I am debating on insuring my new kitten. I have senior animals also, and I realize that it's not cost-effective for me to insure them because it seems there are so many exclusions, such as "pre-existing conditions" and "congenital or hereditary defects or diseases".
However, I don't know if there'd be much of a cost savings for me to get a policy for the new kitten---insurance covers neutering and microchipping, which I have already had done, and I'm not sure if routine care is worth $21.95/month as opposed to paying out of pocket. He stays in the house, so I'm not anticipating any accidents or major illnesses any time soon(although, yes, of course anything can happen).
I'm torn, as I recently had to put down two of my elderly pets, and the vet bills up to and including their euthanasia have been enormous. I'm wondering if insuring them way back would have helped.
Of those of you that insure your pets, do you find it useful? What provider do you use? I've only looked into PetFirst so far, because that's who the microchip company offers. Are your premiums high?
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
However, I don't know if there'd be much of a cost savings for me to get a policy for the new kitten---insurance covers neutering and microchipping, which I have already had done, and I'm not sure if routine care is worth $21.95/month as opposed to paying out of pocket. He stays in the house, so I'm not anticipating any accidents or major illnesses any time soon(although, yes, of course anything can happen).
I'm torn, as I recently had to put down two of my elderly pets, and the vet bills up to and including their euthanasia have been enormous. I'm wondering if insuring them way back would have helped.
Of those of you that insure your pets, do you find it useful? What provider do you use? I've only looked into PetFirst so far, because that's who the microchip company offers. Are your premiums high?
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
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Pittsburgh
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Re: Pet Insurance...is it worth it?
Wed, February 13, 2008 - 10:13 AMHi Beth,
I have VPI pet insurance for my cat. I debated for a while before getting it but she is such a active kitty and always getting into trouble that I finally got it in October 2007. She is an indoor cat in a small 750 sq ft apartment. But she has managed to break her leg when she was 1 1/2 years old. That cost me $1600 out of pocket. She was vommiting non-stop this past October and the bill was $1200 to find out nothing was wrong with her. I got the insurance for a piece of mind and a safety net if I ever have to pay another high bill like those 2 again. I pay $28 a month. In December, she had bad diarrhea and I needed to take her to the vet. They gave me some meds. The insurance gave me back a good portion of it. If Suki wasn't always having these issues, I wouldn't have gotten it. It's nice that they also give back for flea preventative and routine checkups. -
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Re: Pet Insurance...is it worth it?
Wed, February 13, 2008 - 10:14 AMBy the way, she just turned 3 years old... -
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Re: Pet Insurance...is it worth it?
Wed, February 13, 2008 - 12:12 PMYES!!!
I didn't insure my first cat. When she broke her leg it cost around £1000. Still I didn't insure
her. When it became obvious her sniffles were more serious than one vet thought her
MRI scan alone was £500...
I've just adopted two ex-ferals, with dubious health background and insured them
even before the adoptions went through. It's a pain to be paying out each month, but
these days they can do all sorts of tests and operations and I would never want
to have to make a decision about treatment based on whether I had the cash...b
btw I don't do other insurance other than what's legally required, though this year
I finally got private health and dental plans for myself realising it was about time
I got myself some peace of mind before my body throws me any more curveballs!
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Re: Pet Insurance...is it worth it?
Wed, February 13, 2008 - 2:34 PMOMG, YES! I have VPI on my dogs, though I should get it on my cats too. My dog, Riley broke two of his big molars and had to have them extracted at $500/each. Boy, was I glad I had insurance on that. If you save $21.95/month for emergencies, and something happens and you have to pay $1600, it would take 6 years to come up with the money.
The outdoors don't have a monopoly on illness and injury. -
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Re: Pet Insurance...is it worth it?
Wed, February 13, 2008 - 4:42 PMI'm glad to be hearing this positive feedback; all I'd ever heard before from anyone was that the insurance co. would back out of paying based on all kinds of excuses, so I figured it was a waste. I suppose they won't insure older pets or, in that case, they probably would claim everything was pre-existing or excluded. I had a free ride on most of my cats for years, and then I realized I needed to start saving for them, and I have spent a fortune so far. I have spent an entire car on my cats! -
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Re: Pet Insurance...is it worth it?
