Anyone know anything about pet health insurance?

[Nightingale 0]

I was wondering if anyone had any information about pet health insurance. I was thinking of getting it for my cat, Indy, because after spending thousands on Anakin, there's not much left over to cover treatment if something happens to Indy. I was wondering if anyone had any experiences with pet health insurance, and if so, was it a good thing, or more trouble than it's worth? I've been looking at the insurance offered through ASPCA and VPI.

Any info would be helpful

[NWFlyer 2]

Timely question; I was just thinking about the same thing myself after dropping a chunk of change on a checkup, vaccinations, and de-worming medicine for Daisy this morning ... little stuff adds up with the kittens! I'll be curious to see the replies.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[Nightingale 0]

ASPCA is more expensive, it seems, but they cover more and pay a percentage, rather than a set benefit amount. They cap out at $5000/incident, though. VPI is a few hundred dollars a year cheaper, but caps out at $4500/incident, and pays a set amount for procedures.

[shropshire 0]

IMHO, it's a really good thing.
We always have Pet insurance for our girls... The problem is with older pets (in the U.K at least) that most companies wont take on old pets and will mostly exempt pre-Existing conditions.
As with most things, it's well worth shopping around for the right plan for your pet(s) too.

Alternatively, if you have a vet' college nearby, they tend to have reduced rates so that the students can learn on real animals.

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[wildfan75 1]

I don't have insurance on Lucy but have her in a wellness program through Banfield Pet Hospital (the vets inside Petsmarts). I pay about $13/mo and it includes 2 comprehensive exams a year, all of her vacination, and all office visits. I also get 5 or 10% (can't remember which one) off all medication and procedures. I signed her up when I got her at 6 weeks old and I know I'm ahead (puppy vacinations add up FAST). It was and still is easier for me to budget $13 a month than shelling out like $200 all at once.

I know it wouldn't help a lot if she were to get a potential fatal disease, but it would eliminate our office visit fees and save between $50-100 per $1000 for everything else.

[flygirl1 0]

Sorry again to hear about Anakin Nightingale I was wondering about getting insurance too after spending all that money on Katana. Let me know if you find any more info. I haven't found anyone that has had any personal experience with them yet.

Fly like a girl

[livendive 8]

I don't know anything about such plans specifically, but have some general thoughts on insurance plans as a whole.

They wouldn't sell it if they didn't expect to make a profit off of it. Whether it's at your local veterinarian clinic, Best Buy, Circuit City, or Toyota dealership, insurance is a "for profit" industry.

That said, it can be useful if your risk tolerance is low. Personally, my risk tolerance caps out at a couple thousand, therefore I don't buy extended warranties or "purchase protection" plans on things like electronics or appliances, but I do keep full coverage on my vehicles. It's fun when the sales agent says something like, "What if it breaks next year? The repairs will cost more than the value and you'll have to buy another one! Can you afford that?" And I say, "Hey, if you think it's going to break next year, maybe I shouldn't buy it in the first place!" Can you say "Back-pedal"?

It sounds like your risk tolerance for vet expenses is currently pretty low, so the money the insurance company keeps as profit may be worth your peace of mind, but as a general rule, I'm pretty sure it will cost more than it pays out.

Blues,
Dave

"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

[Nightingale 0]

Okay... here's the quote I got from ASPCA:

6 year old cat, Orange County, CA.
$100/year deductible. Covers 80% of area standard cost for surgery, vaccines, exams, teeth cleaning, etc. $5000/incident max, $13,000/yearly max.

If I'd had VPI for Anakin, They'd have paid out around $2500 for his $8500 incident. With ASPCA, they'd have paid out $5000 for the same incident. VPI has a set benefit schedule and doesn't cover anything that isn't on the schedule. ASPCA has no schedule, and covers pretty much anything except for some stuff that is spelled out on their website (tail-docking and elective surgeries, etc). They research the average costs for the area, and use that as their cap. I go to probably the priciest vet in OC, so their calculated cost for his incident was $6500, and my actual cost was $8500, but they'd still have paid out the entire $500 max.

An example for a tooth cleaning: VPI's "reasonable cost" is $65. You have a $50 per incident deductible, and then they pay 90% of what's left... so, you'd get about $13.50 back.

ASPCA: Reasonable cost for a tooth cleaning in my area: $230. (confirmed by a $250 quote from my vet). ASPCA has a $100/year deductible, (per year, not per incident like ASPCA), so, they'd pay 90% of the $250 if I've paid my deductible at another point in time, or 90% of 150 if I hadn't paid my deductible.

Difference in cost between ASPCA and VPI is about $250 per year. I think I'm going with ASPCA, even though they're more expensive.

[MakeItHappen 15]

Quote

I was wondering if anyone had any information about pet health insurance. I was thinking of getting it for my cat, Indy, because after spending thousands on Anakin, there's not much left over to cover treatment if something happens to Indy. I was wondering if anyone had any experiences with pet health insurance, and if so, was it a good thing, or more trouble than it's worth? I've been looking at the insurance offered through ASPCA and VPI.

Any info would be helpful

I haven't looked at pet insurance for a long time.

