|
Welcome to the YorkieTalk.com Forums Community - the community for Yorkshire Terriers. You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. You will be able to chat with over 35,000 YorkieTalk members, read over 2,000,000 posted discussions, and view more than 15,000 Yorkie photos in the YorkieTalk Photo Gallery after you register. We would love to have you as a member! Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community today! If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please click here to contact us. |
|
| LinkBack | Thread Tools |
06-17-2008, 08:31 PM | #1 |
Yorkie Talker Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Fontana, CA, USA
Posts: 10
| Dog Insurance Plans??? Hello I am new to this forum.... My little Asia is about 6 months old and while she is a healthy pup... she HAS given us quite a few vet bills she got giardia poisoning a couple weeks ago.... vet bill (after all the testing needed to determine her illness) $546 she fell of the bed and broke her hind foot... vet bill around $600 total (after all the check ups) I'm not complaining... I absolutely adore her... but I'm a poor student.... Is there any kind of animal insurance????
__________________ Asia's mama ~ Erika |
Welcome Guest! | |
06-17-2008, 08:36 PM | #2 |
YT Addict Join Date: May 2008 Location: Livermore, CA
Posts: 299
| Hi, I know what you mean. I'm looking into it myself. You may get better advice from others but when I registered Romeo in the AKC, I was sent some health insurance information. Have you registered your little pup. Maybe go on the AKC website and they may have a link to the health insurance info. It varied from $30/month to $60/month. Depending on if you want annual physicals and vaccinations etc including. Hope this helps.
__________________ Now if only the rest of us were as determined as this dog |
06-20-2008, 07:31 PM | #3 |
YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Philadelphia
Posts: 9
| Insurance First, I'll admit that I'm a licensed vet tech and I work for a pet insurance company. If you message me I'll tell you who I work for, but I'm more here to educate than sell. I can tell you from some pretty extensive research into the 11 companies available in the US that the ones that offer routine and preventative care are usually not worth it for the dog owner. Personally, my vet does vaccines every three years, heartworm prevention monthly, and flea and tick topicals only as needed ( I haven't needed any yet this year), so it wouldn't be worth it for me to pay extra (and you will) for preventative care that I already know my dogs will need. What I think is more important are accidents and illnesses, especially congenital ones. If you have pet insurance already, please look at your policy closely, most will automatically exclude anything "hereditary or congenital". That includes luxating patellas, hip dysplasia, and Legg-Perthes. No matter the cause you may never get these conditions covered. I highly recommend insurance, but please research what you're buying. Covering a vaccine a year is far less important that covering things you can't see coming. |
06-21-2008, 08:21 AM | #4 |
Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: MARYLAND
Posts: 223
| What about teeth cleaning, mine just went in for teeth cleaning and had an infection, they pulled one tooth, and he had his shots for the year.. does insurance cover the high cost of cleaning teeth, pulling teeth. My bill was over 800. for this one visit.. he usually only goes to the Vets twice a year for all his things..
__________________ hugs and licks, ginger and JD |
06-21-2008, 09:33 AM | #5 |
YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Philadelphia
Posts: 9
| In that situation if your dog has had his teeth examined in the last year and your vet said they were fine (no disease or tartar etc), we'd more than likely have covered that entire procedure. We can't do routine dental cleanings, but we can cover them if it's treatment for a condition. If it was an isolated tooth that was the issue, worst case scenario would have been that you got the money for the tooth, but we took off the routine cleaning. I know it sounds complex, but we divide up things so you can get the max back without angering our Underwriters. So, yes, it would have been covered. On the upside, now that he has perfect teeth again if you were to insure him with us and this happens again in a year, it would more than likely be covered. |
06-23-2008, 09:35 AM | #6 |
Yorkie Talker Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Fontana, CA, USA
Posts: 10
| Thanks for all of the information! Now... What am I looking at for a monthly payment for my 6 mos. old puppy. And bottom line: Is it worth it??
__________________ Asia's mama ~ Erika |
06-23-2008, 10:23 AM | #7 |
YT Addict Join Date: May 2008 Location: Livermore, CA
Posts: 299
| LOL!! I'm a little confused too now!! What I will be looking for would be if there's an accident, like god forbid, they fall and break some bones, that should definitely be covered. Also, according to the other YT member, they mentioned a $800 dentist bill! So I would definitely look into some dental coverage. I guess in the end it all depends on what YOU want covered and also what you can afford to pay. I would rather pay the monthly $30-60 than having to pay $5000 for an accidental bill! Hope this helps!
