pet health insurance

hey,
i just had a question. does anyone have pet insurance for their cats? i was looking into it last year when my cat got sick, but it was too late for her. now that i have another cat i was thinking about it again and as i was passing through petco i saw a flyer about how to get pet health insurance. i looked over the website and all the forms and it looked pretty good. i signed bryne up for insurance under their quickcare intro program. i just went to their site, petcarepals.com and looked at all the options. it sounded best for Bryne, so as soon as we get her to the vet and send in her records we'll know if she has insurance or not. i was just curious with all the cat lovers, if anyone has insurance, has looked into it, or has any input on how they feel about pet insurance. i looked into insurance because i know if something happened to bryne, i wouldnt be able to pay for it out of pocket and i just want to protect her anyway that i can. after all, she is my baby.

I don't have pet insurance, but I've looked into it. I couldn't really justify the cost. I figured that by the time I actually needed to use it, I would have paid that amount if not more over time. If you do decide to get it, please make sure to read the terms carefully. When I was looking it seemed like some things weren't covered, or the deductible you had to pay first was too high, or the max per event was too low. Hope that helps!

I have pet health insurance for my cats, and had it for the one who died this fall. In his case, it sort of came out to a 6-of-1, half dozen of the other result.
I'd probably paid about $3000 for him in premiums over the years, and they paid between $3 and $4 thousand in reimbursements during his final illness (cancer).

I have Petcare and the experience has been very positive. They've paid the majority of claims on my cat's heart condition and other health problems, to the tune of a few thousand dollars. It's been a tremendous help to me... and I think my cat probably got the full workup and care he needed, EKG etc., sooner than he would have if I'd been factoring cost into the equation.

It's not helpful for routine care, but for illnesses it can make a huge difference. I think it's a good idea to get a pet insurance policy for the first half year or so after you get each new pet, just in case. Then if it doesn't seem worth it, you can cancel it.

There are a lot of other threads you can read about people's experiences with insurance.

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...care+insurance

http://thecatsite.com/forums/showthr...=pet+insurance

http://thecatsite.com/forums/showthr...=pet+insurance

http://thecatsite.com/forums/showthr...=pet+insurance

Originally Posted by emmylou

I have Petcare and the experience has been very positive. They've paid the majority of claims on my cat's heart condition and other health problems, to the tune of a few thousand dollars. It's been a tremendous help to me... and I think my cat probably got the full workup and care he needed, EKG etc., sooner than he would have if I'd been factoring cost into the equation.

It's not helpful for routine care, but for illnesses it can make a huge difference. I think it's a good idea to get a pet insurance policy for the first half year or so after you get each new pet, just in case. Then if it doesn't seem worth it, you can cancel it.

There are a lot of other threads you can read about people's experiences with insurance.

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...care+insurance

http://thecatsite.com/forums/showthr...=pet+insurance

http://thecatsite.com/forums/showthr...=pet+insurance

http://thecatsite.com/forums/showthr...=pet+insurance

Click to expand...

thanks for the info!

Alot of people in the UK have pet insurance, mainly because it is so cheap. I did a poll on it in the Care and Grooming section. It seems it is more expensive in the US and elsewhere. I'll try and find the Link

Here it is:

http://thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=143759

I have looked at many plans and relized that my er credit card is a better idea

I have just purchased pet insurance for my kitty. She's very young and many things can happen to her. Just for peace of mind. I think if you have a young kitten, it's well worth investing in pet insurance.

thanks for all the input guys! i didnt end up getting her picture taken, because i figure if she doesnt like other animals she is not going to like being handed over to a crazy guy in a white fluffy beard, that could resemble an animals and she'd have to smell other animals. i can just see the horror now.

I don't have pet insurance. I did think about it when Trout got sick last year and it costed me $800.

I just feel like I would rather put it on my credit card if something ever does happen...then pay every single month and THEN also pay a deductible IN CASE something happens. I only have one cat too, so I wouldn't necessarily break the bank if I was trying to save her life. Now if I had more than one cat I might consider it because that could get $$.

First, understand what insurance really is: It's a lottery, somewhat in reverse. You pay in just in case you're the "winner" and have a larger than normal vet (or medical) bill. The risk is spread over everyone paying premiums with statistical predictions determining what those premiums will be. The people that produce the statistics (actuaries) are very cautious in their estimates so as to minimize the risk to the insurance company. On top of that is added the company's margin to get the final premium pricing.

Second, read the policy carefully. Most pet insurance policies I've seen have rather low caps on payouts and automatic cancellations when the pet reaches a certain age (usually 10, though some may be higher).

The vast majority of people will never recoup the premiums they pay. A very small handful may come out ahead, but with the payout caps this is quite unlikely.

In the end it comes down to this: If, God forbid, your pet had something catastrophic happen next month could you pay the vet bill? (Understanding, pet insurance often doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t cover certain types of treatments such as chemotherapy.) On the other hand, in the more likely situation that your pet does not experience anything out of the ordinary over the next several years, would it be practical to simply put that same amount aside in a “just in case†fund?

Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m not saying do or donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t to the insurance. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m simply suggesting you look at the policies and determine, in your particular circumstances: Is it practical? Is it worth the cost? Do I need what the policy will provide?

I thought I saw a commercial the otehr day saying if your with Progressive insurance that u get free per insurance? Any1 else heard that?

I heard that commercial also, but since I don't have Progressive and am not willing to change to them I quess this won't apply to me. I did read that if one could afford it, to put away the premium amount we would pay out each month in a savings acct. that way we would have the money if we needed it, or didn't need it, it would still be ours not an insurance co.

I have progressive and if anyone knows more info about the insurance for it give me a pm please!

In the UK, I heartily recommend it, and do so to everyone who adopts one of my fosters - I had 2 cats until last month, both insured, but only one who was ill and needed it - due to the fact she was insured, I could take her to the specialist knowing that the cost wasn't such an issue (I had an expensive year the year before with one cat as well). If I hadn't had insurance for PEbbles, I wouldn't have been able to afford to adopt Tiger, and while she would have stayed here as a foster, we wouldn't have been able to do most of the things she had done due to cost. I happily pay the monthly cost for Molly, and pray she never needs it, but at 15, there is a good chance at some point she will. I am lucky that there are companies who will insure older cats, you pay a bit more on the excess, but I would rather pay 15% than 100%.

Progressive offers free pet insurance if your pet is in a car that they insure and it has an accident. I am not sure if you have to sign up your pets ahead of time. I made a thread about health insurance for my cat yesterday. I think it is a good idea and you can't beat the cost! Here is who I am using, www.banfield.net . They are the vet attached to Pet Smart.

I thought about getting it but Coco and Yoshi are diqualified because they are sick. I have Care Credit but its full now.