Sheltercare

I'm considering getting pet insurance for my cats. Has anyone used Sheltercare before? I'm concerned because if one of my cats needed over 300 dollars in vet care, I simply couldn't afford it. It's 9.95 a month...
Anyone know anything about it?

I do not have Sheltercare, but my experience is that I pay out of pocket and wait for the insurance co. to send me a check!

What company do you have? I wasn't aware there are a lot to choose from!

Instead of insurance I have a savings account for kitty expenses, where I put money in each week.

I sencond the savings account .. I also recommend talking with your vet and seeing about payment plans if a BIG something happens

Sheltercare is the free policy you get with an adoption. If you convert to their regular policy, you'll find that it doesn't cover many things (like infectious disease, for instance.) I'd suggest looking at insurance from these two companies: VPI http://www.petinsurance.com/ or PetsHealthPlan http://www.petshealthplan.com/

I don't believe in pet health insurance, it doesn't cover much

NO insurance policy is going to pay the whole cost of a vet visit. Generally you pay the entire cost up front and then file a claim and you get reimbursed for 80% of the "reasonable and customary" fees. What the insurance company considers reasonable and customary may be less than your vet actually charged if you live in most large cities.

To take your example of not being able to afford $300, you would still have to pay that to your vet up front (but with most vets you can use a credit card). Then file a claim. The insurance company might say that the R&C for what the vet did is $250. Then you would get a check from the insurance company for 80% of that or $200. So for your $10 a month, you get reimbursed $200 for your $300 vet bill. A fairly decent deal if you incur that expense within the first one year and eight months.

Of course, you could come up with any number of scenarios. Maybe your cat never gets sick or injured. But what if you have a $1500 vet bill? You could be insured for 10 years and still break even. Basically, when paying the insurance premium, the insurance company takes the gamble. Otherwise, you take it yourself.

Here is a link to an old post http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...=PET+INSURANCE

It's always been my opinion that if you have multiple cats it is too expensive . I understand what you mean, though. I spent $500 just for xrays and an ultrasound this summer. If you only have one cat it may be worth it, but read the fine print and make certain what is covered.