Wed, February 13, 2008 - 4:56 PMActually, when I had my dog's teeth out they had only given me about half of what they said they would, so I called them up and they were really cool about it. They had only looked at it as one tooth being extracted, not two, so they had me resubmit my claim stating that it was two teeth and so I got more money.
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Re: Pet Insurance...is it worth it?
Thu, February 14, 2008 - 9:24 AMThanks everyone!!
So, no one's had the experience of having their pet become ill, and the insurance company denying it, passing it off as something your pet is genetically/congentially predisposed to or born with? That's my fear. That's why I didn't insure my lab. I knew they wouldn't cover the hip problems she had, because labs are prone to hip arthritis and dysplasia.
All in all, it sounds like a good idea to go with the insurance. My kitten is an American shorthair tabby mix--I can't think of anything they would be prone to genetically.
Thanks again! -
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Re: Pet Insurance...is it worth it?
Wed, February 20, 2008 - 4:59 PMOur dog has a genetic condition called Cauda Equina syndrome and was diagnosed with it prior to getting insurance, so they won't cover that, but we knew that before we got the insurance.
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Re: Pet Insurance...is it worth it?
Tue, February 26, 2008 - 7:43 AMHi Beth, I'm a vet student, so I get this question a lot. I did lots of reading in the vet journals as well as calculating the average amount people generally spend on medical stuff for their pets versus what they would spend on pet insurance, and I was kind of amazed at how "worth it" insuring your pet is! I had never insured any of my pets before, but I would definitely insure them when I get new pets in the future! as far as it covering routine care, check whether 'routine care' includes dentals. Because if it does, then it's WELL worth it. Even without, over the years, it will almost certainly be worth it and beneficial. -
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Re: Pet Insurance...is it worth it?
Wed, March 5, 2008 - 8:53 PMI carried VPI for 3 years on 3 , 3 year old indoor cats. The routine cost matched almost perfectly the monthly fees if you vaccinated so there I broke even. Over 3 years we had one benign tumor removed and they reimbursed nothing - on a $450 bill and and 1 fatty cyst removed that cost about $400 and got nothing again - they weren't "necessary" (though I figured the Benign tumor growing on his lip would have eventually caused problems and wasn't about to wait for it to get huge).
Then an emergency visit for eating thread cost over $400 and I got about $45 back. I called and they picked apart the itemized bill explaining, and we dont' cover that (the overnight stay) or that (fluids) or that...you get my point. I got about $45.
I think it's worth it if the cats are outdoors and may to get into serious trouble (hit by a car, bad fights, etc). Maybe it's worth it if they get cancer or another illness. My cats were young and indoors. I have 2 of the cats now and they're 11 years old. I don't carry the insurance. I figure 7 years of savings would equal what I'll pay in the end... It's a hard choice. Kind of a gamble not knowing what ailments they may get in the future....
And too maybe the insurance has changed since then, it's been a few years... Or if money isn't tight, you're paying for the peace of mind you get whether it's worth it or not and that can be worth a lot...
Just playing devil's advocate with myself now. :-P -
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Re: Pet Insurance...is it worth it?
Thu, March 6, 2008 - 5:40 PMOh no!! I have VPI right now and you are making me re-think my decision....... :o( -
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Re: Pet Insurance...is it worth it?
Thu, March 6, 2008 - 8:12 PMI don't think it can be a *bad* decision! In the least you can get a check up and vaccinations so you should break even and if they've already reimbursed you some it's paid for itself a bit already...
I think it's a good thing to try out and see if it works for you and your kitty...every situation is different and you'll see over time how it works out. I've decided not to use it given my circumstances with my kids - but lots of other people have it and seem to think it well worth it.
No regrets - you're doing what you think is best for your baby :) I'd stay with it for a while and see how it works for you!
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Re: Pet Insurance...is it worth it?
Sat, April 12, 2008 - 9:07 AMHere's my take on it.
I lost my dearest little one 8 months ago. Had we purchased the insurance we could have probably saved her life. Either a full exam would have found an existing problem that grew worse or it would have covered the treatment needed for her to become well again. I couldn't afford the thousands of dollars it would have taken save her. So we tried our best and did what we could with the resources we had.
Sadly, it wasn't enough. She needed professional treatment, not home remedies and "backyard veterinarian treatment". Had I purchased insurance, it would have helped us save her. She had a good 7+ years to live.
