# Do You Have Pet Insurance?



## Claire's Friend (Feb 26, 2007)

Yes, I have it on Jordan. First time for Pet Insurance,but I want to retire someday. It's my back up.


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## Amberbark (Oct 5, 2011)

*No Waiting This Time!*

I waited with Piper until she was 1 yr. old and after a bout of pancreatitis. That was considered pre-existing, of course, so was not covered. Covered Amber after her first vet check verifying no current health issues. :wavey:


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## IowaGold (Nov 3, 2009)

I have insurance on the younger two. It's for major things like ACLs, the rest I can do myself. I don't have it on the old dog or the cats because if something goes wrong with them that I can't fix, euthanasia is the route I would choose.


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## ILoveMyGolden (Oct 19, 2006)

We have had Trupanion for 11 months now for Fin and what we pay per month versus what we've gotten back, it's been very worth it for us. Great peace of mind too.


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## walexk (Nov 13, 2009)

ILoveMyGolden said:


> We have had Trupanion for 11 months now for Fin and what we pay per month versus what we've gotten back, it's been very worth it for us. Great peace of mind too.


I also have Trupanion and am happy with it. Just curious what deductible you chose and if you did the Hip Dysplasia rider?
Thanks


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## GoldenGirls8 (Dec 4, 2011)

*Of course!*

I have a six month old Golden and one of the first things I did was get pet insurance! We have Healthy Paws and they've always been amazingly helpful on the phone whenever I have a question. They even cover hereditary and congenital conditions which is especially helpful for us Golden owners - if Summer develops allergies or thyroid problems I'll be covered!


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## mm03gn (Sep 24, 2008)

We have insurance for both of our girls through PC - and it is well worth it! Neither have (luckily!) had any major issues, but it gives us great peace of mind. Bailey has had some chronic UTI's and we've had her to the vet's office fairly frequently. We get cheques in the mail to cover 80% of everything, so it takes away the question "is this worth seeing the vet over??"


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## ValerieS (Nov 29, 2011)

Amberbark said:


> We have Major Medical pet insurance on two of our three dogs. Piper, 2 yr. old Papillon and Amber, 5 mos. old GR puppy. We do not have insurance on our 15 yr. old Yorkie/Skipperke mix adoptee because she has too many pre-existing conditions. We have heard varying opinions on whether pet insurance is worth it. Do you have pet insurance on your pets/dogs?


Hi Amberbark,

I am no expert on a lot of things but I consider myself pretty knowledgeable on this topic! I used to work in the veterinary industry and 11.5 years ago I looked into pet insurance for my first Golden. Back then there were only a few pet insurance options/companies available in Vancouver, BC, Canada so I researched them all. Here is what I learned then, and have learned since. I hope you find it helpful.

1) The earlier you get the insurance, the lower your monthly deductables start at. In addition, I started my insurance when my puppy was 7 weeks old (I hadn't even taken her home yet!) so there could be no 'existing pre-conditions' that wouldn't be covered in the future.

2) Find out what is covered and what is not. For example some plans only cover up to $500 per illness/incident. Seriously? How many times have I been to the vet and it cost me well over that? Many companies trying to break into the industry are now offering these 'budget' type plans for very low premiums. This is not a good idea. You get what you pay for so be warned...if you pay less you'll get less coverage. 

3) Check the fine print to find out what they don't cover. There are sometimes certain exemptions for certain breeds of dogs that are prone to certain ailments. For example, a lot of them don't cover hip displaysia. Some do. Some do only if you pay an extra premium. Because you usually don't know if your dog has hip problems until the adult age of 1 to 2 years old, it's better to get the hip displaysia coverage up front and then downgrade later after you've had dog's adult hips xrayed at the age of 2 to find out what condition they are in. If the dogs has problems then you keep the displaysia coverage. If you're all clear, you can downgrade.

