Pet Insurance a life saver!!

I agree that saving up ahead of time is probably the most prudent way to go, but as a totally new kitty mommy, clueless to what can happen, I decided to go ahead with the insurance just as a way to have peace of mind. I don't want to have to say "I can't afford" something or other.

Also, it's important to remember, that insurance is supposed to be only that....insurance. You don't necessarily get what you put into it. It's there to protect you when you can't cover yourself (said by the crazy widow woman herself...LOLOL)

Originally Posted by allissa

Can they even do it legally? They don't tell it to you when you apply for insurance, isn't it false advertising or something? I got two persians myself.
I just spend 700$ on testing my kitten who was sick. The tests tell me my kitten should be healthy as a horse. I finally figured out what was wrong, all by myself, LOL. He didn't have any of the conditions he was tested for. Could have saved 700 $ if figured it out earlier, but a smart thought always comes late.

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I'm sure it is illegal. But I bet there are tons of loop holes that they can go through to add exclusions to your policy. Who knows what this guy's real motive was, but it saved me money. I'd rather put money in an account for the boys (that I know will definitely be used), than pay the $700 annual payment for something that they "might" cover. Consider this a lesson learned.

I have it on all the kitties, and the puppy too. We will keep it for at least another year. We may move over to something more cost effective at that point as the family keeps growing. but i used. Banfield. www.banfield.com

Yep, Char has his own savings account for all medical expenses.

I did try it for a time in the UK, but there were so many exclusions that I gave it up. My daughter also took it out with Petplan for her cat, and got a payment when he died unexpectedly, though money was the last thing she wanted then. Here, thank goodness, vet fees are very reasonable, Persil's operation and aftercare has cost me the equivalent of $150 or just over £75. Mind you, it's all relative - my monthly salary at the university is ony £350 and if I didn't have extra income from the UK I would be in trouble.

What symptoms did your cat show that told you that he drank something he wasn't suppose to?

i never even thought about it, unless you have a cat with serious medical conditions, i don't think money should be spent on insurance. Plus, i'm sure there are drawbacks and restrictions, like insurance cannot be used by yearly checkups and shots. just a thought.

depending on the pet insurance it can be used to cover yearly checkups and shots. You just have to look around. As for having it, we don't. We put money into a savings account just for him so if anything were to ever happen, we would be able to take care of him.

I don't have pet insurance but on another list it's been a hot topic. It seems that the pet insurance companies find any/every loophole to not pay. they apparently check with you vet periodically and drop coverage for any conditions that were treated stating pre-existing conditions as the reason. If you can be disciplined enough to pay the insurance premiums, why not open a separate savings acct and deposit that amount?

Just wanted to revive this old thread. I've been seriously considering getting pet insurance myself and I'm still weighing the pros and cons. Like others have said, saving up or keeping a credit card handy works, but then again I just dropped $600 on my cat just to find out she stopped eating and drinking simply because she was mad about my recent move. Vet bills seem to be getting quite expensive so I still wonder if there is a benefit to getting insurance.

As a former insurance guy, VPI immediately raised red flags when I started looking at the fine print; particularly their list of covered/excluded expenses. IMO, it's highly likely whatever your cat gets will just so happen to be excluded. Pet Plan seems to be more reasonable, but I'd be more inclined to get it if I heard some feedback from people who have used them.

If there was an insurance plan that would just pay an amount or percentage of the bill without exclusions and other garbage I'd sign up. Any recommendations?

DerekG, such a thing doesn't exist.

Every pet insurance I have reviewed is a complete ripoff when you stop to read the fine print. I simply budget $250 a year for "unforeseen" cat expenses and have another $500 set aside for "emergency" issues. If a single medical issue for Nano starts running $750+, she would be in very serious trouble and I would need to start thinking euthanasia. Not to be hard-hearted, but one time I spent $1000 keeping a sick pet alive and it was a lot of suffering and a lower quality of life -- I felt so greedy and selfish because I had lost focus on what was best for that pet. Not that I put a dollar amount on a pet's life, but cumulative vet bills is a rough gauge of how much trouble they are in. I prefer to put more money into a pet during the prime of their life with good quality food and toys when they can enjoy their happiness -- not just shell out a bunch of money in their final days to buy a little more low quality time.

Originally Posted by Nano

DerekG, such a thing doesn't exist.

Every pet insurance I have reviewed is a complete ripoff when you stop to read the fine print. I simply budget $250 a year for "unforeseen" cat expenses and have another $500 set aside for "emergency" issues. If a single medical issue for Nano starts running $750+, she would be in very serious trouble and I would need to start thinking euthanasia. Not to be hard-hearted, but one time I spent $1000 keeping a sick pet alive and it was a lot of suffering and a lower quality of life -- I felt so greedy and selfish because I had lost focus on what was best for that pet. Not that I put a dollar amount on a pet's life, but cumulative vet bills is a rough gauge of how much trouble they are in. I prefer to put more money into a pet during the prime of their life with good quality food and toys when they can enjoy their happiness -- not just shell out a bunch of money in their final days to buy a little more low quality time.

