Pet insurance?

coasterqueen wrote: I hate to ask an insurance issue at this point in time, but I was wondering if anyone has insurance on their animals? Ryan and I were thinking about getting it on at least Gavin, our dog. The cost seems to be worth it, at least the plan our vet showed us. We are actually thinking about getting it on the cats, too, especially since Hayley just cost me $350 and who knows how much more. If you have any insight into it that would be great. Thanks.

moped replied: Honestly I think you should totally get it for all your cats and dog.....I don't have pets but I know many people that have said "sure wish I had pet insurance"........I think it is a bit pricey here, but sure would be nice if you had it should anything happen etc.

coasterqueen replied:
Yeah, there are different levels of insurance, just like with any kind. The premiums we'd pay would be well worth just what the yearly office visits/vax are for sure.

moped replied: Then I think you answered your own question.

What is the one commercial I hear all the time.....ummmmm oh is it petmeds.com or something?

DVFlyer replied: This just in..... Obama pushing for National Pet Health Care....

Now who wants national health care...

I crack myself up..

coasterqueen replied: By golly, there are millions and millions of animals out there dying every day without care I SERIOUSLY think they should have free care too -- My pet is just like a human to me.

mom21kid2dogs replied: We've only had 1 dog where it would have been worth it~our seizure dog that died at 22 months. We keep a seperate pot of savings (approx the monthly cost of the premium) , kind of like a HSA for the dogs. That way, it's still our money but we have it earmarked for dog expenses only. I like it being mone WAY MORE than I like it being theirs.

kit_kats_mom replied: We have it for the cat and dog. I think we pay 300 or so a year so about $10/mo. We had the "emergency only" kid last year for $200 bucks and used it within a week of getting it when Rocky ate an entire corncob and had an emergency vet visit at 11pm. He ended up ok but we were reimbursed for the $200+ for the visit. It was nice knowing that we had the coverage and could take care of him when he needed it. This year we got the better program for a bit more cash...it's more of an HMO for pets and covers two annual exams, their shots and basic care plus the cost of emergencies/surgeries etc. It won't cover certian things based on breed or pre existing conditions but it's still a nice thing. :-) We use VPI and have been pleased with their services.

coasterqueen replied: Cheryl, that's a great idea. :thanks:

Cary, as always I'm glad to hear from you. I miss you, girl. Thanks for your story too. I will check into that insurance as well. We are weighing all our options because I KNOW Gavin has a hip problem. I thought it was just me, but my girlfriend said the same thing this past weekend. I plan to get him into the vet after we've decided on the insurance thing and set it in place to see what's up with his hip.

jcc64 replied:
I hate to bring this up, but I'm pretty sure that just like with human insurance, pre-existing conditions will not be covered--I'd look into that before committing, Karen.

coasterqueen replied: Yes, I am aware of that. I've looked thoroughly into the insurance, and I know insurance pretty well, working in the industry. The only records the insurance company needs is the annual records, which he got checked out by a vet at the pound before he could be adopted. So they show no pre-existing condition .

jcc64 replied: As I was typing my post, it actually occurred to me that they would have no proof that you knew of a pre-existing condition, but not trusting insurance companies in general, and after hearing so many horror stories, I wouldn't count on being able to collect on what you are paying for. I hope my paranoia is unfounded in your case, and I hope it all works out well for Gavin.

coasterqueen replied:
Well I don't actually know of a pre-existing condition as I have no proof yet. I have just seen the way he walks and have seen other dogs (my sitter's great danes) with hip problems. Then I mentioned it to my girlfriend this weekend and she saw him and said she knew he had a hip problem the minute she saw him -- so that kind of confirmed it for me, but without him seeing a vet there is no actual proof. Sometimes, I believe, you can't have the condition for an x amount of time after you get insurance or it's considered pre-existing, which means I would think you'd then wait to have that issue checked on. From my understanding from talking to my girlfriend and my sitter, that his issue is not bad as he is a very young dog -- but he would benefit from taking some medication that would help him not to have huge issues with it later -- sort of a preventative measure. Now that's not definite as I have not talked to a vet, just a possibility after talking with a few others who have had dogs with this problem. Either way, whether it's covered or not, I'm definitely going to check into the medication so maybe as to prevent him from having worse problems later in his life.

Unfortunately with many of our other animals that had horrible health issues, we did not have insurance and paid out dearly from our savings to help them. So if I can at least try to prevent that from happening with any future pets, I'm all for it.