Pet Insurance? Is it REALLY worth it?

So I was up ALL night last night with my little baby, who turned one yesterday, because she was crying with a tummy ache and had BAD BAD BAD diarrhea every hour and a half. At about 3am and there on, she had blood coming out too! I was so scared and brought her in this morning. It might be the change of food or that treat called Frosty Paws (Ice cream for dogs) that I gave her for her birthday yesterday, for the first time.

Anyway, the visit cost me $138.00 (visit, blood work, stool sample test and meds). I was wondering, if I had Pet insurance, would it have saved me money? I worry that because she's a Pedigree, and people say Pedigree dogs tend to have more problems, she is prone to more problems than other dogs. Sorry this is so long. I just want what's best for my baby!

Re: Pet Insurance? Is it REALLY worth it?

IMO it is TOTALLY worth it.
I did a lot of research and found that VPI is the best one- in terms of what they cover, their deductibles, money paid back to you etc.
Definitely check them out.

It doesn't cost all that much- especially if you are insuring a younger animal with no pre-existing conditions.
And the peace of mind is worth it.

It is scary how quickly vet bills can add up- even for minor things- and you can't say no, don't help my baby because I can't afford it. Of course you have to lay out the money.

Having the insurance gives me peace of mind for sure at very little cost!

Message edited 4/22/2009 11:18:48 AM.

Re: Pet Insurance? Is it REALLY worth it?

Thanks for that info! I heard about VPI. Do you know how much it costs yearly? TIA!

Re: Pet Insurance? Is it REALLY worth it?

I have a cat so I know it's cheaper for cats. It only costs like $30 a month for a cat (we did it when she was a kitten so that might have made a difference in price too) and if you pay for the whole year in advance, they give you a discount.

You can also pick and chose the coverage- depending on what you want. We have pretty much everything covered including cancer-but you can go for more or less depending on you and your pets needs.

If you go to their website, you can get a free quote.

Re: Pet Insurance? Is it REALLY worth it?

Thank you so much for all of this information!

Re: Pet Insurance? Is it REALLY worth it?

YES! My Shih Tzu had the same symptoms around the same age as yours and he had Gastritis b/c he ate a White Castle Cheeseburger!!! My baby was also vomiting. Very scary! I cried my eyes out!

If you had VPI you pay upfront, flie a claim, submit the vet bill and they will send you a check. In my case it was at least half or more then half. I paid $35 a month = $420 a year. It was the superior package but, they have other options.

I was very lucky to have insurance b/c I had 2 battles with gastritis and the Nutro scare. I no longer carry it b/c I moved and the vets here do not accept it.

Hope you Shih Tzu is feeling better!

Message edited 4/22/2009 2:19:28 PM.

Re: Pet Insurance? Is it REALLY worth it?

I am definitely doing to look into this.

Update on my baby: Got back from the Vet around 10 and she took her first dose of meds then...she hasn't gone poopies yet, so I don't know if the diarrhea is gone. BUT, she WAS going every hour through the night, so I guess that's a good sign! I am going to make her chicken and rice soon...I hope she eats because she hasn't shown an interest in eating or drinking all day :(

Thanks for all your support ladies!

Re: Pet Insurance? Is it REALLY worth it?

Ollie has VPI pet insurance. She also had diarrhea recently so we took her to the vet. The total bill from the vet was $205.25 and VPI reimbursed us $87.97. Some people argue that they'll just take the monthly fee and put it into an account so if their dog, god forbid, gets hurt or has a problem they'll just use that account to pay for the medical bills. HTH

Re: Pet Insurance? Is it REALLY worth it?

I use VPI pet insurance. I think it's totally worth it. Some will say that you are better off taking the monthly payment and putting it in a separate account for Vet purposes (which could work) but my biggest fear is the big stuff. I would never want something awful to happen to my dog and I couldnt' do anything about it b/c I couldn't afford it. So I think pet insurance is great!