Thoughts on Pet Insurance?

I ask this because I'm still paying off the $2500 on my credit card from when my last cat got sick and was in the hospital. He unfortunately passed away. Now I adopted another little girl (she's not that little 4-5 years) In your opinions, is pet insurance worth it? Will we be eligible because she's not a young kitten and I adopted her from a shelter? How does it work? (I'd like to save a little each month for a pet emergency fund but in reality, I have a hard time saving right now.)

Good question.... I think some insurance companies are offering it. I don't know the basics though..... If some could find out that would be AWSOME!!!

Hi,

I have VPI insurance (www.petinsurance.com). For 23$ a month I get all off Annabelle's routine care covered (her shots, etc) plus surgeries, etc. You pay up front for the cost at any vet and they reimburse you. My last claim was reimbursed in less than two weeks. They don't cover pre-existing conditions. The routine care does include neuter/spay and teeth cleaning. If you don't get the routine care coverage the cost is only about $12 a month. I got it because one of my cats got very sick and the vet thought she might need surgery, which I knew there was no way I could pay off. She ended up not needing surgery, but did pass away from Leukemia. I didn't want to risk my other cat losing her life because I couldn't afford to pay off the credit card bill, so I signed her up. So far everything has worked great. I just signed my kitten up for it- they give a multipet discount.

The deductable is $50 per incident (it doesnt apply for regular vet visits or routine care visits, only things like surgery). It covers a max of $4,500 per incident and $14,000 per policy term.

There was an earlier discussion on this here- http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...=pet+insurance

I hope that helps!

edit- all of my kitties were strays as well.

I use Banfield Clinics pet insurance program for my kitten. They're usually in Petsmart stores i believe and at banfield.net We weren't prepared when we found her and it was Halloween, she needed to be spayed immediately b/c of severe pyometra. I paid 69.95 first fee and $20 a month for the year and it covered surgeries, any shots and boosters, vet visits, blood work, fecals and other things that we all hope we don't need but are glad if we ever do. A few things aren't covered like meds needed b/c of a cold or surgery. Its worked very well. It makes me feel a little better that I can take her in whenever I want if I notice anything and not worry about having that office visit money +. They also have adult plans for the same price and a little higher for the monthly fee if you want teeth cleaning and so forth.

Wow, insurance is so much cheaper there than in Ontario. They're asking for the same amount here, but they dont' cover routine care or fixing. It's all in case of emergency stuff, which is pretty lame if you ask me. I suppose other companies do cover the routine stuff, but you have to pay more to get more, you know?
So far I'm thinking it will be worth it to put a little aside every month for any accidents for Chester. I don't know if I can handle watching 20-30 dollars disappear from my bank account every month for an indoor cat for the next 15 odd years. It just doesn't add up for me, especially knowing the stuff I'm most likely to use isn't covered.

I found Chloe through an organization that uses www.petfinder.com and when you adopt through that method you get a month's free pet insurance with www.petcare.com (aka www.sheltercare.com). I decided to go ahead and pay for the rest of the year. The coverage I currently have is $10 a month, but they have a wide variety of plans that offer different options. I figure if I don't think it's worth it after a year I won't renew the coverage and will just start putting money aside...

I would recommend getting it. But you must get it when they are young because, as esrgirl said, they don't cover pre-exsisting conditions. I work at an animal hospital and as much as I see people spending on their pets I'm surprised that more people don't have it.

I know of one dog, diagnosed with osteosarcoma, whose chemo bills are being covered. So it can be very helpful if, unfortunately, your pet comes down with something serious.

i would definitly reccomend it. it gives you peace of mind. unfortunatly i still have to pay the first £30 of any medical problem and so far the most its cost us is £28 so havent really been getting my moneys worth. but i like the fact that if she got into a road accident i wouldnt have to think twice about treatment because i know it would be covered.