__________________ Now if only the rest of us were as determined as this dog |
06-23-2008, 10:36 AM | #8 |
YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Philadelphia
Posts: 9
| I'se seen many people get back more than they paid in yearly premium so I obviously think it's worth it. I'm sorry I can't give exact quotes, but our pricing is based on your breed of dog, where you live, and which policy you choose. The average for Yorkies tends to be around $350 -$450 per year. If you guys are lost, visit Pet Insurance Review and it should help a bit. Or message me and I'll get you in touch with our customer service folks. :-) |
06-24-2008, 05:26 AM | #9 | |
Yorkie Talker Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Syracuse, NY
Posts: 23
| Quote:
That's about what I paid for VPI. But when Fuzzy broke her elbow and incurred about $1800 of diagnosis/treatment, they paid only about $370 of it. So I guess I'm ahead, but not too happy about the coverage. I'm not planning to renew - she'll be self-insured from now on... | |
06-24-2008, 08:19 AM | #10 |
YT Addict Join Date: May 2008 Location: Livermore, CA
Posts: 299
| Fuzzysdad, thanks for letting us know which insrance company to stay away from! Now I just have to memorize it, VPI, VPI, VPI... Its just so many companies out there. Now I'm thinking of going to the vet clinic to get their opinion on it!! and then decide from there on...
__________________ Now if only the rest of us were as determined as this dog |
06-24-2008, 08:21 AM | #11 |
Yorkie Talker Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Syracuse, NY
Posts: 23
| Well - I got my money back I guess, so I shouldn't complain... And almost all of the money spent was on diagnosis. |
06-27-2008, 10:57 AM | #12 |
Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Franklin, MA
Posts: 85
| Holy cow - $546 for giardia treatment?? I paid $40 for the visit and $17 for the medicine...I will admit the visits and vaccinations get pricey even for a healthy puppy. However, I haven't heard of anyone 100% happy with their pet insurance. My aunt has an airedale that had to have knee surgery - they covered a small portion of the first surgery but when a second surgery was needed, they wouldn't cover any part of it. I think she has VPI... You really have to read the fine print on those policies as well - I know some companies won't cover breed related illneses
__________________ Erinmay - proud mom to Maggie Mae |
06-27-2008, 08:03 PM | #13 |
YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Philadelphia
Posts: 9
| If you really want honest opinions from actual policyholders, visit some of the insurance review sites. I have policies on my dogs through the company I work for (obviously) and I can say that we have plenty of people who are happy. If there ever is a day that I don't work for them ( I can't see it in the near future, but you never know), I'll keep my policies because I honestly feel like they're offering the best policies. I know that some of the other companies offer wellness (vaccines and spays or neuters) that my company doesn't offer, but if you look closely at the policy you really are paying the company more than you'd have paid your vet for the same services. Especially with some vaccines changing so that they only need to be given every 3 years, wellness care just doesn't seem like a fair trade off for me. Besides, you can see a heartworm test coming, cruciate ligament tears or foreign body surgery, not so much. And over $500 for Giardia really isn't shocking to me. If you go in with a Yorkie who has had a week long bout of diarrhea most vets will want to rule out organ diseases like Addison's, Diabetes, etc. They might also do xrays to rule out foreign bodies or other diseases. It really depends on where you live and the type of practice. |
06-28-2008, 03:50 PM | #14 |
YT Addict Join Date: May 2008 Location: Livermore, CA
Posts: 299
| I agree with Goose2112. The wellness plans are not worth it, just adds to the monthly. And the company she works for is the only one I have come across that covers hereditary/congenital diseases!
__________________ Now if only the rest of us were as determined as this dog |
07-07-2008, 07:22 PM | #15 |
No Longer a Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: California
Posts: 421
| I have both of my yorkies insured with PetPlan (I'm not sure if thats who Goose2112 works for). I decided to go with insurance not for routine things, but for unforeseen things. I lost my first yorkie a year or so ago after a ruptured gall bladder. He had to have emergency surgery and spend several days in the ICU -- the total bill was well over $8000. I wasn't expecting this obviously. So when I got Oliver & Charlie I decided to get the insurance. I have been really happy with PetPlan so far! They are super nice to deal with, respond right away, and have great customer service. Oliver recently had ringworm which took 4 months to get rid of. I decided to turn in a claim just to see what I could get back -- I wasn't expecting much, but can't hurt to try right? The total bill for added up to $500 (vet visits, dips, oral meds, etc). PetPlan paid everything minus my deductible! I was SO happy! I got the check within a week too. |
Bookmarks |
Tags |
animal insurance |
|
|
| |
|
|
SHOP NOW: Amazon :: eBay :: Buy.com :: Newegg :: PetStore :: Petco :: PetSmart