topic Re: pet insurance in Community Chat

pet insurance

gayleb — Sun, 08 Mar 2015 04:09:46 GMT

I am thinking of getting pet insurance for my doxie. Does anyone have any recommendations or experience with pet insurance?

Re: pet insurance

NickNack — Sun, 08 Mar 2015 04:24:47 GMT

I'm planning on getting pet insurance for my next dog. I met a representative from Trupanion one time and was really impressed with what they offer. They are also the insurance company that my Vet recommends. You can go to their website and read a sample of a policy and get more information.

Re: pet insurance

mizzpeabody — Sun, 08 Mar 2015 06:26:46 GMT

I have Healthy Paws for my one year old labradoodle. I think I pay around $28 per month and have something like 90% coverage, I forget what my deductible is (I don't think it's too bad though). Anyway, I haven't had to use it yet so I can't comment there. Healthy Paws has good reviews from the labradoodle forum I frequent and their pricing seemed good.

Re: pet insurance

lucylover64 — Sun, 08 Mar 2015 07:13:59 GMT

On 3/7/2015 mizzpeabody said: I have Healthy Paws for my one year old labradoodle. I think I pay around $28 per month and have something like 90% coverage, I forget what my deductible is (I don't think it's too bad though). Anyway, I haven't had to use it yet so I can't comment there. Healthy Paws has good reviews from the labradoodle forum I frequent and their pricing seemed good.

mizzpeabody--thank you so much for sharing this information! (BTW--I love Labradoodles!)

Re: pet insurance

Lynnj — Sun, 08 Mar 2015 17:46:26 GMT

On 3/7/2015 NickNack said:
I'm planning on getting pet insurance for my next dog. I met a representative from Trupanion one time and was really impressed with what they offer. They are also the insurance company that my Vet recommends. You can go to their website and read a sample of a policy and get more information.

My vet recommended this for my cat as well. He had some blood work done, and I was afraid of what the tests would find...plus the cost to deal with that. Thank goodness all turned out fine with the test.

But I remember at the time going to the website and checking this pet insurance out. It seemed pretty good to me, and reasonable cost/deductible. I honestly forgot all about this, glad to see a post about it so I can go back and look into getting my cat this insurance. He is 10 years old now, so this may come in handy over the next several years.

Re: pet insurance

CrazyDaisy — Sun, 08 Mar 2015 23:14:23 GMT

Not a fan. People tend to get all caught up in the routine expenses that are partially covered. A owner should be able to cover these when they decide to get a pet. Most of the more common injuries and illnesses are not covered. Would be better served to have a medical savings account to be used only for the really expensive issues that may occur.

Re: pet insurance

ccassaday — Sun, 08 Mar 2015 23:51:29 GMT

I tend to agree with the above poster. Open up a savings and put the premium in the account every month. Then you can use it for yearly stuff or emergencies. At least then you can make a tiny bit of interest. I think it is a waste of money.

Re: pet insurance

juanitalinda — Mon, 09 Mar 2015 02:32:06 GMT

I've had good luck with PetPlan insurance. I got it when our dog was a puppy. It turns out he had panno when he was a puppy and then he developed hip dysplasia. Insurance covered all the x-rays, blood work and all his medication for over four years. In my case, insurance has paid off more than I put in.

I would buy it again for a puppy. I'm not sure what I would do if I got an older dog because it costs more.

Re: pet insurance

Daysdee — Mon, 09 Mar 2015 03:52:56 GMT

Had it for one dog. They paid a lot toward vaccinations, but every other problem the dog had was excluded either "pre-existing", common in that breed, etc. I dropped the policy since it just didn't pay. Seems everything was excluded. (Dog was a rescue, not a puppy.)

Re: pet insurance

NickNack — Mon, 09 Mar 2015 15:43:14 GMT

I thought it was a waste of money, too, until I found out about Trupanion. It does not pay for routine exams and vaccinations. It only pays for the bigger things. It pays 90%. You choose your deductible. (I don't have it but think I'll get it for my next dog.)

Re: pet insurance

CrazyDaisy — Mon, 09 Mar 2015 17:42:08 GMT

On 3/9/2015 NickNack said:
I thought it was a waste of money, too, until I found out about Trupanion. It does not pay for routine exams and vaccinations. It only pays for the bigger things. It pays 90%. You choose your deductible. (I don't have it but think I'll get it for my next dog.)

Please read the policy carefully. They do have exclusions and stipulations, some very expensive ones. They determine what they pay based on what they feel are normal, this may not be the same as your vet charges. And the big flag is that they can raise your premium by 20% each year.

Re: pet insurance

NickNack — Mon, 09 Mar 2015 18:28:16 GMT

On 3/9/2015 CrazyDaisy said:
On 3/9/2015 NickNack said:
I thought it was a waste of money, too, until I found out about Trupanion. It does not pay for routine exams and vaccinations. It only pays for the bigger things. It pays 90%. You choose your deductible. (I don't have it but think I'll get it for my next dog.)

Please read the policy carefully. They do have exclusions and stipulations, some very expensive ones. They determine what they pay based on what they feel are normal, this may not be the same as your vet charges. And the big flag is that they can raise your premium by 20% each year.

Thanks for telling me this. I'll read it carefully before I decide. My dog just died, and I was thinking about getting pet insurance for my next dog.

Re: pet insurance

kcladyz — Mon, 09 Mar 2015 21:16:21 GMT

I wanted insurance for my parakeets and sadly noone insures birds. the best i could find is a discount card

Re: pet insurance

CalMom — Tue, 10 Mar 2015 01:15:44 GMT

On 3/9/2015 kcladyz said:
I wanted insurance for my parakeets and sadly noone insures birds. the best i could find is a discount card

It's not cost effective to have insurance. What I don't understand is that you want parakeet insurance but you don't have car rental insurance in case of an accident?

Re: pet insurance

CalMom — Tue, 10 Mar 2015 01:18:51 GMT

Petsmart has annual plan for pets (dogs and cats...no parakeets) which covers vaccines and 2 thorough health exams a year. In addition, all office visits are free. You get a reduction on your medication. And if you are really a savvy shopper, you can ask for the prescription and bring it to Costco or Walmart. 1800 Pet Meds does not have lower prices.

Re: pet insurance

little daisy — Tue, 10 Mar 2015 13:00:39 GMT

When I got my puppy in July of last year I took it out. My other dog got sick ended up in the hospitial and I spent thousands oh dollars so I leaned my lesson and took out the insurance.