After a few months of multiple vet visits I am looking at possibly getting pet insurace for at least one of my dogs. I’m looking at Healthy Paw and Pet Plan. Any feedback on either of those would be appreciated.
Im not sure if TruPanion is available for you, but they have been a very reasonable insurance company to deal with. Petplan has also has also been fine to deal with but in our area they do not do direct payments. Have not hears of Healthy Paw.
But good for you, seriously pet insurance is a GREAT idea and I really don’t know why all pet owners don’t opt for it.
We had a client get pet insurance for their newly purchased puppy. Within ONE day they made a claim, as the puppy had eaten through a wire and was electrocuted. Puppy needed emergency treatment including an induced coma and 48 hours ventilation. The insurance company paid 80% (about $3000) even though they made the claim in the first 30 days.
Look for one with $3500+ medical/surgical. $1000 max in these days isn’t going to get you far if say your dog has a fracture, cruciate rupture, cancer, foreign body etc.
keep in mind that none of them will cover pre-existing conditions; which means it’s best to buy it before you ever bring the animal home and it gets diagnosed with any health condition, and often you’ll get big breaks on the premiums if you start off buying them on a young animal and keep buying them over the years. Trupanion and Petplan seem to get the best reviews- I have Petplan myself. You need something that will pay out at least $10,000 per condition or year, because vet care for chronic conditions and emergencies can often hit that level. I don’t think the plans that pay for “regular” vet care, like vaccines, bloodwork, and exams, are worth it, but plans that cover expensive conditions are definitely worth it. Many people end up in sticker-shock these days when they realize Fido’s little problem is curable but only if you cough up the money. If you have insurance you don’t have to make the heartbreaking decision to kill your best friend because you didn’t buy it and can’t afford some kind of expensive but definitely curable treatment. I think it’s irresponsible to own a pet nowadays without insurance unless you’re filthy rich. If you can’t afford pet insurance premiums, you REALLY can’t afford to own a pet. Look into pet rocks and goldfish instead.
LOL Wendy - for once we see eye to eye.
I’m taking my one girl in for testing tomorrow due to abnormal liver levels. I have one other dog as well. Right now I absolutely want to get my “healthy” dog on insurance. I’ll have to feel thing out with my other girl. I already shelled out $300 today and I’m sure it will be at least that tomorrow. I know getting coverage for this particular issue is a lost cause…so I’m thinking more to cover my butt for the future…and I want to get her sister covered now if possible.
I would go into debt before I would put my dog to sleep for a treatable condition…she is only 2 1/2.
I have Petplan for my two. It got really good reviews and I liked the options for reimbursement and deductible, as well as the annual limit.
I had PetPlan years ago for one dog. I had a claim of $140… don’t remember the detail but the following year, the condition was excluded and …the premium went up $140… no thanks!
I have had several dogs since and never insured them. The one that cost me the most was a stray I kept and would have probably been turned down anyway for insurance purposes. (no history, no idea of the age, etc.)
So my current dog is going to cost me $3000+ in the next week. oh well…
Same with the horses… insured for a couple of years… and I stopped. But when I had a claim, the horse would not have been covered any longer due to age limit…
So I am really on the fence re pet/horse insurance!
[QUOTE=wendy;7127831]
I think it’s irresponsible to own a pet nowadays without insurance unless you’re filthy rich. If you can’t afford pet insurance premiums, you REALLY can’t afford to own a pet. Look into pet rocks and goldfish instead.[/QUOTE]
I have two dogs, 1 horse and 6 cats. None are insured. I am not filthy rich but can’t/won’t afford to pay for insurance for that many animals. My animals all get premium food, routine vet care and treatment if needed. Trust me I spent probably close to $7,000 on Sonny before I retired him. Then paid for 3 years of retirement. He was only put down because he could no longer be kept comfortable.
I have never put down an animal because I couldn’t pay the vet care. I have good credit and credit cards available. Just because I choose to self-insure my animals instead of paying an insurance company does not make me an irresponsible owner.
Instead of taking in the last couple of cats I should have paid for pet insurance and let those four be put to sleep instead, because that is what their fate would have been if I hadn’t taken them.
I guess I am just irresponsible and should only have pet rocks and goldfish instead. Yeah, whatever.
I guess it is best to be of two mindsets…one: don’t have pet insurance but be willing to shell out a large amount of money with little warning…or two: pay monthly for pet insurance but not have to worry AS MUCH about having to pay a huge lump sum. Not everyone is willing to go broke for their pets (I am right now…but I also don’t have human children to support). Some people do get animals without having any plan about what to do in an emergency. Some people are also very ignorant about how much vet bills can be…especially first time pet owners.
There are some people who do love their pets but are in such a bad financial situation that they simply can not get credit. You can’t get blood from a stone. In that case pet insurance would be a good idea IMO.
Agree - pet insurance is great for those who can not afford to shell out $5000 in an emergency situations. A lot of people CAN and WILL, so insurance it really a personal choice at that point. But, a lot of people cant dish out a lump sum but really do want to medically treat their pets.
While looking for an insurance company, all will exclude problem A once claimed for - but a good one will not exclude any further issues.
For example, we had a dog come in for hind end lameness. They covered 80% of the $3800 bill. The dog came back a year later with vomiting, after diagnostics it was noted the dog had lymphoma. They covered and are still covering the costs of diagnostics and the monthly chemotherapy.
Its just so sad when owners cant provide care for their animals due to finances. So many young, healthy pets have been euthanized because of something like a surgical foreign body (ie. sock!).
But, for most people if you have pet insurance you wont need it…and vice versa. However, everyone that leaves our hospital (we see the real sickies) always say they are so thankful that they have pet insurance. Its like leaving the dentist after having 3 cavities filled and only having to pay $46 
I have Healthy Paws insurance for my border collie/greyhound shelter dog. I pay about $27/month. There are different copays you can pick - higher the copay, the lower the monthly fee. I’ve only filed one claim (dog had a run-in with a porcupine and the porcupine won :eek:). They were unbelievably fast at processing the claim and super helpful on the phone. Their plans and coverages are much better than other companies. My first choice was Trupanion but they at the time didn’t offer coverage in my state (NH). Those two companies rank pretty high. I have seen people have to make the difficult decision to euthanize because they couldn’t afford the vet bill and i’d rather not be in that position. For $27 a month it is well worth it!
