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Does anyone have Pet Insurance?

17 years ago

Hi- We recently got a female great dane. She's 5 1/2 months old and she will need to get spayed soon. I was wondering if anyone had any comments or recomendations (good or bad)on pet insurance. I know the great dane breed is susceptible to alot more problems than other breeds.Is pet insurance really worth it and is one better than another. -Thanks Smile247

Anabelle with our min-pin Tabasco.

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Comments (12)

lostnca
17 years ago
I dont know about the pet ins but Awwww.. they are a precious lot.
Lorie
Nancy in Mich
17 years ago
Yes, we have VPI insurance. It means that you are more willing to take the dogs in for questionable things, more able to use the emergency vet because you will be getting some money back from the insurance. Do a search on "insurance" in this forum and I am sure you'll see a recent discussion about it.
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calliope - when we last had our wills rewritten I went in with plans for a Trust to pay for our dog's care - but the lawyer had never prepared such a document. I did contact another lawyer I knew (with a major firm) and he told me the cost of such a Trust would be exhorbitant and when it came down to it, under Canadian law, pets are chattels and that is what it would come down to - and the Trust might well be challenged. Even if we had a Trust paying out funds to the person who took our dog, it would not guarantee the quality of life that we would want for our dog - think of the horror stories we read/hear of all the time. This is why we went with Plans A and B people - with Plan A person definitely in a position not to be challenged by any family member for control of the funds - or our dog. There is a group in Canada trying to have our laws changed re pets. I think that in some states - maybe California is one - you can leave your estate to a pet "retirement home' - a fancy one - and your dog will receive lifetime care. And also that maybe if you leave funds to a person to care for your dog that said person must take the dog and treat him/her well. We have an American Eskimo and Eskies do not do well in a kennel type of environment. And they sure aren't dogs that are suited to living outdoors despite their name. Changing the breed's name to American Eskimo from Spitz during WWI was not the best choice - it implies a sled dog - in fact they have a double coat of hair - much like Persian cats - and love to be warm in the house. Now there is a Canadian Eskimo dog - a totally different type of dog - lives in the very far north.
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We have Trupanion - but we are Canadian. Trupanion used to be a Cdn. company called Vet Insurance - that was trying to move into the U.S. - but in the end bought a U.S. Company and now is headquartered there. We took out the insurance when our dog was 15 months old - we initally did not take it out because the plan DID NOT (at the time) cover hip dysplasia. Now the plan does BUT NOT for existing clients. Imagine paying premiums for 6 years and your dog develop dysplasia - you are not covered, but someone who signed up 35 days before is. People were very annoyed but with pets who were 6 years old, up the creek. Originally deductibles were not part of the plan. Now of course they are. Our original premiums were $32.00 a month plus our Cdn. taxes. Now they are $75.00 a month - and the increase to $75 happened before we ever had a claim - which did not happen until May of 2011 when our dog developed what was thought to be conjunctivitis but was really an ulcer in the making that in turn became an abscessed cornea. He is a white dog with perfectly clear eyes so we caught the problem day one. We had our most recent appointment with the board certified eye specialist in Nov. of 2012. The "crud" of course is still in his eye. So in addition to our monthly premiums of $75 we have been seeing the eye specialist every 4 months for nearly 1 1/2 years - this after constant treatments with our regular vet. NOTE - RECHECKS ARE NOT COVERED. So if the bill is say $125.00 plus taxes - we receive about $22.00 back (taxes are not returned). I wanted surgery at the beginning - used to have Dachshunds who had full body back surgery - and this happened with my 2 special guys - so I felt cursed. It would have been far cheaper. In retrospect, we would have been far further ahead to have had a bank account for our guy based on his excellent health until the eye problem. Cost wise this has cost us thousands. I called Trupanion after the most recent e-mail regarding adding prescription food, behavior modification etc. to the plan to ask how much this was going to cost us - even though we won't be able to use it. Our dog does cost us a lot of money with check-ups, vaccines etc. - plus dentals. His dentals usually run about $1,200 - and of course are not covered. Many people at the specialist's office have pet insurance and all feel the same. I did call when I heard about the addition of hip dysplasia - our dog does not have it - and asked if it could be added for existing clients whose dogs have never exhibited any signs of the health issue - and who have not submitted any claims. They said they were looking at grandfathering it, but didn't. Also watch the hospitalization issue - although these days you