Pet Care INS advice?

[robt57]

Bivy, Hanacare are the ones I am about to start looking at reviews/costs etc.

Any other recommended to look into or specifically avoid??

We had no pet since our guy left us 4.5 year ago, until Sept this year. Adopted a now 20 month old female greyhound, our third greyhound. The last two where older rescues when we adopted, and thus left us earlier. We did not expect to find such a young hound. But we did and the meld was pretty much instant with this nut case puppy sauce gal. The Nina Bean!

[GregL]

We’ve had Nationwide (formerly VPI) pet insurance for our wheaten terrier since he was a pup. We’ve only had one significant claim and we’ve been very pleased with Nationwide’s premiums and customer service. Our policy is for major medical events only with a $500 annual deductible.

Last year (at age 10), Max blew out his left hind leg CCL (canine equivalent of a human ACL). Our vet gave us multiple treatment options and we chose to have an extracapsular lateral stabilization surgery performed at their facility. Nationwide covered everything over the deductible including laser and physical therapy. Max made a rapid and complete recovery. We couldn’t be happier for our furry family member!

Greg

[Bruce K]

We’re looking too

Had it for our pup. Dropped it because it was difficult to use.

Vet recommends getting it back for the dog and the cats as we’ve had 2 “scares” this year that cost us significant dollars.

Curious to see what people suggest.

BK

[jkbrwn]

We have Nationwide for our guys. No real feedback yet though to be honest as we’ve yet to make a claim in 18 months.

[makoti]

I have looked into it & asked my vet. He suggested (even though he would sell it) not getting insurance. Most things are covered when they are little & healthy, then as they age, coverage narrows and premiums climb.
What I do is try to estimate what premiums would be, set that aside every month and use it ONLY for pet expenses. After a year healthy years, you have a nice little cushion to help if you need it. Easy? No. Need discipline for it to work? Yeah, but it can if you do.

[gbcoupe]

I'll ask my wife when she gets home. Pretty sure it mostly depends on the breed as to whether or not she recommends insurance at all.

Beautiful grey you have there. That's a front runner for us when we decide to have a dog again. Our last was a grey/boxer mix. Sweetest (and smartest) dog I've ever had. Crushed when she passed @ 15 1/2 years.

[C40_guy]

We've been with Embrace for the past 11 years. Started at $30/month, and the premium crept up each year. Now that our little guy is 11, it's up to $160 a month.

I'm tempted to self ensure at this point, but...stuff can get expensive for older dogs.

On the other hand, a single sock incident can cost $2K, so puppies can be expensive too. Personally, I'd rather know that things are covered and the cost is predictable.

We've never placed a claim, so I don't know how that end it works with Embrace. It was a really nice alternative to a limited set of options 11 years ago. I think there are many more choices out there now...

[Ken Robb]

Originally Posted by GregL

We’ve had Nationwide (formerly VPI) pet insurance for our wheaten terrier since he was a pup. We’ve only had one significant claim and we’ve been very pleased with Nationwide’s premiums and customer service. Our policy is for major medical events only with a $500 annual deductible.

Last year (at age 10), Max blew out his left hind leg CCL (canine equivalent of a human ACL). Our vet gave us multiple treatment options and we chose to have an extracapsular lateral stabilization surgery performed at their facility. Nationwide covered everything over the deductible including laser and physical therapy. Max made a rapid and complete recovery. We couldn’t be happier for our furry family member!

Greg

We have these guys too and have no complaints. We really do NOT hope to get back more than we pay in over time because we don't want a sick or injured dog and that would be how we might come out "ahead" monetarily. It IS very nice to know we will never have to weigh whether we can afford potentially expensive treatment and that's what insurance is for isn't it?

[yngpunk]

Might also want to check if your employer offers a discount on pet insurance through your benefits...might be included in there. If so, might be worthwhile looking into.

[C40_guy]

Originally Posted by Ken Robb

It IS very nice to know we will never have to weigh whether we can afford potentially expensive treatment and that's what insurance is for isn't it?

Agreed.

[gbcoupe]

Originally Posted by gbcoupe

I'll ask my wife when she gets home. Pretty sure it mostly depends on the breed as to whether or not she recommends insurance at all.

Beautiful grey you have there. That's a front runner for us when we decide to have a dog again. Our last was a grey/boxer mix. Sweetest (and smartest) dog I've ever had. Crushed when she passed @ 15 1/2 years.

Her answer, pass unless there are issues/concerns that aren't in any medical charts. If there are documented issues, it won't be covered.

If you are set on getting coverage, VPC Nationwide.

[d_douglas]

We just picked our 9month old from his neutering 30 min ago . Poor chap.

Though neutering isn't covered, we did insure him to the hilt through a company called Trupanion. Everyone we spoke to said it was the way to go, aside from $$$. In the end, they cover almost everything, so that if something comes up with your pet, you aren't left wondering if your dog is worth the $4000 that the bill costs - they just cover it.

Except the neutering >

[robt57]

After doing math on 132 month on an est. aggregate avg from 1st to 11th year using these numbers...

Then calculating inflation going forward VS backwards on your history starting 11 years ago...

I think we will stash x$ per month, AND get a high deductible policy of a sort. We already have experience with Nationwide with excellent claims results/service. I think that will be a good place to start, and base others against...

Originally Posted by C40_guy

We've been with Embrace for the past 11 years. Started at $30/month, and the premium crept up each year. Now that our little guy is 11, it's up to $160 a month.

I'm tempted to self ensure at this point, but...stuff can get expensive for older dogs.

On the other hand, a single sock incident can cost $2K, so puppies can be expensive too. Personally, I'd rather know that things are covered and the cost is predictable.

We've never placed a claim, so I don't know how that end it works with Embrace. It was a really nice alternative to a limited set of options 11 years ago. I think there are many more choices out there now...

[tuxbailey]

I have Nationwide for my current 2 cats via employer. I pay about $350 for both each year and each carries an annual $250 deductible not including routine visit.

I didn’t have insurance for my previous 2 cats and each had medium to major issues. I have read about the saving vs paying premium, but the issues with my previous cats happened earlier in their lives. Although I could pay for it, I just don’t want to even think about it If similar situation comes up again. Specially when it cost less than one carry out dinner per month.


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[djg21]

My two Golden Retrievers are now 3 and 5 years old. We don’t purchase insurance on our two cats, as they are indoor animals and IME, less apt to need emergency medical care. The dogs were insured the day I picked them up from the breeder. The premiums have gone up as the dog have aged. I’m now paying $60/dog. We just raised our deductible and lowered the reimbursement to 70% to keep the pricing down. Thus far, I’ve made no reimbursable claims. The insurance is essentially for emergency coverage. If you’re interested here is a referral link: https://refer.healthypawspetinsurance.com/djg020. Referrals result in donations to a pet rescue foundation.

My dad is a vet (semi-retired) and does my routine care. But he is in another state a handful of hours away. The insurance is for emergencies that can result in enormous expenditures. I don’t want to be in a position of having to put one of my dogs down because I cannot afford emergency veterinary care.