Pet Insurance?

[Lani]

I have PetPlan. I know too many people who have had insurance and have had to file claims for several thousand dollars. I hope I never have to use it, but I am glad I have it, just in case ... I don't consider it a luxury at all, but a necessity with Cavaliers.

[Jay]

I have a bank account that I refer to as "my doggie account". I put money in it every month. It is specifically for a catastophic incident that would cost thousands of dollars. It is a separate account and earmarked for the dogs, kind of a self-insurance plan. I pay for the day to day stuff, vet visits, teeth cleaning etc. from my regular checking account. I have had this account for many years now and it is pretty sizable now, but I realize that a really big problem could clean it out quickly. However, with four dogs of my own and my mom's dog, I think the insurance premiums would really cost me a bundle. I will probably start putting more money into the account as my dogs are now ranging in age from 5 to 8.
J.

[harleyfarley]

Harley has been insured by churchill and axa and has his own bank account, if the insurance doesnt cover the bills thats what its for, like his scan it was 1,340.00 plus a bit i think so i paid that out of his account and if and when axa pay up it will go back in his account incase he needs it in the future. di

[Poppy Ruby]

Poppy is with Pet Insure in Ireland. Thank godness for the insurance, to date i have paid €900 in vet fees and the insurance has covered it. Slightly different to the Allianz plan in that you pay directly to vet and reclaim from the insurance yourself. Totally worth it only €160 pa, not sure what it will go up to next year because of the claims.

[DZee]

Looking into Pet insurance for Wrigley. All his tests have came back that he is in excellent health. He just turned 8 mo. old. I see many of you use PetPlan. Iam curious..what does the monthly premium usually cost?...can I ask?
I also read a post where Jay set up a seperate savings account specifically for his dog...in case of health care. I like that idea too. Not sure which would be the best way to go. Any thoughts?

[ashleighelizabeth]

Looking into Pet insurance for Wrigley. All his tests have came back that he is in excellent health. He just turned 8 mo. old. I see many of you use PetPlan. Iam curious..what does the monthly premium usually cost?...can I ask?
I also read a post where a seperate savings account is set up specifically for her dog...in case of health care. I like that idea too. Not sure which would be the best way to go. Any thoughts?

Diane,

I recently got Pet Plan for Sonny and it depends what plan you get (gold, silver, bronze) and what deductible. I ended up getting the bronze plan and a high deductible because I was really getting it to cover the major stuff not the routine stuff. I believe we pay $36.00. It is really easy to call and get a quote from them. Sonny's brother just got insured by Trupanion and they are really happy with that insurance, but I believe they pay more.

[DZee]

Diane,

I recently got Pet Plan for Sonny and it depends what plan you get (gold, silver, bronze) and what deductible. I ended up getting the bronze plan and a high deductible because I was really getting it to cover the major stuff not the routine stuff. I believe we pay $36.00. It is really easy to call and get a quote from them. Sonny's brother just got insured by Trupanion and they are really happy with that insurance, but I believe they pay more.

Ok..good to know..thank you * I will be checking it out !!

[dandelos]

Bronze plan here as well, $200 deductible and 100% reimbursement = $413 annual premium

This is our second year with the policy...last year our premium was $330 but they sent a notification saying it was going up. Not sure if it was due to inflation or the fact that we had a (successful) $800 claim. Also, we live in Cali and Skippy just turned 3.

Hope the above helps.

[DZee]

Thank you all for the great info. I talked to my husband about all this. He seems to think maybe our best bet would be to set up a specific savings account ( that we do not touch) just in case we would happen to need it for any health related issues for Wrigley.
Since he is still young @ only 8 mo.'s...and he is healthy..hoping we will have plenty of time to put money aside.
I know what all the statistics are....just praying that maybe Wrigley will be in the small percentage that live out a long healthy life w/o any real problems. I love this little guy so very much !!

[ashleighelizabeth]

Hi Diane,

I definitely think everyone has to make their own decision about insurance, putting money aside or ect. However I wanted to share with you what just happened to Sonny's sister. (I keep in contact with a couple of the owners of his siblings, so we chat frequently about our puppies growth, health, behavior and share pictures of course ) Anyways, Sonny's sister hadn't been having any health problems and then roughly three weeks ago she started limping and yelping. They immediately took her to the vet and diagnosed her with two luxating patellas. She now is scheduled to have two surgeries consecutively with the first one on Monday and I think it is going to be about 5,000 dollars. Her owners had no reason to think that his sister was going to have any big medical stuff any time soon. She is still very young, she turns 1 on Tuesday and to this point has always had healthy check ups at the vet.

I struggled with saying something because I absolutely think you and your husband should do what is right for you guys and Wrigley which may be putting money aside, but I just wanted to let you know the situation his sister ended up in. His sister was insured, but her owners now have found out that the plan they chose does not cover patellas, so they are stuck with the bill.

Again, I'm not telling you this so that you change your mind and get him insured, I just wanted you to know the financial pickle that her owners found themselves in when they were least expecting it since she appeared to be a healthy 11 month old puppy.

Good Luck and I hope little Wrigley lives a long healthy life with out any big problems.

Thank you all for the great info. I talked to my husband about all this. He seems to think maybe our best bet would be to set up a specific savings account ( that we do not touch) just in case we would happen to need it for any health related issues for Wrigley.
Since he is still young @ only 8 mo.'s...and he is healthy..hoping we will have plenty of time to put money aside.
I know what all the statistics are....just praying that maybe Wrigley will be in the small percentage that live out a long healthy life w/o any real problems. I love this little guy so very much !!