are lucky not be sent home the day after heart surgery. If you are hospitalized for 4 days, the plan will pay for boarding of your dog - EXCEPT my husband and I are both shown as our dog's owners. Since he wouldn't be in the hospital - he could be travelling - at work - visiting me in the hospital etc. - Trupanion would not pay since he would be available to care for our dog - and vice versa. This happened to someone else. So put the insurance in one person's name and hope. Our dog will turn 9 next April - so obviously we are not about to cancel the policy. He will also most likely be our last dog. In the event that the worst should happen and he die prematurely (his breed often lives to be 18) and we did get another dog, it would be a senior dog and we would not take out insurance or go to extreme measures. Each person has to decide what to do. Our breed of dog is known to be healthy if you adopt a standard size as opposed to one that has been mucked about with so that the dog weighs 5 lbs. as opposed to 25 lbs. And this has been the case. Every day I check his eyes - next appointment will be in 6 months, unless something happens. I do believe in pet insurance - BUT - not when they change the plans to attract new customers and leave the existing customers out in the cold. In Canada we do not have the variety of plans offered in the U.S. so I would do some checking. Look at the LIFETIME COVERAGE of a condition (much like kids' braces); the annual MAXIMUM per condition - some plans will pay say $1,000 annually for a broken leg - but a broken leg will cost you a lot more than $1,000 to have fixed - that type of thing - as well as the regular deductible and any breed specific deductibles and general deductibles. Also, exactly what is covered - and if they stop covering certain illnesses whether you will be grandfathered - not necessarily so as my vet found out with her pet. Our dog is more likely to develop Patellar Luxation or tear an ACL - so far so good - and supposedly we would be covered since he does not have a prexisting condition.
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Rory, our lab was a bolter and a bolter who NEVER came home on his own. He thought it was a great game to have us chase him, but even when we stopped chasing, he wouldn't come back. When we first got him from a rescue (he was 2y/o), I was ready to return him b/c I spent countless hours in tears, many times frantically calling dh when he wouldn't return. We have a 4' high fence in the backyard but he would run out front door every single time any of my kids would go in/out which is frequent in our house. We made an appt for an invisible fence to be installed (we did not use Invisible Fence but a company a friend recommended) and hired a dog trainer. The day she arrived, my dog was in the backyard and right as she was coming down the street, he leapt right over the fence! Once he figured out he could clear it, we couldn't even put him out back anymore. All that said, with the help of the dog trainer, we trained him not to bolt out the front door, as well as many other behaviors we needed to fix. The guy who installed our invisible fence also worked with him quite a bit. He did go through the fence a few times in the beginning, but now he never ever does, even when dogs are walking by. He knows exactly how far he can go before he gets the warning beep and won't even venture that far. We have it around front and back yard so that he can be outside in the front when our kids are outside playing. When I toss a ball with him, if the ball goes anywhere near the invisible fence, he knows not to go after it. He won't even get in my car if it's parked too close to the fence, even with his collar off - I have to make a big show of it that I've removed it before he will get in my car. He will lay down on the driveway and refuse to move Our old dog (lab/shepherd mix) was not a bolter and I always hated invisible fences when I walked my old dog. Not knowing someone had the fence, dogs would come tearing out toward us and freak me out. For this reason, I do not let my dog out front unless I am out there. While he is very very friendly, he is tall and imposing at 110 lbs and though he usually will just sit right at the edge of his fence line and wag his tail hoping they will stop and play, there are some dogs that make him feel territorial so he will bark and run back and forth so I will yell to people that we have an invisible fence and he will not leave the yard. Some people will stop and let their dogs come into the yard and play with him after asking me first. He just loves that! I don't remember what ours cost but it was at least $500 lower than IF. We most likely could have done it ourselves but we needed it fast and didn't have time. We were very impressed with the company as they came out several times in the beginning to work with him, and after he got out a couple of times at first, they came back and did more training. To give you a sense of how big he is, here he is after jumping up on a chair to look outside at his favorite neighborhood friend - the UPS driver who always leaves him treats when he delivers a package. He actually knows the sound of his truck and immediately takes up this position when he hears him coming.
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luvdogs
17 years ago
I have two different policies. One on my Belgian Malinois and one on a bulldog mix that I have.

