Pet Medical Insurance?

mugsy

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My new kitten was recently ill. Only a week after we adopted him, he had to be hospitalized for four nights. The bill came to 2000 dollars and all my friends thought I was crazy for spending so much and kept telling me to get pet insurance. Does anyone here know about pet insurance? Which ones are good? In my vets office there was a brochure for: www.petinsurance.com, but I wanted to shop around before commiting.

Also, on many pet insurance sites it says that the insurance will not treat pre-exsisting conditions. Both my adopted kitties had upper respritory infections. From what I read, these viruses are lifelong, and symptoms appear in times of stress. Will insurance not cover any future kitty colds or symptoms associated with URIs since they both had them before getting the insurance?

Any advice is MUCH appreciated. I'm 25 and living in New York City where the cost of living is already up there. I don't want to completely go into debt
 

tourmaline

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I have pet insurance for both of my kittens. My older one was also hospitalized for days and the bill was huge. I got the insurance after that. They never really figured out what was wrong with her but it was possibly a URI. I think you should get the insurance and they will let you know if it won't cover something. For me it is such piece of mind to know that I have it. What I did is that I signed up and was honest about my kitten's history and just let the chips fall where they may. It is common for kittens to get URI's and be fine afterwards. Also, URI's are particularly hard on kittens because they are so young and delicate. I got a second kitten and got it right away because I can't go through the stress again. I live in Canada and my pet insurance is PetCare. I haven't had to use it but the vet I got to says that they are good. Good luck!
 

mihoshi

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I haven't found a single good pet insurance to date. All of them that I'm aware of force you to pay out of pocket, then file a reimbursement claim. Here's a story from one of my friends:

She had insurance where she had to list only one vet that she could use for claims. This insurance was supposed to completely pay for spaying (minus like a $10 deductable), so my friend got her little girl altered. The total was a whopping $200 and she submitted the claim as per her insurance agreement.

Three months later they write her back and say that the price was too high, they said she should have shopped around first, and they were only covering $80 of it all.

Now, how can you shop around when you're forced to only use one vet? And why would you shop around when your agreement says they'll cover spay/neutering without listing a limit?


I have a different brand of insurance that my husband got for free at work. That insurance only covers 10-40% of major operations for genetic disorders and NOTHING for altering, vaccinations, check-ups, or anything else. Now, normally, this insurance cost $50 a month; very few people will ever get that kind of use of their money.

Until the insurance companies start dealing with the vets directly and fighting the high fees with the vets themselves, the insurances won't do very much for anyone.
 

tourmaline

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The insurance that I have says right in it that they will not cover routine check-ups or spays and they explain why. My insurance plan is $10.95 (Canadian) per month per cat. Here is the website for the plan I have if you want to check it out: http://www.petcareinsurance.com/can/...door/index.asp

I do think that if you get pet insurance you should read the fine print and know what you will get and what you won't. In my case I do have to pay out of pocket and I can go to any vet I want. That is fine with me. I did look into it and there is an American equivelent of PetCare. Here is the website: http://www.petcareinsurance.com/index.asp
 

princessrandom

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I just got a kitten 2 weeks ago, so I'm learning all this info as I go...I took my kitten to Banfield Animal Hospital, which I believe is in nearly all PetSmart stores. They have a wellness plan (not insurance, but sound better than some that I've been hearing about) for your pet where you pay $99 membership fee, then is only 19.95 per month for a years membership. All office visits are free, initial vaccinations, de-worming and all medical expenses associate with spay/neutering is covered by that cost. If your pet is sick, there is a 10% discount on any medication or hospital services that may be required. Plans are slightly different depending on the age of your pet.
 

elizwithcat

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Originally Posted by PrincessRandom

I just got a kitten 2 weeks ago, so I'm learning all this info as I go...I took my kitten to Banfield Animal Hospital, which I believe is in nearly all PetSmart stores. They have a wellness plan (not insurance, but sound better than some that I've been hearing about) for your pet where you pay $99 membership fee, then is only 19.95 per month for a years membership. All office visits are free, initial vaccinations, de-worming and all medical expenses associate with spay/neutering is covered by that cost. If your pet is sick, there is a 10% discount on any medication or hospital services that may be required. Plans are slightly different depending on the age of your pet.
Sounds interesting, but Petsmart next to me doesn't have the animal hospital.
 
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mugsy

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Thanks guys! I'm going to do a little shopping around and give it a try. I'll keep you guys posted!
 
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