POLL: Is pet insurance worth it?

My 6 year old fur baby is starting to develop some issues. We're taking her in for x-rays on Saturday to see if she has bladder stones.

I surfed around looking for pet insurance quotes. Now, I already know this issue would be excluded as a preexisting condition.

My cost /benefit analysis looks like this:

$40 per month premium= $480 per year just in premium.

$100-$250 deductible plus 20% coinsurance, probably based on reasonable & customary (which means I still pay more than 20% because my vet is neither reasonable nor customary . At least he's a nice guy).

MINUS ten million exlusions...anything hereditary, congenital, preexisting, normal wear and tear...

What are your thoughts? Is it worth it?

ETA: can you give the names of your companies- and whether you had good or bad experiences?

Message edited 3/17/2011 4:33:32 PM.

Re: POLL: Is pet insurance worth it?

We had it for a year. When I tried to put in a claim it was horrible. Lots of paperwork, hours on the phone, etc.

In the end it turned out that they considered xrays a diagnosis and they wouldn't pay based on the diagnosis. Last time I heard, xrays were tests and not a diagnosis. But that's just me. I think they have it worded so everything is not covered.

I think on a 500 dollar bill I got like 50 bucks back. Not worth all the paperwork, time and effort and premiums.

ETA more details - my cat had 'infected anal glands'. Papers said that 'anal gland maintenance' was not covered. Somehow that translated into her infection not being covered. I've never heard of 'maintenance' and 'sick from infection' being the same thing.

Message edited 3/17/2011 2:17:54 PM.

Re: POLL: Is pet insurance worth it?

You have to be careful of preexisting conditions. The insurance company will not cover that.

My pet insurance has paid for itself every year when we had our dog Buddy. He had everything under the sun and we were able to give him the care he needed without having to worry about cost.

Re: POLL: Is pet insurance worth it?

I have had it for two years now - the standard plan (no well care coverage). This year we haven't had many issues (knock on wood) but the first year my dog had skin and stomach issues and we got back about 90% of what we paid out, so it was definitely worth it for us!

Re: POLL: Is pet insurance worth it?

Re: POLL: Is pet insurance worth it?

Re: POLL: Is pet insurance worth it?

Take a look at Trupanion. They rates are reasonable and my friend highly recommended them to me. His lab had giardia as a puppy and had to have several treatments and a fairly long hospital stay and he says they we great to work with.

Re: POLL: Is pet insurance worth it?

I go back and forth on this. I actually wound up canceling it on my dog. It didn't seem worth it.

Re: POLL: Is pet insurance worth it?

My baby is 8 months... We use aspca on level 3 which covers some of her wellness care...I like it for wat it is because u send in the claim and u pretty much get it back inn 2 weeks..

Re: POLL: Is pet insurance worth it?

I think it's something people should look into. I never did and now that I have a cat with some sort of seizure disorder and looking at $3000+ just to get a full diagnosis I wish I had something to help defray the costs.

Re: POLL: Is pet insurance worth it?

I got it with both Logan and Sam- Logan immediately as a puppy and Sam when I got him at 1. Zoey is too old, I should've gotten it when I got her a 2, since I spent $3000 2 years ago to replace her ACL.

Ironically the same surgery DH just had in January.

With both Logan being so big (100 lbs at full growth), and being a GSD, I made sure to get a plan that covered hip problems/dysplasia.

Re: POLL: Is pet insurance worth it?

I use VPI, and have the best plan they offer, I believe it's around $50/mo.

I've had a few instances where I had to take my dachshund to the ER for back problems, and to be honest, I wasnt thrilled with what they reimbursed me, and this was not a pre existing condition. I maybe got back 35% of what I laid out.

Re: POLL: Is pet insurance worth it?

I have pets best insurance I pay $300.00 for the year not well visits.