4) I had my golden for 11.5 years and because of my vet insurance she had the BEST of veterinary care every day of her life. As the plan I chose covered 90% of anything not considered 'maintenance', if I had the slightest concern about my dog I took her to the vet. Maintenance was considered shots, teeth cleaning, flea treatments etc and was not covered. However in 11.5 years there were plenty of non-maintenance concerns that came up that were completely covered such as ear infections, broken teeth (caught a rock in her mouth), stomach upset, operations to cover dog swallowing foreign object (cat toy), skin infections, hot spots, lick granuloma, allergies, fractured toe, lump removal surgery (2 times) etc etc. Insurance gave me the luxury of 'being rich' and having no money concerns when it came to veterinary care....if the bill came to $2000 I was only paying $200. In that way, I took the dog to the vet for everything that came up and she really did get the best possible care.

5) Look for an insurance that allows for $20,000 or more for the lifetime of the pet. When I signed up for my insurance 11.5 years ago the company I went with was called 'Vetinsurance' however now it is called 'Trupanion'; and it has no limit on the amount you are allowed to utilize. It's as much as you need for the entire life of the pet. And, I have to say, Trupanion has been UTTERLY AMAZING over the years and I can't imagine going with any other company for my next dog. 

6) My last big bill was when my Golden was rushed to emergency after vomiting twice and losing all her energy. After 1 night in the emergency and then 1 day in a different nearby critical care pet hospital my bill totalled $3000.....and sadly I had to have her put down at the end of it all. However, I didn't even blink and eye at the amount. At the very end, when the life or death of your pet depends on how much you can afford, having insurance allows you to instruct the veterinary care professionals to do ANYTHING humanly possible to save your pet - without you having to be concerned about the financial aspects of the medical care. At this critical time in my dog's life, I had the luxury of 'being rich' .

Although I paid $25 - $50 per month over those 11 years, the payment of those premiums was MUCH LESS than the cost of the veterinary care my dog received. I will never, ever, ever, have another pet that doesn't have vet insurance. In my books, insurance is the way to go!

Take care - and good health to you and all your furry friends.


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## flykelley (Oct 15, 2011)

Hi
I have had VPI for a lot of years now, they don't pay as much as they use to but I just upgraded my Lilly to Major care. I just took her to the vet for her shots and annual health screening so we shall see how much better major Guard is then the old one. Katie who I had just put down a month ago has had two surgeries, one for a bad knee which cost around 3000.00 and they paid about 2200.00 of that 6 years ago. She also had a cyst removed from below her eye which was around 2800.00 and they paid around 1900.00 of that.So yes it is a good idea and all of my dog will have it on them. Looking at a new puppy coming home at the end of Feb and she will have it from day one.

Mike


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## Malchor (Oct 30, 2011)

When I get my golden in March I intend to take out comprehensive insurance from day one that has a $15,000 annual cover for 80% of all vet bills and related boarding fees, including up to $135 of routine care cover per year (vaccinations, de-sexing, teeth cleaning, council registration, flea/tick/worm control, etc).
Since I find it absolutely necessary to take out comprehensive insurance cover on myself to avoid burning a hole in my pocket should anything happen to me (I'm not entitled to government health benefits), I would do exactly the same for my dogs since they have the same risk of running into health/accidental trouble as I do, or possibly slightly more.


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## LifeOfRiley (Nov 2, 2007)

Yep - we have PetPlan and I'm real glad that we do!
They saved us a lot of money with Gunner's EPI and now that Riley has been diagnosed with hypothyroidism and an arrhythmia, I'm real glad we decided to get the insurance.

One trip to the vet and one appointment with a cardiologist and we're over $800 already. And we still don't have any answers. We probably have another $800 to go yet, with more visits and more tests likely.
With just what we've spent so far, we're nearly even with the amount of money we've spent in premiums, so it's turning out to be a good investment.


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## Amberbark (Oct 5, 2011)

*Hip Dysplasia/Patellar Subluxation Rider?*

Thank you for all of your responses and great information! I have VPI, as well, and I believe that they do not cover hip dysplasia. When I originally got the VPI insurance, it was for my Papillon. I need to check to see if they cover Patellar Subluxation. Can be common in Paps. I wonder if it is possible to switch to another insurance that would cover for hip dysplasia and patellar subluxation. :wavey:


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## Rainheart (Nov 28, 2010)

I think VPI now does cover these hereditary issues, but I might be mistaken. I know that Petplan and I think Embrace does cover them.


