I've never had pet insurance but I've also never purchased a purebred animal. I've had quite a few cats and I think I've been better off "self-insured" but I've never done the math.

Before they buy pet insurance, they need to check with their vet to see if he/she accepts the insurance.

We've had animals all our lives, never purchased insurance for them. Our vet charges fairly when care is needed.

Not to sound mean, but if the money is a hardship, they should start with a cheaper dog. But if they are paying top breeder dollar, they ought to get a warranty.

So sorry for your granddaughter!

Fori,

I do not believe that I said hardship was a problem for them but I believe everyone wants to use their money wisely. I am also unaware of your assumption that they paid top dollar with a breeder but that is your belief I guess.

They paid a reasonable amount for a beautiful dog which is what they chose. The breeder is now giving them another dog free even though he probably did not need to as there was no actual cause for the death as they chose not to have an artopsy. Anyways that was not my question..

The cost of pet insurance is based on having an emergency or surgery. About $7-10k over the dog's life. Can your daughter afford to pay for vet care when needed or would it be a hardship or economic euthanasia.

I self insure. 4 dogs, over 45 years, an estimated $15k in surgery, emergency costs. Insurance would have cost around $25k for those dogs.

Generally, as a rule, it is always wiser to "self insure" (simply meaning, do not purchase insurance and be ready to pay), unless a sudden expense would be prohibitive (some people do not have the money for unexpected costs) or unless the risk is remote but very significant (like the chance that your house would burn to the ground).

When you buy insurance, you are paying them what the experts expect you to spend anyway, plus a profit. Why not keep the profit.

Edited to add: I am so sorry about the poor dog. That is such a shame.

If I was the breeder, I would have paid for the autopsy to determine if there was some problem that might be genetic (e.g., cardiac).

http://www.consumerreports.org/pet-products/is-pet-insurance-worth-cost/

We decided against pet insurance. My research indicated that it was expensive and didn't cover all that much. Ymmv.

I have to respectfully disagree with the others. The average person who decides to save instead, will put away a couple of grand for emergencies (which to be honest, is nothing) and wouldn't be able to afford the unexpected costs for a vet especially when it comes to an emergency situation or treatment from a specialist. We've insured our dog since she was a pup and it has more than paid for itself. Even if we're in the red, (and I'm sure if we are it's not by much), the peace of mind it offers is worth it to me. Most people who have to pay out of pocket will do just the minimum of what's needed, but when you have your dog insured, money is no longer part of the equation. If I feel she's not well, I don't hesitate to take her in but I would if I were paying out of pocket. Also, the Vet doesn't feel restrained to a tight budget, so our dog gets the care she needs or that she can benefit the most from.

We went with Trupanion, their options are flexible and they pay the claims like clockwork. And, if you do a search in the pet forum for dog insurance, several threads come up with experiences others have had with and without the insurance.

ETA: I should include that we have a 5 year old Lab. After a lot of vet costs a year or so ago, I calculated that the insurance had covered close to 13,000 in vet bills for a variety of things. Trupanion covered everything, even the allergy testing we did. The only thing I pay for out of pocket is the office visit, regular maintenance like shots and heartworm medication and a 10% deductable. I chose a low deductable, but I can alway raise the deductable to lower the premium. Six to one, half dozen to another I guess.

I looked into insurance. Money is not an object when it comes to my dogs, they would get whatever they need with or without insurance. We found most insurance plans to have too many restrictions or not be a good value so we just pay out of pocket.

My pet insurance premium is about $25 per month for my middle aged mutt. I signed up for the heck of it because it was so cheap.

In the past 18 months she has had over $5,000 in medical expenses. Surgery for a torn ACL and many dental problems. So, I am in the black with my reimbursements far exceeding what I paid in premiums. The company will probably drop us or jack up the rate when the next renewal comes around.

Pet Plan

I've never bought pet insurance, but two of my friends carry it for their pets. One friend has had literally thousands of dollars of procedures for her two dogs and the insurance covered a huge amount-I don't recall the company, but it has been well, well worth the premiums.

My other friend had one brand of pet insurance that paid limited amounts on claims and covered very few options. She's now switched to Hannah Pet and it covers everything except chemo, I believe. She also gets special food delivered every month.

I think it's a YMMV type of thing. We've always had many pets, currently we have 3 dogs (one very elderly) and five cats. Just lost one cat recently to kidney failure. We've always self-insured, and have been fortunate not to have medical issues with our pets.

I've owned 11 dogs myself, and have never bought the insurance, but I'm not saying that it's not valuable to those who have.My company offered a 5% discount on one insurer's offerings.

I tried to find some stats on it, and the most recent that I came up with was from 3/30/2016 from Consumer Reports - Full article here

"About 1.4 million pets in the U.S. and Canada were covered by a plan at
the end of 2014, according to the North American Pet Health Insurance
Association, a trade group. That’s less than 1 percent of about 174
million pet cats and dogs, but up from 680,000 policies in 2008. Some of
the increase may be linked to a surprising fact: Pet insurance is one of the fastest-growing optional employee benefits."

When we got our pup, I did some extensive research into the insurances and at that time, the only thing that Trupanion didn't cover was pre-existing conditions and hip dysplasia which I believe could be added with a rider. Since then, they've included the coverage hip dysplasia into the policy as a standard.

Talk about your first world issues, WOW. We always said the cheapest thing about owning a pet was the purchase price. FIL was a Veterinarian. His customers were farmers whose animals were their LIVELIHOOD. Even they wouldn't spend the money on their animals many are on their pets. It is a bizarre world we have created.

I guess I watch too much Judge Judy...when I saw the topic, I immediately thought of making sure your house insurance knows you have a dog and get coverage in case your dog bites someone. Talk about expensive!!

Speaking of dog bites, a woman in my area was just mauled to death by her dog. Neighbors tried to hit it with a board but it wasn't deterred until an off duty cop/neighbor shot the dog In the leg.

An option most vets and other medical professionals offer is in house financing or something called CareCredit. The Dr makes acceptance to this credit card possible by paying the interest for a set period of months. It's like 6 months same as cash - you have to pay in full in set amount of time.

We use it in our office and I have used several times for our dogs. Last one was for Tinkerbell losing her eye last summer a vet ophthalmologist $3200. She picked a fight with our bigger dog. The VO said its the most common thing he does.

Why Pet Insurance is a Win for Vets and Pets

http://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/why-pet-insurance-is-a-win-for-vets-and-pets/

Oh, what a cutie, missymoo! So sorry about her eye.