Pet Insurance? - Arlington,TX

I think that pet insurance is a great ideal in certain circumstances. I have worked in the veterinary field for about 7 years now and have seen 15 year old animals without a single health problem for the majority of their lives that have insurance and then I have seen 2 year old animals with major health issues without it. Unfortunately you can never tell which animals are going to need it and which ones aren't but it is better to be well informed.

There are some key points to remember. All pet insurance is reimbursment based - you pay it all up front and they send you a check for the amount your plan covers and most want proof that you did pay the bill before they pay you. There are a huge number of plans to choose from even within one company. Almost all companies will not cover preexisting conditions regardless of how long ago they occurred which means the cat that had a UTI will never be covered for that condition again. Insurance plans vary in cost and coverage but most have different/separate plans for accident/illness and preventative health care - so a separate cost for both. Some known genetic predispositions will not be covered in some breeds as well. If you are seriously considering it I do agree with getting insurance for them now before they develop illnesses because it can become a factor in the event that something major does happen but I think you should shop around some more to get the plan that reflects your wishes as a pet owner. In general you want a company that will pay based on percentage rather than set amount - they tend to cover more.

There are at least 6 companies that I know of that do insurance.

VPI - Veterinary Pet Insurance
PetsBest
Trupanion Pet Insurance
ASPCA Pet Health Insurance
Pet Plan
PetCare Pet Insurance

I personally do not know enough minute details on each company to give you all the information you will need but can tell you I have seen the best results with PetsBest and Pet Plan.

We recently got pet insurance for our 5 year old super-mutt. I've had 2 friends have to spend over $7000 each this past year on their dogs - one had to have a leg amputated and the others dog had to have emergency back surgery. And we spent probably $5000 on our older dog 2 years ago when she started having some serious health issues. Her health just started going downhill and before you knew it we had spend thousands on her (and would do it again). We just wanted to get coverage so that if something like this were to happen we wouldn't have to pay for everything out of pocket. I have other friends who say "it's a dog - I wouldn't spend $5000 on it" - but to me they're my babies and if I think we can fix them I have to try. So I think it's a personal decision - there's not much I wouldn't do to save my dog if something bad happened to him - so I like having some financial security to help me know we could do it if we had to. We got our insurance thru Pet ____@____.com.

It really depends. At $30/mo, that's 360/year and if your dog lives to be 15 years old, that's $5400 you would have spent over the course of his life. And keep in mind that on top of that, you still have to pay a deductible, copay, and cover whatever insurance doesn't (usually there's a maximum that they'll pay). Assuming something horrible happens like Shannon B.'s scenario, it might be worth it but there's a good chance your pet won't need such expensive procedures done. And if they do and you spend $5000, that's really teh same amount of money you would have spent on insurance. So I'm tempted to say it's not worth it but it's really a personal choice.

Alot of times you can get a discount with your insurance company that you have now. Sometimes, depending on who you have they could give you a cheaper quote. Call and ask them. I know that Progressive Insurance offers it.
If your animals are healthy then I wouldnt do it. If they had problems in the past then it wouldnt hurt to have some coverage, and maybe if they are getting older, cause then the vet bills can get expensive.

I would keep shopping around to see what other kind of quotes you can get.