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## mooselips (Dec 4, 2011)

Came here this afternoon to look up the pros and cons of pet insurance, and did a search, and ended up HERE!

Thank you so much, I intend to have pet insurance on our "Molly" (I think that's her name...lol) when we bring her home in March.


Hugs your dogs for me.........


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## vcm5 (Apr 20, 2011)

I have pet plan for my dog Riley and no insurance for my cat - luckily neither have had any major health issues to date!


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## Zazoo (Jul 1, 2011)

Nope my babies don't have insurance.. My hubby and I don't even have insurance on ourselves.. I keep telling him we need to go get some for ourselves so that my flesh babies would be taken care of if anything sadly should happen to us..


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## Thalie (Jan 20, 2008)

I do have PetPlan on both as well as an emergency doggie fund. I only started it 2 yeas ago and plan to keep it because it gives me options to choose (or not) to do long term treatments that I would not have otherwise.

I had to use Petplan once for Flem. After an initial confusion about what kind of records they needed exactly (the ones with the vet's note is what they want and I had provided the one without), they paid the claim promptly.

I see it as an accident/catastrophic illness thing, not to reimburse for regular vet care.


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## Tavito1107 (Nov 24, 2011)

So witch one u guys think is the best insurance company?? Because after reading this post, I've decided to get a pet insurance, so what u guys recomend me, I don't know nothing about this!!


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## mooselips (Dec 4, 2011)

Good morning everyone,
A couple days ago, I stopped at the Vet's office I plan to use, and asked some questions regarding insurance.
The receptionist told me, you have to pay up front, and then *I * can mail in the claim to the insurance money and get paid back.

Well, what sense is that? If I have the cash, I wouldn't have pet insurance!

I don't pay upfront with MY medical bills!

Are they all like that, or is it only this Vet office?

Thanks,

Diane


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## Jackson's Mom (Aug 29, 2011)

Does anyone have Healthy Paws? I'm also looking for pet insurance and have compared a few. Healthy Paws seems really good, they are one of the few I found that cover hip dysplasia with no additional cost if your dog is under 6, and they have no limits to what is paid out. Petplan was my second choice, they seem basically the same as Healthy Paws except I'm not sure if they cover hip dysplasia and they have limits on what they pay out where Healthy Paws doesn't.


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## Rainheart (Nov 28, 2010)

mooselips said:


> Good morning everyone,
> A couple days ago, I stopped at the Vet's office I plan to use, and asked some questions regarding insurance.
> The receptionist told me, you have to pay up front, and then *I * can mail in the claim to the insurance money and get paid back.
> 
> ...


That is with all vets offices/pet insurance. You do have to pay it upfront, but hopefully reimbursement is quick.


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## Jackson's Mom (Aug 29, 2011)

GoldenGirls8 said:


> I have a six month old Golden and one of the first things I did was get pet insurance! We have Healthy Paws and they've always been amazingly helpful on the phone whenever I have a question. They even cover hereditary and congenital conditions which is especially helpful for us Golden owners - if Summer develops allergies or thyroid problems I'll be covered!


 
Just saw this, glad to hear you're happy with Healthy Paws! I'll be signing Jackson up this week!


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## newport (Aug 8, 2011)

Lola is the first dog I got insurance on. It works out to being about $35.00 a month..... and it gives me some peace of mind.... PRICELESS!


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

newport said:


> Lola is the first dog I got insurance on. It works out to being about $35.00 a month..... and it gives me some peace of mind.... PRICELESS!


I will never have a pet without getting pet insurance too. Just like any other type of insurance, I pay for it every month hoping I never have to use it and hope it'll just be a big waste of money LOL But if and when you do need to us it, that piece of mind is so wonderful.. never having to decide between what treatment is best for pet's health care and what treatment you can afford.


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