if a dog was born with LP and it gradually got worse, or if a dog was injured BEFORE or AFTER having insurance (preexisting)? I'm just a little confused. Maybe I've been reading too much about pet insurance. I appreciate everyone's advice. I'm going to call a few companies tonight.


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## misskittiecat (Jun 4, 2014)

I have Healthy Paws insurance and went with the $500 deductible and 90% reimbursement. I really like them and now I wish I went with the $100 deductible because I would have gotten money back already for a UTI that Pepper got. It was only $4 a month more, but I was thinking I would only use it for big emergencies.

Healthy Paws doesn't limit congenital or hereditary (I THINK insurance companies have a list of what breeds are prone to what). Healthy Paws doesn't do pre-existing conditions though, and way they check that is you need to have a full comprehensive exam done within the past year or 2 weeks after your enrollment date. When you submit your first claim, you need to send in the full medical history reports from every vet.

Unfortunately, Pepper's medical history showed that she had luxating patellas and that was only because we told them. I'm guessing if we never said anything, it would have never gone in the report and that it would still be covered. After I sent in the full medical history, they sent me a nice email saying that her luxating patellas wouldn't be covered since they were pre-existing, so there would be no surprises.


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## TinyTails (Jun 24, 2011)

I have Healthy Paws as well and have been very happy with them. I did the 100 deductible and 90% coverage. My male has a slight LP but since it was not diagnosed or written down anywhere that he has to have surgery it will be covered with them if it were to ever get worse. They cover everything except a preexisting condition which means it would have to be diagnosed as well 


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## KrystalLeigh (Aug 17, 2011)

teetee said:


> I know the meaning of congenital and hereditary, but how can the vet know if it was preexisting or not? For example say if a dog was born with LP and it gradually got worse, or if a dog was injured BEFORE or AFTER having insurance (preexisting)? I'm just a little confused. Maybe I've been reading too much about pet insurance. I appreciate everyone's advice. I'm going to call a few companies tonight.



Pre-existing is considered to be something that has been diagnosed or documented by a vet. It doesn't matter if they've had it since birth, as long as it hasn't been included in the vet's notes. They'll want records from any clinic the dog has visited. 


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