I hope this is the right forum for this, my apologies to the mods if not. I just wanted to give people a real life example of the costs of insurance over a decade and what happens to the premiums.
My Insurer: Embrace
First Policy Purchased: 2013 For 3 Orphaned Kittens at 3 months.
Premiums 1st Year: Around $10/Month Per Cat
Deductible: $1,000
Reimbursement % - 90%
Coverage: $15,000 Max, Drug Coverage, Accident and Illness, Including Diagnostic Visits, NO Wellness Coverage
Discounts: Multi-Pet and the deductible drops by $50 per year if you have no claims for that pet.
Here's how my premiums have increased: Note: Male cats more than females because of the problems with crystals and blocking in male cats. So to give you an example, one of the male kittens is now ten years old and his premium is now $34 a month. However his deductible is down to $600 because I haven't filed a claim for him in 8 years. The female kitten's premium is now $26 a month at 10 years old. Unfortunately I lost the remaining kitten. He had a number of health problems, including blocking and severe IBD. His vet bills probably totaled $15-$20K before he passed.
I added a stray I took in last year who was 2-3 years old - Premium $15/month
Stray I just took in this year 1 year Old - Premium $12 Per Month
I also get a multi-pet discount of about $10 per month.
So my premium for 4 cats with the discount is $90 a month. This limits my maximum annual financial risk to $1,000 per cat + 10% of the bill.
Unfortunately, the insurance has paid off fabulously for me. I'd be much happier if I never collected a dime on it. Keep in mind that what you are paying for is a service that limits your financial risk with respect to vet bills. If you never filed claim, you still got what you paid for.
Personally I'd rather shell out $30 bucks a month then try and predict what I should save for catastrophic vet bills. My cat blocked twice two months apart and incurred $2,000 for each e-hospital visit. Then the there was a third time. Then the month after that there was PU surgery at a cost of $7,000. I never knew what these things might have cost and I didn't have to. All I know if the treatment cost exceeds $1,000 it's not my problem other than the 10%.
Anyway, that's my rant/rave about pet insurance. If you an afford it (and I understand many people can't) the benefits far outweigh the cost of the premiums.
My Insurer: Embrace
First Policy Purchased: 2013 For 3 Orphaned Kittens at 3 months.
Premiums 1st Year: Around $10/Month Per Cat
Deductible: $1,000
Reimbursement % - 90%
Coverage: $15,000 Max, Drug Coverage, Accident and Illness, Including Diagnostic Visits, NO Wellness Coverage
Discounts: Multi-Pet and the deductible drops by $50 per year if you have no claims for that pet.
Here's how my premiums have increased: Note: Male cats more than females because of the problems with crystals and blocking in male cats. So to give you an example, one of the male kittens is now ten years old and his premium is now $34 a month. However his deductible is down to $600 because I haven't filed a claim for him in 8 years. The female kitten's premium is now $26 a month at 10 years old. Unfortunately I lost the remaining kitten. He had a number of health problems, including blocking and severe IBD. His vet bills probably totaled $15-$20K before he passed.
I added a stray I took in last year who was 2-3 years old - Premium $15/month
Stray I just took in this year 1 year Old - Premium $12 Per Month
I also get a multi-pet discount of about $10 per month.
So my premium for 4 cats with the discount is $90 a month. This limits my maximum annual financial risk to $1,000 per cat + 10% of the bill.
Unfortunately, the insurance has paid off fabulously for me. I'd be much happier if I never collected a dime on it. Keep in mind that what you are paying for is a service that limits your financial risk with respect to vet bills. If you never filed claim, you still got what you paid for.
Personally I'd rather shell out $30 bucks a month then try and predict what I should save for catastrophic vet bills. My cat blocked twice two months apart and incurred $2,000 for each e-hospital visit. Then the there was a third time. Then the month after that there was PU surgery at a cost of $7,000. I never knew what these things might have cost and I didn't have to. All I know if the treatment cost exceeds $1,000 it's not my problem other than the 10%.
Anyway, that's my rant/rave about pet insurance. If you an afford it (and I understand many people can't) the benefits far outweigh the cost of the premiums.