Pet insurance

Hello, everybody!
I've just got a new little baby in my family- still thinking about a name ofr my kitty, but have a question for you- what do you think about Pet insurance? How risonable it is to get one? Did you have any expirience?
Thank you!

This month's Cat Fancy has an article advising pet owners to get insurance. One "expert" interviewed, however, recommended putting aside a fixed amount every month to cover regular vet bills and any emergencies. That's what we do.

Originally Posted by jcat

This month's Cat Fancy has an article advising pet owners to get insurance. One "expert" interviewed, however, recommended putting aside a fixed amount every month to cover regular vet bills and any emergencies. That's what we do.

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You mean just decide what amount of money I should save every month for any regular or emergency expencies I can have for my cat?

I thought of getting pet insurance but decided against it. I think I have spent approx. $450-500 on Dori for vet care total. That includes all of her shots, spaying, medicine, and 1 trip for her being sick. She is 1 year and 5 months old, WOW allready almost 1 and 1/2. I think saving money aside is a good idea. Money is very tight for me and I haven't been doing that as I should. (Right now in an emergency I would have to count on my parents for help, which they would give me thankfully ) Another thing I think is a good idea is that if you have a credit card keep $$ available on that for emergencies.

I checked into several insurance companies and received a lot of liturature from each company. I must say I agree with Squirtle in that my money is best spent putting a little aside each month in the event of an emergency. The companies don't cover some routine visits and they have lots of specifications and exclusions about what types of emergencies, illnesses, surgical procedures...they will cover, and lots of fine print. One company went so far as to specify they would not cover any injury occuring due to an act of God or nuclear disaster !If you do choose to get insurance for your baby, now is the best time though since rates go up as they get older!

I agree with what has been already said. We looked into it and decided to stay away from it. I found by reading the fine print that it covers almost nothing unless it happens on the 6th thursday of the month at 12:01 am during a martian invasion coinciding with a solar eclipse. I found the pet health insurance wasn't a very good investment in the end. Our largest expenditure was for one of the dogs recently. She got perianal cancer and had to have surgery. I went back just for giggles and found out that the insurance would have covered about $1.98 (ok...ok...maybe $2.98) of the thousand it cost to have the procedure and followup care. I hope this helps. BTW the dog is doing great.

Jeff

I dont have insurance for my 4 cats as I dont think it is cost effective over the years. Tulip is 18 and has only been to the vet a couple of time - last time for her teeth. It cost about £200 which is only a fraction of what the insruace would of cost. Putting money aside is a good idea though. Maybe you could see it as your little ones 'pocket money' . So if she gets a couple of dollars a week you could save up for new toys as well as vet fees.

Thank you guys, you are really very helpfull! I was reading some print from pet insurance also and was soo confused on what they cover and what the don't. I think the best idea will be give my sweetie pie little pocket money every day, so we both can save for his little and big needs!
Thank you all again!

I was faced with the same decision too. If someone gave us a crystal ball it would be a much easier decision. Hercules who died last year was over 17 years old. I didn't have him insured. When he was only just over two years old or maybe three, he had a stroke which was due to poor kidneys which I didn't know about. No one would insure him after that and I spent thousands to try and keep him healthy over the years. He developed liver problems and eventually he had to be put to sleep because he had a tumour on his bladder. I was lucky that I always managed to be able to pay the fees, but when I think back I don't know how I did it. I don't have any spare money, (poor old thing that I am). Now I have four cats and I was frightened that I would not be able to look after them properly if they had any serious illnesses. So I have taken out insurance for them. I still don't know if I have done the right thing. The only things they won't pay out for are neutering, injections, euthanasia and the first £50 of each illness or injury, whatever it may be. I am so afraid of watching them suffering and not being able to help that I have taken the insurance out. Rightly or wrongly who knows.

Petsmart has a program, I don't know if it is actual "pet insurance" or what, but I think they are called Wellness plans. My neighbor has it for their dog. I know it covered neutering/spaying, routine exams, all shots, vet visits for illness, etc. Here is a link for the plan for an adult cat (over 6 months):

http://www.banfield.net/health/owp_adults.asp

and here is the link for kittens (under 6 months):

http://www.banfield.net/health/owp_kittens.asp


I think that the main reason I didn't go with this is the money, it's kind of expensive the optimum is $35/month for an adult cat and there is an enrollment fee also. BUT I also don't know anything about their vets. They are the ones inside Petsmart. You can't just take your baby anywhere if you use this plan. I felt more comfortable taking Dori to the vet my parents have used for years.

