Pet Insurance - Advise / pros / cons ?

frekeyguy

frekeyguy

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Was looking into pet insurance - was hoping some of you guys had first hand experience / advise on which companies are worth dealing with?


99% it would be a puppy - I would like to insure him/her as early. Hopefully nothing major comes up - but in case - I would like to be covered.

Let me know if there are any specific experiences you've had / any advise for me?
 
Instead of pet insurance I chose to invest the money I would spend monthly into a savings account.

If something does come up, I've got the money to pay for it.

But if nothing ever comes up, I've also got that money.

It would depend on the breed a lot too. If I had a bulldog I would get it for sure. But my dogs aren't known to have massive health issues.
 
CrazyKell said:
Instead of pet insurance I chose to invest the money I would spend monthly into a savings account.

If something does come up, I've got the money to pay for it.

But if nothing ever comes up, I've also got that money.

It would depend on the breed a lot too. If I had a bulldog I would get it for sure. But my dogs aren't known to have massive health issues.
Click to expand...

I do see this side of the story, and I did save a bunch of money up to deal with emergencies.

Last time I had a real emergency, the vet bills were going to be in the range of $4000-$7000. Which wasn't feesable to pay last time.
 
I have a bulldog with no health issues. Good breeders are key and as long as you are active with them and don't feed them too much they're fine.


Sent from my piss poor iPhone while sitting on my squidly gixxxxxxxxxer
 
Good point CK made .. start an investment fund at say $40 + a month. And keep putting money into it.

Or buy pet insurance and hope you never need it. Do your research. We looked into it, and they will only pay out a certain amount each year.

We were just informed our rotti will need knee surgery, and shes only 2 yrs old. A surgery we wont be able to afford.
 
The best coverage I found is through +Ontario SPCA - Pet Insurance. $61.74/month for umlimited coverage...it includes the following.



[TABLE="width: 100%, align: center"]
[TR]
[TD="colspan: 2, align: center"][h=4]Coverage for Life - Unlimited covers all accidents and all illnesses![/h][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: left"]Accidents & Illnesses[/TD]
[TD]Unlimited![/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: left"]Wellness Plan [/TD]
[TD]$500 per year for preventative care such as:

  • vaccinations
  • annual physical exam
  • spay/neuter
  • heartworm testing/prevention
  • teeth cleaning (scale and polish)
  • flea and tick prevention
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: left"]Deductible & co-payment
(Based on pet's age at date of treatment)
[/TD]
[TD][TABLE="class: border_greypale"]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]
Age​
[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]
Deductible​
[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]
Co-payment​
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]0 - 1 Years[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]$0 [/TD]
[TD="align: center"]0%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]1 - 2 Years[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]$0 [/TD]
[TD="align: center"]15%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]2 - 5 Years[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]$100 [/TD]
[TD="align: center"]15%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]5 - 10 Years[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]$200 [/TD]
[TD="align: center"]20%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]> 10[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]$300 [/TD]
[TD="align: center"]25%[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
 
Roomie said:
I have a bulldog with no health issues. Good breeders are key and as long as you are active with them and don't feed them too much they're fine.
Click to expand...

The breeder wasn't the issue last time. I know who I am getting this (potential) dog from ; and i've had a dog in the past from her with no issues.

My worry is the unknown emergency......
 
raginduck said:
What will happen without it?
Click to expand...

Good question. Right now we are in the midst of getting a second opinoin. On top of that we are giving her 2 supplements with her food, and will be trying out a raw food diet, and getting her a compression sock.

Its crazy what you will go through for your dog ..
 
I'd agree with the put money in an acct and save it then. Still there I'd you need it and you can make something off it instead of paying out for insurance


Sent from my piss poor iPhone while sitting on my squidly gixxxxxxxxxer
 
I have always done the self insure thing with a savings account. Autotransfer what you can to an account. Start now before you get the dog. It has worked for me for over 15 years
 
I've spoken to people who worked in pet insurance and they all say it's not worth it. It's just a fake safety blanket.

Look into the breed you have and what type of genetic problems they are prone to. You can have a rainy day fund instead of pet insurance. Instead of spending money on pet insurance we make sure she gets premium food that we cook and really try to take care of her.

If you get a dog and it's female get her spay'd before she goes into heat for the first time. After they've been in heat the procedure cost triples.
 
LiNK666 said:
I've spoken to people who worked in pet insurance and they all say it's not worth it. It's just a fake safety blanket.

Look into the breed you have and what type of genetic problems they are prone to. You can have a rainy day fund instead of pet insurance. Instead of spending money on pet insurance we make sure she gets premium food that we cook and really try to take care of her.

If you get a dog and it's female get her spay'd before she goes into heat for the first time. After they've been in heat the procedure cost triples.
Click to expand...

What food do you cook for your dog?

And yes, agreed about the female spay. Our vet said that the older she got, or her first heat and the price is way more.
 
Friends did it with an adopted dog for the first year. The dog was ~5 years old at the time and they used it to fix dental problems and a lot more, once the dog was got up on its preventative maintenance, they cancelled. With a puppy I would save the $65 a month in a separate account.
 
raginduck said:
What was the emergency last time? Would it have been covered?
What breed are you looking at?
Click to expand...

Its a Great Dane, and I'm 99.99% sure I want a great dane again. SO there is the whole concern about stomach's twisting (even with watching the feeding and raised bowls) and hip issues....

Last time he ate something when he was about 15-16 weeks old; spend about $2000 at the emergency clinic...they found nothing, took him to get a second opinion, no obvious issues found by that vet either. They wanted me to take him into Guelph U - estimated was from 4k to 7k to go through his guts...but I didnt have 7k sitting around on a sunday evening. Or i would've.

I just don't want to be in that position again.
 
GreyGhost said:
Friends did it with an adopted dog for the first year. The dog was ~5 years old at the time and they used it to fix dental problems and a lot more, once the dog was got up on its preventative maintenance, they cancelled. With a puppy I would save the $65 a month in a separate account.
Click to expand...

my concern is....

lets say....you start a puppy fund....1 year later that would be only $780. But one lilttle accident or incident would be easily over that.

With this SPCA insurance they cover $500 per year for the pets up-keep, and I know for sure I would take my dog in 2x a year for a check up. + have him/her fixed...another $300-$400 there.

So if I pay $780 into a year, they are willing to pay up to $500/year for the dogs up keep - why not??
 
frekeyguy said:
my concern is....

lets say....you start a puppy fund....1 year later that would be only $780. But one lilttle accident or incident would be easily over that.

With this SPCA insurance they cover $500 per year for the pets up-keep, and I know for sure I would take my dog in 2x a year for a check up. + have him/her fixed...another $300-$400 there.

So if I pay $780 into a year, they are willing to pay up to $500/year for the dogs up keep - why not??
Click to expand...

If you had pet insurance, i would only use it for emergencies or serious stuff.

The general exams check ups etc, i would just pay for yourself. Normally they will take away your from your overall expenses, when using it like that.
Ie Say you get a 2500 annual expense, and you spend $800 in exams etc. now you will only have 1700 for the rest of the year.
 
infernobuster said:
If you had pet insurance, i would only use it for emergencies or serious stuff.

The general exams check ups etc, i would just pay for yourself. Normally they will take away your from your overall expenses, when using it like that.
Ie Say you get a 2500 annual expense, and you spend $800 in exams etc. now you will only have 1700 for the rest of the year.
Click to expand...


HA! I didn't know that. But it makes sense!!! I wish I could read the fine print somewhere to understand what is covered.
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