Do you Have pet insurance?

yasmine

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Jun 26, 2005
Messages
753
Purraise
1
Location
Arkansas
Mine aren't but i know its going to very expensive when my cats health deteriates.
 

artgecko

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Feb 28, 2007
Messages
768
Purraise
3
Location
Georgia
I have pet insurence on one of my cats and I will be filing a claim shortly... If they pay the claim, then I'd say it's worth it, if not, then not so much. I think that it is a good way to "budget" extreme medial care issues for your cat, but, again, this depends on what your plan will cover.

With my cat, I got him as a supposedly healthy 3 year old cat from my local shelter... Only to find him having seizures a month later. Then we came to find out that he has an enlarged heart, which is probably causing the seizures, so massive vet bills later, I'm glad I have the insurence, now we'll just have to wait and see if they pay up. Based on that, I'll decide if I want to ensure my two new kittens or not.

From what I understand, pet health insurence has been around longer in the UK than the US, which explains the small number of companies that offer it here in the US. It will be interesting to see how the industry developes here.
Art
 

epona

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 24, 2006
Messages
4,663
Purraise
949
Location
London, England
Yes, I wouldn't be without it. Mine are covered for accident, illness, and lifelong cover for any chronic health problems that may arise in the future - if one of them becomes diabetic and needs regular insulin shots, the insurance will pay for it for the rest of their life - and also for loss/theft - not that money can replace them, but the insurance will cover things like getting posters printed and offering a reward.
 

bob'smom

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Jun 30, 2005
Messages
560
Purraise
1
Location
New England
In fact I priced out VPI for my boys today. Even with the discount from my employer and the multi-pet discount it would come to about $60 per month for both of them. I'm also concerned that they would deny claims on Bob because he has asthma, a pre-exisiting condition. I have to think long and hard about it.
 

ddcats

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Apr 2, 2007
Messages
848
Purraise
2
Location
Where whiskers abound.
I voted no, I don't want to. I'm hardly at the vets, I only have two cats who now eat healthy food, hence, healthy cats.

If I had a cat with continuous problems, then I definately would want the pet insurance.
 

epona

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 24, 2006
Messages
4,663
Purraise
949
Location
London, England
Originally Posted by ddcats

I voted no, I don't want to. I'm hardly at the vets, I only have two cats who now eat healthy food, hence, healthy cats.

If I had a cat with continuous problems, then I definately would want the pet insurance.
They don't cover pre-existing conditions - if you had a cat which already had health problems, you wouldn't be able to get it insured!
 

ddcats

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Apr 2, 2007
Messages
848
Purraise
2
Location
Where whiskers abound.
Originally Posted by Epona

They don't cover pre-existing conditions - if you had a cat which already had health problems, you wouldn't be able to get it insured!
O, just like humans too, insurance doesn't cover pre-existing conditions.


Well, not good. I automatically assumed pet insurance covers everything, well, because their pets.
 

dauntingfire

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Sep 10, 2007
Messages
348
Purraise
2
Location
Atlanta, GA
Yeah, thats why it's good to get them covered when they're healthy...just in case a chronic condition pops up! One never can tell. Through my life of living with cats I've seen my parents shell out well over $10,000 for our cat's health. Mind you thats 29 years of cats! Some lived to 20 others lived to 13.

Just the idea of discovering that my cat has cancer and not being able to afford any treatments makes me so upset.
I couldn't bear it, I'd rather have their entire lives covered by $25 each a month. It just gives me a safe feeling to know that if there is an emergency I don't have to call my mother and beg for a loan.


Also, the ASPCA offers high level pet insurance that covers yearly prevention & vet visits, too.
I thought that was neat.
 

sharky

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jan 30, 2005
Messages
27,231
Purraise
38
Since I do alot of natural and oriental medicine pet insurence wouldnt cover much of it ,...My vet has he aspca insurence flyer for those who use her as a conventional vet ... for decent coverage on my two it would be I think 80 a month... well I have 1500 avail for care credit( ie ER vet takes) and if I put away that 80 every month ..960 a year plus any interest
...Just this year my dog has run about 3500 ... 95% would NOT be covered under any insurence I have seen
 

urbantigers

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Apr 30, 2006
Messages
2,175
Purraise
7
Location
UK
Yes. Both of mine are insured and were insured as kittens before any health problems emerged and anything could be counted as a pre-existing condition. I can receive up to £6000 per year, every year and they have cover for life (so I can renew their policies for the rest of their lives regardless of any conditions they develop or the number of claims). I've made 2 claims so far - one for my bridge baby Magpie when he died from a thrombosis in his neck (for £2000) and one for Jaffa's dental (£400). I got the money back (minus an excess) on both occasions. I currently have a claim in for Mosi's operation a few weeks ago after he swallowed some string. It doesn't cover routine care, but it covers pretty much everything else.

