OT--Pet Insurance

[sfscott]

I just adopted a new pooch, and he's already been to the emergency vet twice. Once for needing more medicine and today for deciding to counter surf and eat half of two cakes, one of them chocolate that were left over from a party.

Fortunately, the SPCA has a deal with a one of the companies that offer database services for microchips that provide 30 days of free pet insurance.

In the past, I bought insurance for my last dog through the vet. Fortunately, he was extremely healthy so I never tested the extent of coverage.

I am going to a new vet on Thursday for the initial checkup/new patient visit (have not even made it to the regular vet yet!) While they may offer their own insurance through a preferred company, I was wondering if anyone has tried the various third party insurers such as Trupanion, ASPCA, etc.

Lessons learned? Experiences good or bad? Recommendations?

[Tickdoc]

I tried trupanion but they denied any claims I needed for my dogs allergies claiming it a pre-existing condition.

I can handle the rest of his bills, but the allergy treatments are whack.

Moral is (for me) no more puppy-mill rescue dogs for me.

I dropped it after one month/denial.

He's a great dog, though!http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/Handgod/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/38C4E012-9AA2-440C-8267-529C52B44496_zpsfssudyh5.jpg

[djg21]

I just adopted a new pooch, and he's already been to the emergency vet twice. Once for needing more medicine and today for deciding to counter surf and eat half of two cakes, one of them chocolate that were left over from a party.

Fortunately, the SPCA has a deal with a one of the companies that offer database services for microchips that provide 30 days of free pet insurance.

In the past, I bought insurance for my last dog through the vet. Fortunately, he was extremely healthy so I never tested the extent of coverage.

I am going to a new vet on Thursday for the initial checkup/new patient visit (have not even made it to the regular vet yet!) While they may offer their own insurance through a preferred company, I was wondering if anyone has tried the various third party insurers such as Trupanion, ASPCA, etc.

Lessons learned? Experiences good or bad? Recommendations?

My father is a veterinarian about 2.5 hours from me. I always got free routine vet care for my multiple animals. He highly recommended that I carry pet insurance on my new puppy just to cover emergencies. In my area, all the vets are buying into emergency clinics that charge oppressive fees for emergency services. They don't cover emergencies at their individual practices after business hours. My older dog had an issue a few years back and had to be taken to the emergency clinic where he stayed for two nights recieving IVs. The bill was over $6,000.

While insurance is a gamble in some respects, I never want to be in the position of having to choose whether to put my dog down because I cannot come up with the thousands of dollars to pay for emergent care.

I purchased insurance from Healthy Paws as soon as I got my pup home from the breeder. I pay under $35/month, and have a $500 deductible. IMO, it's worth it for the peace of mind.

But read the exclusions well, especially the ones for pre-existing conditions.

[Cicli]

I tried trupanion but they denied any claims I needed for my dogs allergies claiming it a pre-existing condition.

I can handle the rest of his bills, but the allergy treatments are whack.

Moral is (for me) no more puppy-mill rescue dogs for me.

I dropped it after one month/denial.

He's a great dog, though!

Cool dog.
I read "denial" as "dental" for some reason.

[11.4]

I have used Trupanion for one of our dogs and they have been superb. If your vet is signed up with them, the vet can process and get approval and payment before you even leave the office. They have been very fair on coverages and I've never had to dispute a claim. And the cost has been justified entirely with one dog after another, without insurance, developed a hemangiosarcoma which turned into a splenectomy, chemo, and epilepsy. Get dental work insured early in the life of a puppy because it can be very expensive as they get older; if a dog has dental problems, it typically has recurring and expensive problems, and if not, it doesn't have any and you can drop the coverage.

[ultraman6970]

If you have a petsmart around, check there, they have an animal hospital and they have insurance that is not like a lot, at least you will have the basic annual stuff for free for example, vaccines, dental cleaning and stuff, you lose 5 minutes asking you know.

[Ken Robb]

We have had VIP for 15+ years and they always pay promptly but--- we have to pay the bill at the vet and submit it for reimbursement so it might not work for people who couldn't pay the vet bill and wait for a check from VIP.

As someone else stated: it is a blessing to not have to weigh life/death decision due to costs.

[Lanternrouge]

We have PetPlan and have been pretty happy with it. Our plan has a $250 deductible, so it's only for major issues and we have used it a couple of times. A lot of people we know use Healthy Paws and are happy with it. Healthy Paws also gives a 10% discount for adopting through a rescue.

I can bring this back on topic by noting that insurance helps ensure a major vet bill will not require you to sell of cycling gear.

[tumbler]

I would recommend getting it. You might get lucky and never need it, or you might get my dog who decided to eat a pin cushion full of needles, and a wine cork, and a couple packs of chewing gum (google "Dog Gum Xylitol"), among other things over the years :crap:. It isn't terribly expensive as long as you opt for a reasonable deductible (I think ours is $200) and we have received more than our premiums in reimbursements.

We have PetPlan and have never had a claim denied or delayed. I would recommend them. Overall, it's just good peace of mind when you have a family member that is likely to get sick at some point and is unable to communicate with you to explain exactly how many needles they ate and how they are feeling about it ;).

[daker13]

I bought pet insurance for my dog from Embrace, who are considered a good outfit, with a $200 deductible. For four years, I paid $30-35 (it went up) a month and never had to file a claim. I love my dog, but I thought it was too much to pay. If something happens to him, we'll pay out of pocket, but there are amounts I wouldn't pay, especially if I thought he would not have a good quality of life. I suppose it depends on the dog (mine doesn't eat hazardous items, etc.) but I felt it made more sense to save the money month by month, with the knowledge that there might be a big vet bill or bills at some point.

As an aside, my vet moved into a much bigger office a couple of years ago, offering more services. When he was in the smaller office and I brought my dog in with a persistent limp, he told me that X-rays for dogs were usually expensive, inconclusive, and unnecessary unless there was a broken bone. When I saw him last month, and my dog was limping again (though much less than the first time), I was surprised how quickly he suggested we get him X-rays. Turns out he now has an x-ray machine in his new office...

[FlashUNC]

My company used to offer it as a perk in our employee benefits package, but its since gone away. I've briefly looked into some for this little lady, and will probably be getting a policy that jibes with what our preferred vet accepts.

She has had a couple ER visits -- UTI was probably the worst, foxtail caught in her paw for another -- but overall she's been pretty low maintenance once we got through that particular rough patch. I'll second that I'd rather not have to make any major medical decisions for her based on cost.

https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1551/24114602819_6043147588_c.jpg

[eippo1]

We've had our rescue for 5 years and would have gone bankrupt without Trupanion. They've been awesome and our vets do a great job of documenting everything. Our pooch had Erlichia, Lyme, antiplasty (or whatever), 5 UTI's, heart fun, etc. and they have covered the majority of it. It was the first case of erlichia that the vets up north had seen and she had it bad -- sneezing blood everywhere. Our house and the exam room looked like murder scenes.

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c271/eippo1/IMAG00927_zpshuqb7jy4.jpg (http://s29.photobucket.com/user/eippo1/media/IMAG00927_zpshuqb7jy4.jpg.html)