Do any of you have pet insurance?
 

After a $411 bill from a 2.5 day in the vet's office, I wanted to get serious about getting pet insurance. I have looked at VPI. Wandering if any of you use a certain company you like? I, of course, will take my baby any time he is sick, but would like to have some insurance. Thanks:)

I carried VPI for the first year of Kacee's life. I carried in case there were any major illnesses. You just never know. Well, I dropped it at the end of the first year. She's healthy as a horse. Knock on wood at this point. I am self-insuring though. If she becomes ill with something major, I will be able to handle it financially. If I wasn't, then I would carry the pet insurance. I hope this helps you decide.:)

thanks
 

By being self insured, do you mean putting a certain amount away in savings for her? My husband and I talked about this, too. I'm not sure which way to go. Thanks for the help!

I never had pet insurance on any dog in the past. One lived to be 17 the
other 16.
When I got Buddy I took it out because puppies get into so many things.
I didn't use it for the first year so I cancelled it. Three months later
Bud was hospitalized for 4 days. No insurance! $2,200.00 later I got
it back and have not used it since. That was 3 1/2 yrs ago and I am
scared to cancell it again. So I will be keeping it going just in case.
It's VPI

Yes. If you don't have the savings, I would recommend the pet insurance or building up your savings in case of major illnesses. You can run into costs of up around $5,000 with a major illness. That's just a rough estimate, though.

I have KiKi covered for accident insurance....

I got serious about this last week myself! I went to the petinsurancereview.com to check out all the different options and how they were rated.

I chose Embrace - it's pricey but it covers things like breed specific disorders which is a plus because you never know!

Embrace - Veterinary Pet Health Insurance for Your Dog or Cat

:)

I have VPI pet insurance and it works great. The only thing you should know is it isn't like people health insurance. With pet insurance you pay the vet/hospital up front (cash, credit, doesn't matter) And then after the incident, you send in the receipts and paperwork and they mail you a claim check. Sometimes it won't be 100% of what you spent but maybe 90%. I have always gotten my claim check quickly and never had a problem. For Baron I have the puppy policy that is more expensive but covered his puppy shots, neuter, and flea/tick treatments.

TRUST ME IT'S WORTH HAVING FOR EMERGENCIES!

***NOTE: If getting a new puppy, I recommend signing up BEFORE you actually take possession of the puppy. There is a 2 week wait period, I learned this the hard way with our puppy Bennigan. I actually signed him up for insurance and before the wait period was over I accrued $7,000 in vet bills, which would have been covered!!!!
I recommend Insurance to everyone I know with a dog!

I just got a quote from Embrance. Are there any other REPUTABLE pet insurance places out there?

I use VPI and haven't had a problem.
Here's the link to their website:
Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI) - Dog Insurance, Cat Insurance, Pet Health Insurance

~Good Luck~

I think I'm about to sign up with this one Petplan Pet Insurance for Dogs and Cats

I have looked into PetPlan which we're considering. VPI was offered through my husbands employment as a voluntary benefit but I wasn't very impressed when I found their 90% payment is 90% of whatever VPI's limit is on a procedure not 90% of the actual charge

I have after being told $3400 for surgery on my baby's leg caused by him slipping on the hardwood stairs. I can't take that risk again. Here is a link to the didderent pet insurance offered with review. Pet Insurance Review

Wow! Petplan got the highest rating and so many great reviews!

As we all know insurance is in case something happens, if you feel that you will pay whatever it takes to fix your furkids then insurance might be an option. $40 a month if affordable may not be a bad option if it pays when you do need it.

very true...most people dan afford $20-$40 per month but might have a hard time paying a $5000 vet bill at once. I would never forgive myself if money was the reason I couldn't treat my dog, and after watching some close friends go through some very expensive vet bills with their babies, I think it's in our best interest to get pet insurance just in case

I am definitely looking into pet insurance. I would be crushed if I couldn't afford to make him well!

I have heard bad things about VPI. Though I haven't experienced anything myself (it's not offered in Canada). Petplan seemed to be the best one in the states... check out the link that was posted for reviews...

and please remember to read the fine print! Most pet insurance won't cover anything that a breed is prone to... so some won't cover Yorkie knees or even liver shunt :eek: Also, make sure your Yorkie is REALLY healthy when you get it. Pet insurance won't cover any symptoms that are present before you buy the insurance.
So if your dog had a cough and it's on his file, then gets pneumonia a year later, it might not be covered. They could say it was a pre-existing symptom.

Personally I recommend self-insuring by putting away a certain amount every month like you would with pet insurance. Then EVERYTHING is covered, and the only limitations are how much money is in your 'insurance account' at the time you need it. JMO though, insurance has worked really well for some people.

I have Embrace pet insurance. I spent $16000 last year on my beloved little Teddy that I lost. The last two weeks of his life he was in intensive care and that bill was $9000. There is nothing I wouldn't have done for him. I now have a 5 month old yorkie that I got pet insurance for right away. I recommend it for everyone, you never know what will happen. You can also adjust your deductibles making it more affordable.

wow
 

I am so sorry you lost yours, too. I can't imagine having a bill for $16,000 and then losing my dog, also. That is terrible. Thank you for replying. I will check out Embrace when we decide to get another yorkie. Not sure if you read my last post, but we lost Sammy on Thursday after he had an allergic reaction to the anesthesia (we were having him neutered). It is still so fresh. Thanks again.