It also covers complementary treatments and referral to a behaviourist if necessary, as well as loss /theft, boarding if I need to go into hospital and stuff like that.
 

lunacy95

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Sep 11, 2007
Messages
88
Purraise
0
Location
Pa
I don't have and don't plan on getting any pet insurance. Why? first off I only have one pet. I basically did some simple math and figured that my odds of paying more for the insurance over Jack's lifespan is likely to be more than the total I would pay out of pocket. I would rather take the same basic amount of money and place it in a savings account get a tiny bit of interest and have it to use for more than Jacks medical needs if necessary.

The last few years with Tubby were expensive as she started to go downhill, but I was able to cover all of her needs. So, I have what I think is a realistic idea of the costs. The day I decided to let her move on by itself cost me $300.
 

duchess15

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Nov 23, 2006
Messages
3,825
Purraise
14
Location
Wishing I were anywhere but here
I don't have pet insurance. I have looked into it and found that they do NOT cover everything so it really wouldn't be any good if I had it and it didn't cover something I needed. Instead of paying the 50 a month for the insurance, I opened up a money market fund just for the cat to put a monthly amount in and collect interest at the same time.
 

pipersjo

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
May 20, 2006
Messages
996
Purraise
3
Location
Home of WVU Football!!!!
Originally Posted by Duchess15

Instead of paying the 50 a month for the insurance, I opened up a money market fund just for the cat to put a monthly amount in and collect interest at the same time.
That is an awesome idea! A lot of the insurance I looked at didn't seem like it would be worth it.
 

urbantigers

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Apr 30, 2006
Messages
2,175
Purraise
7
Location
UK
Originally Posted by Duchess15

I don't have pet insurance. I have looked into it and found that they do NOT cover everything so it really wouldn't be any good if I had it and it didn't cover something I needed. Instead of paying the 50 a month for the insurance, I opened up a money market fund just for the cat to put a monthly amount in and collect interest at the same time.
That's a good idea if you can get a good amount put away fairly quickly and you know you won't be tempted to spend it on something else. The reason I have insurance is because I know I couldn't save up thousands of pounds for veterinary treatment and I don't ever want to be in a position where I have to say no to treatment a vet has suggested because I can't afford it. When Magpie died it cost me over £2000 (that's approx $4000) and I would have had to have him put to sleep immediately without any investigation of the problem if I hadn't had insurance, which would always make me wonder whether he could have been saved. Then there are expensive treatments such as MRI scans - cost about £2000 over here. It's always a gamble, and of course it does depend on how good the policy is, but for me it gives peace of mind. It doesnt' sound like policies in the US are as good as over here.
 

kitytize

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 21, 2005
Messages
2,155
Purraise
2
No I do not have or want pet insurance. I figured it out and it would cost me more than what I have spent on vet bills (per cat, per year) in the last 13 years. I have a special savings just for my cats.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #20

sadieandziggy

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 11, 2007
Messages
1,364
Purraise
1
Location
Exeter, South West, UK
Alot of people in the UK insure their pets. It's quite cheap over here if you don't have many pets.

My insurance covers:
  • Appointment costs (not general health checkup)
  • On-going treatment (not flea or worm treatment or routine vaccinations)
  • Prescriptions (not flea or worm treatment)
  • Operations (not spaying/neutering)
  • Putting to sleep fees
For example: Dental treatment-tooth extraction etc/broken limbs /UTI /CRF /Diabetes /eye infection and most others

It also includes:
  • Boarding for my pet if I were to be hospitalised
  • Advertising costs if she were to go missing and a reward
  • Replacement of posessions due to damage by the pet
  • Purchase price incase of death
I haven't yet made a claim, however UK insurance is MUCH CHEAPER over here. Mine costs me a little under £6 per month, which is what most start from, which is only $10!!

My Aunties cat was run over by a car a few months ago and he managed to drag himself back to the house. He had broken his leg and pelvis. He had Pins put in his leg and a metal plate in his pelvis. It would have cost them around £3000 for the operation/keeping him in overnight and the painkillers for 10 weeks afterwards, as well as the continuous trips to the vets for progress check-ups. She has really found it worth it.
 
Top