The more financially solid way to ensure pet health care is to self-insure your pets. Put that premium away in a savings account or CD. This way ALL the money you put toward a 'premium' and interest accrued is available for you to use if needed.
You can also invest in an index fund or DRIP account, but your principle investment is at risk.

As an example, RePete got bit by a baby rattlesnake 7 years ago. That cost ~$1200.00. Her recent battle with hemangiosarcoma cost ~$1200. She got rabies shots every 3 years and the 'annual shots' every other year. (The discussion about over vacination is another topic.) Flea/tick treatments only when she had fleas or picked up ticks. No annual checkups - she was healthy and did not need a vet to tell her she was perfectly healthy. You can get annual shots at your local pet store cheap or just buy the shots at a local feed store and administer them yourself. That can be a huge savings compared to an office visit and have the vet give the shots.
Cost of insurance at $25/month for 10 years would have cost $3000.00.

Katie, my lab, had numerous vets bills over nine years. Pin in her leg from being hit by a car as a pup, mast cell tumor removed, eating some kind of poison, injuries from a tragic 'dragging' behind a car driven by an insane woman, and finally her battle with lymphosarcoma.

Pete and Phoenix had virtually no unusual vet bills in their lifetimes.

All in all, the odds of having a HUGE vet bill is small. It's better to self-insure.

If you don't have a way to set aside a grand or two for emergency vet bills then maybe you should wait until you do.

Other considerations are the vet bills that you run into for rescue pets that enter your life. It makes more sense to stash your stash into something you get to keep and use it when you need to use it than 'pay premiums' that are 'gone' forever.

Insurance for the usual/mundane office visits and shots is a money maker for the insurance company, not you.

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Make It Happen
Parachute History
DiveMaker

[MakeItHappen 15]

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Okay... here's the quote I got from ASPCA:

...
Difference in cost between ASPCA and VPI is about $250 per year. I think I'm going with ASPCA, even though they're more expensive.

You did not mention your premiums.
Say you took 6 months of premium payments (plus any extra to get a 6-month CD) and put them into a 6-month CD at 4.45%
and then kept reinvesting that over the lifetime of the cat. Every 6 months, you'd add in the premium amount.
After several years and a healthy cat you'd be ahead.

If the worst case happened and your cat had some major injury or illness, how many 'good' years would pay off those bills?

Vet bills are something that can be self-insured, especially for someone that has already paid $8k for vet bills.

Self insurance allows you control over the money and 'benefits'. You can lend a paw to the wayward soul that comes unexpectantly into your life too.

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Make It Happen
Parachute History
DiveMaker

[Nightingale 0]

Quote

Quote

Okay... here's the quote I got from ASPCA:

...
Difference in cost between ASPCA and VPI is about $250 per year. I think I'm going with ASPCA, even though they're more expensive.

You did not mention your premiums.
Say you took 6 months of premium payments (plus any extra to get a 6-month CD) and put them into a 6-month CD at 4.45%
and then kept reinvesting that over the lifetime of the cat. Every 6 months, you'd add in the premium amount.
After several years and a healthy cat you'd be ahead.

If the worst case happened and your cat had some major injury or illness, how many 'good' years would pay off those bills?

Well, Anakin's bill was $8500. If his premium was similar to the quote I got for Indy (they were the same age, so it'd have been close), it'd be $54/month. ASPCA would have paid $5000 on Ani's claim, leaving me to pay the $3500 left. I would be paying 92 months, or 7.7 years of premiums to pay that $5000.

[marcandalysse 0]

AKC (American Kennel Club) has Pet Insurance Plans, but I haven't looked at costs yet.

http://www.akcpethealthcare.com/

[MakeItHappen 15]

Quote

Well, Anakin's bill was $8500. If his premium was similar to the quote I got for Indy (they were the same age, so it'd have been close), it'd be $54/month. ASPCA would have paid $5000 on Ani's claim, leaving me to pay the $3500 left. I would be paying 92 months, or 7.7 years of premiums to pay that $5000.

Perhaps I was not clear enough on the self insurance.

I made a sample table on an annual basis that will show you that investing the 'premiums' into a cd at 4.5% would work in your favor.
It would take less than 5 years to have the extra $3500. Most pets live a healthy life.

After 15 years you'd invest $9720 and then have +$14K to use.
Compare this to the same premium payment amount $9720 and a healthy pet. What do you get for that money?

Self insurance is the best way to go, you just have to be diligent in putting away the money for your pet. And then you can use it at your discretion and not the insurance company's discretion.

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Make It Happen
Parachute History
DiveMaker

[Nightingale 0]

And that would be great, if my cat had an emergency ten years down the road. If he gets sick next week, that's not going to help me. The pet insurance will.

I'm not saying that I don't think a savings account/CD/etc is a good idea. It's a great idea. I used to have savings... I just spent it all on my other cat. A savings account just doesn't help if there is an emergency before you have enough savings to cover the cost. Your savings plan is assuming that nothing will happen. I've written over $15,000 in checks to the vet that say otherwise.

Also, the $50 insurance premium covers shots, routine exams, teeth cleaning, and a bunch of other routine care that I'd otherwise be paying out of pocket for.