I posted in this thread once before but my post has disappeared. Anyway, I have VPI for both girls, costing me over $400 per year. So far, it has not come close to paying what I have spent in premiums. It won't pay for LP or other congenital problems. It won't pay for extractions of residual teeth. Only the wellness plan will pay a portion of annual exams, vaccines and dental care. The deductible means little reimbursement for most run of the mill things like fecal exams and flea meds. I guess it is a matter of who you want to have earn the interest on those premium dollars, you or the insurance company? I'm thinking of not renewing either policy, and just putting some money in savings every month for an emergency.

Spike and I have PetPlan, which I've liked so far - although I've yet to make a claim - knock on wood - no incidents yet!

This is the way I look at it. I have paid house insurance for the past 19 years and have neve used it but if something does happen I know that I am covered but hope I never will. There are also exclusions to all insurance in our case our puppies falling and hurting a limb, eating a harmful substance, allergies, etc can be very costly. So it is a personal and financial choice that could mean life for your furkid or debt.

I have the VPI superior plan that is offered at my employment I am very happy with it. It covers our office visits, shots, and, after the deductible, covered all Conner's liver tests that were getting quite expensive. I certainly have used more than the premiums, but I really got it for peace of mind.

I got one the first year for poopy as well. It's good cuz puppys get into a lot of trouble and it comes in handy. I stopped after the first year (mainly because i moved) but i'm thinking maybe as he gets a little older i'll start up again. But i do recommend putting money aside for him in case of an emergancy during the times he doesnt have the insurance. I think maybe next year i'll get the insuance again though.

When I registered Bella with the AKC, they offered a trial of pet insurance. We did that, and decided to continue coverage. Our issue was with the price. The AKC's coverage was a little too expensive for us, so I shopped around. We ended up getting the Basic VPI package. It covers almost everything but routine issues and procedures. The biggest question with coverage comes from how the vet diagnoses the problem. I called about having her baby teeth removed and that's what I was told. I've been really happy with our coverage. I know it may not cover everything, but I know it will cut down the cost drastically if we encountered big bills.

One note on exclusions: when we brought her home, she had earmites. We treated them once, things improved and no problems since. When we took out the VPI policy, they excluded ear mites with a clause that the exclusion could be removed after 6 months of no ear mites. We just have to remember to file the paperwork (otherwise it will continue to be an exclusion).

Also, policies are cheaper with younger dogs, and you can continue with lower premiums if you don't cancel your policy. Currenly, we pay less than $10 a month, I couldn't find it better than that.

I have Petsbest for both Chiquito and Jerome. I've only used it once on Jerome and I liked it. your deductible is 75 bucks and after that Petsbest reimbuses you 80% of your bill.
after having a bad experience with Oscarito (RIP). I don't take chances anymore. We ended up paying thousands and thousands of dollars and he died. We don't regret paying that money b/c it was to save our baby, but I wouldn't go without insurance anymore.

Pet insurance is a great idea! I need it :O Maybe help me in another problem, tho? http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/bre...ml#post2158307

Thanks for your info my mom has Pet insurance through another company and it took forever to get a check back when we had to take her girl in. I was looking for a better one for my new little girl. I went to the website you provided and went to get a quote. She is still to young to get insurance as of right now (she was born on July 25th) but it has sent a reminder to me to check back when she is 6 weeks old. Thanks again!

After a lot of research, I chose PetPlan, Petplan Pet Insurance for Dogs and Cats. Here's a post I did a while back and what to look for when choosing:

If you would you have to pay for an unexpected $3000 bill (or more) with a credit card because you don't have money in the savings, then pet insurance may be a benefit to you.

For my purposes I was looking for long-term, major accident and illness coverage. Know that coverage for routine care is too costly. Meaning you'll pay more for the coverage than you would for the care yourself.

What to look for:
Reasonable and Customary Charges
I ruled out any company (such as VPI) that pays claims based on a Schedule of Benefits, which is basically a list of how much they pay maximum for a condition, test, etc. Typically these are much lower than actual vet charges. So the insurer says that they pay 80%, but only up to the schedule of benefits amount. I looked for companies paying out claims based on "reasonable and customary charges" just like your own health plan works.

Reviews
I looked at reviews and ruled out companies that had really poor ratings.

Ideal Coverage
I looked for companies ideally that covered genetic and hereditary conditions, alternative therapies, and offered a multiple pet discount (since I have two). None of them will cover pre-existing conditions, so enroll while they are still healthy. Know that when you enroll, they'll get all your vet records and exclude any pre-existing conditions or potentially pre-existing conditions.

Long-term illness, lifetime coverage
I was looking for coverage that would cover major illnesses as long as I continued coverage. Some companies only cover an illness during that plan year - the insurance renews each year (with a higher premium) and previous year's illnesses are now considered pre-existing conditions. I wanted a company that would continue to cover a condition that would be a life-long illness.

Coverage Limits
Since I was looking for major accident or illness coverage, I wanted a high per incident limit or high yearly limit.

Business
I thought it was important to find a reputable company that's been in business a long time and had a good insurance underwriter.

I chose Pet Plan USA Bronze (Pet Insurance for Dogs and Cats from Petplan USA), $45 a month for two pets, $200 deductible and 100% coverage - I pay nothing after the $200 per incident. With this company you can customize it and choose your deductible and coinsurance.