A Plea to New Dog Owners Pet Insurance Please

[Doodlebug]

Thanks for the info. Good to know.

[Llutz]

I'm happy we have it for Enzo. The problem with saving the premium and putting it into an account is that if something goes wrong early into the saving process, there really isn't enough money saved. IE: If I save $50. a month instead of buying insurance and Enzo gets sick 4 months into the term, I have $200. saved - Just something to think about

[Buster Brown]

I agree getting insurance for Buster early saved me a lot of money. When I first got him he had a lot of health issues so I decided the best thing would be to get pet insurance. I did my research and thought the two best companies for me were Trupanion and and Pet Plan as they both covered hereditary defects. I went with Pet Plan as they also covered alternative care. I was lucky as we had made about 3 months of payments when Buster was diagnosed with LP and it was great to get partially refunded on his 4,000 bill. Two things to remember one you still have to pay upfront so have a emergency fund in place and the other thing to look into is the cap per incident/illness. Some companies will put a cap = limit on the amount you can receive per incident/illness. If the cap applies to the incident/illness and it is a reoccurring problem you could go through your limit the first year. Make sure the cap resets each year.

[107barney]

I just bought some. I went with a catastrophic type plan/payout and wellness package through embrace. It will cover something major at a low premium $95/year each for two dogs for insurance (excluding wellness). Since my pups are not babies, I'm having my vet do the ortho exam and submitting it now to avoid a longer waiting period and am having a medical review requested to see what will be considered pre existing. I have 30 days to change my mind but I was pretty strategic in how I set it up for what I wanted out of it. I definitely think anyone with a new puppy should insure and I think if the dogs are older you have up really think about it and add up all the costs.

[Ellie May]

I used to believe in just putting money aside. But here we are with two sick dogs. The second is insured, thankfully.

You have to be really careful in choosing the plan and prices do go up yearly. A very large number of pets are euthanized at the ER because of lack of funds and it is heartbreaking. I will hever have a dog without insurance now.

[Wallee]

Thanks for the post Gemy. I am going to get it fur Wallee too. Since I knew not a lot about backyard breeders and yorkie health issues before getting Wallee and coming here, I have no idea what to expect for Wallee' a health. His mommy was adapted up the street from me after being retired from breeding and the new owner has all her IBC information but I know nothing about his daddy. Since I saw both parents and they were both 6lbs and Wallee is now 12, I am sure he has some genetic traits from a previous generation. I love him to death and pray he remains healthy but in future I would do my research better.

[gemy]

Originally Posted by 107barney

I just bought some. I went with a catastrophic type plan/payout and wellness package through embrace. It will cover something major at a low premium $95/year each for two dogs for insurance (excluding wellness). Since my pups are not babies, I'm having my vet do the ortho exam and submitting it now to avoid a longer waiting period and am having a medical review requested to see what will be considered pre existing. I have 30 days to change my mind but I was pretty strategic in how I set it up for what I wanted out of it. I definitely think anyone with a new puppy should insure and I Wothink if the dogs are older you have up really think about it and add up all the costs.

That sounds interesting. Catastrophic what is the definition per the policy? Would cancer count? Or do they mean things like car accidents or some such?

[gemy]

Originally Posted by Wallee

Thanks for the post Gemy. I am going to get it fur Wallee too. Since I knew not a lot about backyard breeders and yorkie health issues before getting Wallee and coming here, I have no idea what to expect for Wallee' a health. His mommy was adapted up the street from me after being retired from breeding and the new owner has all her IBC information but I know nothing about his daddy. Since I saw both parents and they were both 6lbs and Wallee is now 12, I am sure he has some genetic traits from a previous generation. I love him to death and pray he remains healthy but in future I would do my research better.

You can get a quote on line. Has Wallee been ddx'd with any specific condition at this point?

[107barney]

Originally Posted by gemy

That sounds interesting. Catastrophic what is the definition per the policy? Would cancer count? Or do they mean things like car accidents or some such?

Catastrophic meaning that I won't use it for most things. I chose a $1,000 annual deductible, 80% reimbursement, $5,000 annual policy limit and no drug coverage (drugs administered in hospital are still covered though). The cost of the plan is essentially paid for with the gain I'll have on the wellness package. So the $95/ year per dog drops to $89 for two dogs this year and then next year it will pay for itself when i choose the wellness plus. I have savings and access to credit, and really wanted it for bills over $1,000 a year. I'm using the term catastrophic but the policy covers genetic and breed issues, illness, accidents unless pre-existing condition. This means most things are out for teddy like epilepsy or his ortho issues but Winston will only have a patellar luxation which is a grade 1 anyway and unlikely to ever need surgery.

[gemy]

Originally Posted by 107barney

Catastrophic meaning that I won't use it for most things. I chose a $1,000 annual deductible, 80% reimbursement, $5,000 annual policy limit and no drug coverage (drugs administered in hospital are still covered though). The cost of the plan is essentially paid for with the gain I'll have on the wellness package. So the $95/ year per dog drops to $89 for two dogs this year and then next year it will pay for itself when i choose the wellness plus. I have savings and access to credit, and really wanted it for bills over $1,000 a year. I'm using the term catastrophic but the policy covers genetic and breed issues, illness, accidents unless pre-existing condition. This means most things are out for teddy like epilepsy or his ortho issues but Winston will only have a patellar luxation which is a grade 1 anyway and unlikely to ever need surgery.

Thanks Kathy.

[Ldyrev1]

Dear Gemy,
I am writing to let you know that because of this post, we now have insurance on Princess Sophie. I have thought about it for a very long time and even did a comparison with several different types (spreadsheet and all) and almost hit that button to sign up - when the DH said, "no, we can self insure", I closed out the site. I was afraid of committing to the insurance and really wanted to believe what my DH was saying, however your post really made so much sense and it's obvious that you really believe in having your pet insured. I feel so much relief knowing that should anything catastrophic happen, I don't have to have Sophie put down because we can't afford it, or worse, the DH doesn't want to pay. It's done, we have Trupanion and I feel a huge relief. Thank you for your impassioned plea with those of us who do/did not have insurance or really understand why it was so important. Now I do. I thank you from the bottom of my heart!! You may have saved Sophie's life. Bless you!

[gemy]

Originally Posted by Ldyrev1

Dear Gemy,
I am writing to let you know that because of this post, we now have insurance on Princess Sophie. I have thought about it for a very long time and even did a comparison with several different types (spreadsheet and all) and almost hit that button to sign up - when the DH said, "no, we can self insure", I closed out the site. I was afraid of committing to the insurance and really wanted to believe what my DH was saying, however your post really made so much sense and it's obvious that you really believe in having your pet insured. I feel so much relief knowing that should anything catastrophic happen, I don't have to have Sophie put down because we can't afford it, or worse, the DH doesn't want to pay. It's done, we have Trupanion and I feel a huge relief. Thank you for your impassioned plea with those of us who do/did not have insurance or really understand why it was so important. Now I do. I thank you from the bottom of my heart!! You may have saved Sophie's life. Bless you!

I am happy that you got some insurance for your precious gal. I had nothing to with saving a life; it is you and pet owners like you, that will save their companions life.

ANd you are most welcome.