The insurers I use are Pet Plan and you can use your own vet, but I don't know if you have them there, it may a local insurers.

We put aside about $20 a month for pet care. We've been hit with vet bills totalling $8,000 in one year, but normally get by with $120 to $200 per annum. However, we're DINKS (double income, no kids), and our mortgage was paid off a couple of years ago. My husband sometimes bitches about the bills for cat food /toys/litter, because I often buy the most expensive stuff on the market, but I do buy in bulk, and pet supplies' expenses are far more than what I spend on clothing/make-up/books, or far less than what he spends on guitars/DVDs/ sheet music.

Our two cats are currently with PetCare's QuickCare for Indoor Cats (www.petcareinsurance.com). Cost is around CDN$22/month for the both of them. It doesn't cover routine stuff, but we try to budget for that. PetCare does cover serious accidents and illnesses -- like the UTI that one our cats had -- that can be expensive.

So far, we find it cost-effective, although we do wish it had coverage for holistic treatments, instead of just conventional ones.

We put aside about $20 a month for pet care. We've been hit with vet bills totalling $8,000 in one year, but normally get by with $120 to $200 per annum. However, we're DINKS (double income, no kids), and our mortgage was paid off a couple of years ago. My husband sometimes bitches about the bills for cat food /toys/litter, because I often buy the most expensive stuff on the market, but I do buy in bulk, and pet supplies' expenses are far more than what I spend on clothing/make-up/books, or far less than what he spends on guitars/DVDs/ sheet music.

Thank you so much for your answers, I just called that Banfield pet insurance company they are going to send me some info! Maybe it sounds a little bit high( $$$ per month and also $$$ for enrollment), but after all we getting insurance for our cars for some kind of secure resons( just in case), so let's see what that company has to say...And then we always are trying to save money, right? So..thank you again for your help and I let you know how things are working out.....
PS: so far I just know if somethng serious will happend to my baby kitty, I don't have even $1000 to spend on his vet bill, of course I'll try really-really hard and will get them, it will hirt my financial situation really really really.... but we'll see..I am fully ready for everything...

ooopsss..Now finally I got how it all works....You enroll for insurance, then- something wrong with your cat, you go to your vet- he s taking care of your baby, YOU're paying a bill, then your vet fills up claim form and then you wait...MAYBE you pet insurance company WILL pay you something...MAYBE not...oh, well, half luck- you paid them every month JUST $9( plus annula fee of $10) for three years, but this illness is not the one they cover...Ok, take your calculator, Yours( yes, I am talking to myself), and add $9 per 12 months and then triple it...wheeeeooo-hooo $668.00 that you waisted on nothing...Of course IF YOU WILL be lucky- they'll pay something, but you know- you always are not lucky..so maybe for some people insurance works, but I would rather use "pocket money" thing! Saving account will actually work just great!
Lots purrs to ya!

That's why I decided against it!

It's too bad some people are trying to take an advantage on others..but I guess it's just life....

Unfortunately they are in the business to make money. The same can be said for human HMO's etc. The care of the patient, whether they are furry or not doesn't really concern them in the least in our experience. Just the bottom line profit.

You got me thinking, and since I had out all of the receipts to do taxes (ARRRRRGGGGH), I pulled the file with last years Vet bills. For 3 cats and 2 funny looking cats (dogs) our total last year was $1780.00 total of which $1000.00 was for a surgery on one of the dogs. Take that out and it's around 800 bucks a year for the furry ones. Not bad at all considering. $60.00+ a month for 5. We should have had more cats and less kids. (Just kidding). So far this year we have only spent about 100 bucks on shots so on balance the 800 may be high.

Jeff

Yeas, they are doing business the same thing we could say about a lot of people and companies!
But I gues it's just our life and there is really nothing we could do about it. What I was saying is in case that my kitty will get sick with something they DON"T cover- I will spenmd about $700 per year on nothing! I saw one company that covers routine staff( like simple shots, every vet visit( well, they cover part of it, not everything)- here is a link- http://www.petinsurance.com/coverage...84AA1#Schedule look at it and let me know what do you think? You will add this plan to any other you'll choose( like to cover serious illness)
Ok, had to run now! see ya