[jasonRose 0]

I have had pet insurance before although make sure you read the coverage well. MRI, CT's and other technology availble and covered by human insurance is not covered by pet insurance. That said if you can keep around $3500 in reserve you can cover most serious emergency room visits for your pet. If your pet is like your kid "like mine" and you don't have the cash in reserve then it is a good idea to get a little pet insurance. By the way just call your vet they can hook you up with companies that they like to deal with and would benifit you and your pet.

Rosie

Some day I will have the best staff in the world!!!

[Nightingale 0]

If my pets are sick, I'd pay anything if it could make them better. I was amazed at how quickly a cat could run up $8500 in bills over about a week.

[MakeItHappen 15]

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And that would be great, if my cat had an emergency ten years down the road. If he gets sick next week, that's not going to help me. The pet insurance will.

Well the thing is that most pets do not require extensive medical treatment for most of their lives.
The 'bet' you make with the insurance company is that you pay a lot of money and hope that your pet does not need it.
This is a perverse type of gambling.
Or, if you self insure, you can look at it as you betting that 'my pets will live healthy lives' and never need the insurance. I'm investing on my own to take care of them.
If you are pessimistic about your pets then by all means, send money off to allow you to sleep at night and give you that 'good' feeling of they are taken care of.
Then there are times that no amount of money can save your pet. You may, one day, have to put them down. I don't wish that on anyone, but it is the 'best' thing to do under certain circumstances.

Quote

I'm not saying that I don't think a savings account/CD/etc is a good idea. It's a great idea. I used to have savings... I just spent it all on my other cat. A savings account just doesn't help if there is an emergency before you have enough savings to cover the cost. Your savings plan is assuming that nothing will happen. I've written over $15,000 in checks to the vet that say otherwise.

Also, the $50 insurance premium covers shots, routine exams, teeth cleaning, and a bunch of other routine care that I'd otherwise be paying out of pocket for.

The thing is that you are young (at least compared to me anyway) and will probably see many of your pets die- you know based on actuarial tables you should outlive your pets, several times over.

There are times that no amount of money can save your pet.

The way to save for these catastrophic events is better via conventional and conservative investment opportunities.

I heard stories of people spending $10k to $20k and then some on their dying dog that only lived a few more months.

I wish it was easy to say 'Hey, I don't have the money.' But when you have the money and realize the pet needs to be put down, it makes it all the more harder to do so.

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Make It Happen
Parachute History
DiveMaker

[DrewEckhardt 0]

Quote

I was wondering if anyone had any information about pet health insurance. I was thinking of getting it for my cat, Indy, because after spending thousands on Anakin, there's not much left over to cover treatment if something happens to Indy. I was wondering if anyone had any experiences with pet health insurance, and if so, was it a good thing, or more trouble than it's worth? I've been looking at the insurance offered through ASPCA and VPI.

Any info would be helpful

I looked at the separate caps for individual procedures from VPI.

If I couldn't afford a couple of those, I'd get the insurance.

Since I could, it looked like I'd come out ahead financially if I only had or two major problems in my cats' lifetime even assuming a zero return on my investment. A couple of big banks are paying over 5% on FDIC insured savings accounts.

So far its been 7 years without problems apart from the brain tumor scare (feline peripheral vestibular disease which causes them to fall over is a common thing in the late summer/fall which resolves itself in a few days. would be nice if vets talked about common things like that before making referrals to pet neurologists )

[Nightingale 0]

Quote

Then there are times that no amount of money can save your pet. You may, one day, have to put them down. I don't wish that on anyone, but it is the 'best' thing to do under certain circumstances.
...

There are times that no amount of money can save your pet.

The way to save for these catastrophic events is better via conventional and conservative investment opportunities.

I heard stories of people spending $10k to $20k and then some on their dying dog that only lived a few more months.

I wish it was easy to say 'Hey, I don't have the money.' But when you have the money and realize the pet needs to be put down, it makes it all the more harder to do so.

.

Been there, done that. Spent $8500 and when they told me that all they could do was get maybe a few more months and very little quality of life, I thought that euthanasia was the right choice. If I had it to do over again, I'd do exactly the same thing. I do what's best for my animals. My wallet will heal.

I want to make sure that I can give that same care to my other cat. Because I spent all my savings trying to help Anakin, there's not much left over now if Indy gets sick. So, I'm going to insure him for now, and then in a few months when my finances are better, I'm going to start putting money away. When I have enough that I feel that I could cover another emergency, I'll cancel the insurance.

I have health insurance on myself in case I get sick. Doing the same for Indy makes financial sense right now.

[PLFXpert 0]

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Well the thing is that most pets do not require extensive medical treatment for most of their lives.
The 'bet' you make with the insurance company is that you pay a lot of money and hope that your pet does not need it.
This is a perverse type of gambling.
Or, if you self insure, you can look at it as you betting that 'my pets will live healthy lives' and never need the insurance. I'm investing on my own to take care of them.

Yes.
I started to respond something simliar last night, but I understand what works best & makes the most financial sense to me isn't going to be the same for other people.

Paint me in a corner, but my color comes back.