Health insurance - is it worth it?

RenaBella

Does anyone here have health insurance for their dog?
I would love to have my future dog protected but are there good insurance plans for dogs? or are they mostly scam?

What is your guys' opinion on pet insurance and can any of you recommend Canadian pet insurance?

Our last poor dog died of epilepsy, and trust me, with all the check ups and the monthly meds - we could have used the insurance!!
RIP Timbit

thoughts?

wildlifecr13 · Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 6:47 am Post subject:

http://www.weimaraneraddict.com/discussion/insurance-revisited-and-the-cost-of-neutering-where-you-are-vt6511.html
http://www.weimaraneraddict.com/discussion/pet-insurance-vt6380.html
http://www.weimaraneraddict.com/discussion/pet-insurance-is-a-must-vt6842.html

FYI... you can go through the archives and just do a "Ctrl-F" to find words that you are looking for.
I did this for "insurance" a while back... posted these about 2 months ago when someone asked about insurance.
May get you a quicker, more thorough response this way! Enjoy the read.

peppernaei · Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 6:48 am Post subject:

I think insurance is a personal decision and is affected by your financial situation now and down the road. We had never insured a dog before but had incurred big expenses. Our breeder suggested we get insurance for the first year or two during all the vaccinations, puppy illnesses, period of eating everything and growth. Chances are we are just going to continue with it.

We weren't looking for any of the annual checkups to be covered or any frills. I didn't like how some programs had caps on categories so we went with Vet Insurance (www.vetinsurance.com). We pay 33.00 monthly. In our mind here were the deciding factors...

PROS
$20,000 lifetime limit that can be used as required.There are no limits per year or condition.
No deductible instead you pay the exam fee of your vet.
90% payment of claim.
No rate increase after claims made or with increased age.

CONS
Hip-Dysplasia is not covered.

With this plan if you go over $20,000 you re-enroll therefore your rates go up based on your dogs age at the time. We are taking the hip-dysplasia risk as our pups family doesn't have a history, both parents have excellent hips and it is partially covered in our breeders contract. So far, we have made two claims and I was happy with how easy it was and how quickly we got the funds back.

Other plans we reviewed:
Pet Plan
Pet Care
President's Choice Pet Insurance

Happy hunting....

DukesMom · Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 8:26 am Post subject:

I have VPI (Veterinary Pet Insurance) for my dogs and it has already paid for itself just in ear infections and bladder problems/tests with Gracie. They reimburse you within a month. And my biggest reason for carrying insurance is fear of bloat. Around here emergency bloat surgery can cost $3000 and up and I don't want to be faced some day with making the decision to save my dogs life just for financial reasons. With insurance I wouldn't hesititate to take my dogs to the Vet for any reason. Mine costs $25 a month per dog and doesn't cover routine things like shots but covers most everything else. It gives me peace of mind.

RenaBella · Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 8:36 am Post subject:

waitingonmyweim · Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 8:55 am Post subject:

I actually just enrolled with Vet Insurance. What I like about them is that it's one set price ($33) for all types of dogs, no matter the breed (although age might matter, I'm not sure), and it's one lump sum of insurance dollars available, regardless of the type of illness.

Don't forget when purchasing insurance that there usually is a 30 day waiting period for illness and 5 days for accident.

Since my puppy came with 6 weeks of insurance, but I only just enrolled him in the new plan, it means he will be uninsured for 2 weeks - just scares me a little!

RenaBella · Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 9:27 am Post subject:

kjnewk · Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 9:33 am Post subject:

I found this site recently in my search for pet insurance. It was quite helpful and I had not seen it posted before.

http://www.petinsurancereview.com/

RenaBella · Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2008 12:29 pm Post subject:

This is so frustrating!
I've been reading the terms and conditions of all the companies and it's so hard to decide. The one I really like, doesn't cover hip dysplasia!

Under what category of conditions would Bloat be considered?
Anyone have to experience Bloat in their dog and have an insurance pro or con to tell?

clarkiek · Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2008 1:15 pm Post subject:

We use Pet's Best and are on the Pets First Plan. We haven't filed a claim yet so I really have no idea if I can recommend them. Here is the breakdown of our plan. I think we pay $27.00 a month plus and additional $1 per month so our rate never goes up. http://www.petsbest.com/plans/default.aspx

Pets First Plan:
Per Incident Deductable: $75
Per Incident Limit: $7,000
Annual Limit: NONE
Lifetime Limit: $100,000
They pay 80% of basically everything. http://www.petsbest.com/plans/illnessaccidentplans.aspx

I don't see BLOAT in their Limitations section, so I'm assuming it's covered.
Hereditary Limitations – All Breeds
As applied to the Pets First, Pets Basic and Pets Premier policies of Pets Best Insurance

1. Factor I, II, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI and XII Deficiencies
2. Von Willebrand Disease
3. Hip Dysplasia
4. Elbow Dysplasia
5. Osteochondritis Dissecans
6. Legg-Calve-Perthes Disease
7. Cataracts in pets less than 6 years old – excluding secondary to trauma or DM
8. Progressive Retinal Atrophy

Hereditary Limitations – Breed Specific
As applied to the Pets First, Pets Basic and Pets Premier policies of Pets Best Insurance

1. Corneal Dystrophy – Airedale, cocker spaniel, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, miniature poodle, samoyed, Shetland sheepdog and Siberian husky.
2. Urate Urolithiasis – Dalmatian
3. Cystine Urolithiasis – Newfoundland, Irish terrier, Scottish terrier, Australian shepherd, basenji, bichon frise, bull-mastiff, Chihuahua, dachshund, English bulldog, mastiff, miniature pinscher, Pembroke Welsh corgi, pitbull terrier, Scottish deerhound, silky terrier and Staffordshire terrier.
4. Xanthine Urolithiasis – Cavalier King Charles spaniel.
5. Glaucoma – Beagle, Siberian husky and Welsh Springer spaniel.
6. Copper Hepatopathy – Bedlington terrier.
7. Epilepsy – Beagle, Belgian tervuren, dachshund, German shepherd, golden retriever, keeshond and Labrador retriever.

All congenital defects are considered pre-existing, as they have been present since birth, and are thereby limited to pre-existing coverage.

Lastly, Here is a List of 10 Things You Should Know Before Buying Pet Insurance:
http://www.petsbest.com/tenthingsyoushouldknow.aspx

clarkiek · Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2008 1:17 pm Post subject:

Weimwayz · Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2008 7:46 pm Post subject:

I think every weim owner should have insurance for at least the first year of the dogs life. Weims can be accident prone especially in the first year. After that it's not a bad idea to keep the bare minimum policy going just in case. It also depends on the health guarantee that your breeder provides too. We have many clients that take full advantage of their policies. others decide instead of paying a monthly policy they open a bank account just for their dog. Instead of paying a policy each month they put money in the dogs account. So that may be another option too. I know some insurance companies will get picky about what they will cover and what they won't so make sure you really speak with an agent first and know EXACTLY what your policy will cover if you do go that way