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Well, sometimes they have a life threatening condition and might need surgery, for instance. Doesn't mean they won't have quality of life after the surgery. Treating your cat and spending a lot of money on it is not greedy or selfish, IMO, but just the opposite. After all, you are responcible for the cat, and it's care and treatment, and not every condition that might be expensive to treat would mean the cat won't have a qulaity of life if you do treat it. Obviously, it would be much better if vets were not so expensive. But sometimes they might have a perfectly treatable condition that would be very expensive to treat.

Correct, there is no dollar amount on a cat's life.

But I was not talking about "sometimes" -- just saying that generally when we get to huge vet bills, the cat's health is in general decline and it is a matter of time. Each pet I have owned, by the time we get towards the end of a long life, there have been multiple health issues and not just a single obstacle to overcome. If a cat is going blind, can't run or jump anymore, has arthritis, can't digest regular food, etc., but sure -- let's go to the vet for $3000 and put him through some painful procedures to keep his kidneys working for another six months. Is that humane? I'd rather spend that $3000 when the cat could still see, run, jump and enjoy his meals. The original poster was saying pet insurance is a "life saver" -- no, it's not. It's a horrible gimmick and a bad waste of money.

I don't mean to hijack -- just explaining my comments.

When my beloved Bartholomew, at age 16, developed a serious heart problem 5 years ago, I spent over $4500 on specialists & treatment before I knew in my heart, it was time to let him home to his creator. I did not have insurance. That was a tough bill to pay & it took, what seemed like forever to do it. I don't regret it. He was my baby boy. But...if I had known then what I know now...I would have let him go sooner...I was being selfish to put him through so much.

Soon after "Mew" died...I adopted Dexter & Sadie. I decided to get insurance this time. I researched different plans & their companys. The only plans that made since to me were the most expensive & for 2 cats it came to a lot of money every month ... including major policy limits.

The techs at my vet's office said that because of the policy limits I would be better off just keeping a credit card for vet care. Also, I have stayed with the same vet for almost 15 years & because, over time, I have proven that I pay his bills, have been granted the ability pay over time, if necessary.

So far this year, Dex & Sadie's bill, including annual innoculatins, baseline bloodwork & urine (which I requested) & their 2 dentals have come to about $1200. My kitties are almost 5 years old...have never had a dental or had a baseline blood panel. It was time. Money well spent.

If anyone discovers an insurance plan that, over the lifetime of our cats, would offer real financial savings...I would love to hear about it & would gladly buy it.

Good question...Thanks
Lei

I have 8 cats and it would be great to have them insured but as a few members mentioned who is to say if you are getting yourself in a worse mess or not. I would like to find something like that in my area for sure.

Lucky enough we found a store in our area that we can put anything we want on layaway for our kitties but as for medical it can be very very costly and insurance would be so nice.

If you can...develop a long term relationship with a good vet. Our vet, when my beloved Bartholomew died at age 16, donated money to his school...UC Davis Vet School, in Bartholomew's name. He did not tell me he did it but I received a letter from the university informing me about the donation. It touched my heart.

I have five cats and no job. There is no way I could afford it.

I really, really want to get them insured, though

Yea I was considering getting my kitty insurance she has diabeties and they probably won't insure now since its a pre-existing condition. Know any plans who will do it?

This is something i looked into last year after getting a £165 vet bill for a dental and lump removal. However, i only take on older cats, and finding someone who will insure them is hard!! Then there are all the exclusions!! At the time, i had a cat with raised liver enzymes, so blood tests and any treatment for her wouldnt have been paid for, so i didnt see the point. When she went to the bridge and a new kitty came into my life, i looked at it again. I knew my new cat would need a dental, but again, all the policies for oldies excluded that, so i decided against it. Another thing is that although i have spent over £400 at the vets this year so far, the majority of the bills have been under the excess for pet insurance, so i would have had to pay myself anyway. I do have cats that go to the vets a lot, have spent at least £200 per cat (and have had 6 in 3 years), but decided to get a credit card just for the vets bills. Unfortunately that is at the max now, so am having to use the current account and just be skint (well worth it for my kitties happiness and health though). I do have a high interest savings account, but am saving for a car so i dont have to keep paying taxi fares to get the cats to the vets and to get better quality, cheaper food for them.

Awhile ago someone mentioned Banfield. That is the group my vet belongs to. It is a Banfield vet office. She is really nice and they do offer a health plan. I don't know if you'd call it "insurance" or more of a discount. I looked at the rough "policy" and it covered a portion of yearly expenses and surgery and more expensive stuff, but since I only have the one cat and her latest trouble has been earmites (not too costly) I haven't looked into the plan. I may later in life for other pets. but as of now...no