One is PetCare and one is from VPI. The PetCare does not cover illnesses, only accidents.

A few months after I adopted the bulldog mix he was seriously mauled by two larger dogs. I took him to the emergency clinic at 3AM. The bill was $1500 and insurance paid $1000 of it so it sure was a good investment for me. I think insurance is a good idea.

vicky
smile247
Original Author
17 years ago
Thanks for your responses. Im going to look futher into each company and find out wich one is best for her.-Smile247
klimkm
17 years ago
There are other threads on this on this forum I think. That may have additional info for you.
zoewolf
16 years ago
Yes, I have pet insurance which unfortunately only covers one year. If I did not have insurance 9 years ago with my male chow who needed entropion surgery in both eyes at 3 months old (as well as neutering), I would have had to spend $1,600. However, as I did have the insurance it was only $800.00 - BIG difference.

He is no longer covered, as it would be cost prohibitive. But my other chow who is 1 year old is covered -- thank God -- as she seems to have lots of ear and skin problems (as well as entropion surgery on one eye).
My "chowldren", Wolfie and Zoe.
puc13
16 years ago
We have VPI for our two feline boys - and what a great investment is. We started their insurance in 2001 and pay a pretty penny for what can seem like no return (unlike humans who seem to use insurance more) but when disaster strikes it is nice to know that we have a cushion.
On the Friday night of Memorial Day weekend (US holiday) one of our boys was sick as all get out and was having litter box problems. He'd had urinary blockage problems as a young cat and we were so afraid that was the problem. We called his regular vet (answering service forwards emergency calls to her) and she didn't call back right away (10 minutes) so I called the ER vet and let them know we were coming. There is no time to waste with a cat in urinary distress.
Long story short... he was constipated! To the tune of 500+
Insurance will cover 2/3s...
Nice to have since I am out of work.
Our other fur-son is diabetic and that gets expensive quickly. We are reimbursed a small amount over the year - but every bit helps.

I really like knowing that we have SOME coverage. Most years it is a loss (financially) but it is ALWAYS a gain (peace of mind).
gajopa
16 years ago
I've had VPI for several years for my two poodles but I'm going to cancel it. Over the years they've paid some on the claims so the premium wasn't a total expense but now that one is sick with hepatitus they pay very little. I recently filed a claim for $550 and they paid $47. They refuse to pay any on the medications, saying they are supplements. They have to be filled by a pharmacist and are necessary to save his life so I don't see how they are supplements. They denied the lab work, saying the Vet didn't put the correct diagnose on it. I would think the Vet knows what the diagnosis is. Since I'm paying @ $900 for the insurance I'm going to put that amount toward the cost of their care. I don't see any point in paying both.
jannie
16 years ago
I've read several policies. You have to start young, insure All your pets, and the premiums seemed high. Better to keep the money in the bank, give your pet regular vet care and shots, and keep your pet in the house or in a safe yard. I think it will cost less in the long run. Just my experience. I had a "mutt" I adopted from my local animal shelter, she cost about $50 a year in vet bills and about $50 to have her put to sleep at age 17 when she was deaf, crippled and incontinent. That doesn't count the food she ate.
jmzms
16 years ago
Reviving an old post for some new opinions (a lot changes in a year). Anyone have additional thoughts on pet insurance? Do you have it? What provider? What does it cover? Is it worth it? Etc.? Thanks.
ellen17
16 years ago
I have ASPCA pet insurance on my dog and my cat. I bought it after my daughter had a $1400 vet bill.

Go to www.aspcapetinsurance.com They have several plans at different prices. i have the Primary plan which is the least expensive. I used it in February when my dog had an injury and they reimbursed me for about 1/3 of the bill. I am happy that I found them.
smile247
Original Author
16 years ago
Well what a surprise to see my old thread revived. Anabelle is almost 18 months now and 115 lbs. We ended up getting the premiere plan with ASPCA. Weve had it for a couple of months and like it,tho you do have to read the fine print. I researched alot and thought this plan was the best for her at this time. Good luck everyone.

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