Pet Insurance?

[eytonxav]

Today our dog came down with a urinary blockage. He is at the emergency vet/surgery center and is being operated on this afternoon to flush out stone and remove other stones from his bladder. Looks like the fees could amount to close to $5K. We do not have a pet insurance policy, but after this procedure will consider getting one. Does anyone have any recommendations on companies that have good claims support, payouts and accept most vets services?

 

[easysurfer]

Hoping others with more experience with pet insurance will chime in, but here is my 2 cents ...

Unfortunately, pet insurance isn't like ACA for humans but more like health insurance for humans pre-ACA with the pre-existing conditions as a factor.

I had a similar situation like you but for a cat. About months ago he was diagnosed with an overactive thyroid. Seemed like everywhere I turned was a new vet bill for tests and then finally radiation treatment for his thyroid.

I went ahead and got pet insurance for him and another cat. But soon, decided to cancel (under a month's time) decided to get most of the $ I put in for the policy. I found trying to navigate the insurance frustrating. Not only because of the pre-existing situation but some vets are better at providing records to the insurance company than others.

I decided to just pay one my own. Now I have a savings account that I stashed enough cash in to hopefully last their entire lives.

If I could do everything over again, when they were kittens, wish I had set up an investment account ("HSA for kitties", but not tax advantages) to cover their costs. Or got pet insurance when they were kittens. But when they are adults, I think insurance may not be that practical and paying on own is less frustrating than trying to chase down receipts from Vets.

Hope your dog makes a speedy recovery.

 

[retire to nature]

I have embrace insurance. I am fine with them. I fed my two dogs homecooked food, so they were healthy. and I thought pet insurance was wasteful. but my dog started seizure so I had to find one with accepting preexisting and old age. I got them when they were 11yr and 10yr. I wrote about a post that I had to appeal the case, and I won. So actually i could lose. I didnt mind if I pay my own either. But if ppl are short on money, then it is risky because vet bill can be easily going up to 5 figure. But I see many ppl wouldnt know if insurance company reject it. my dog case is very complicated. most of dog would have died, but since I fed my dog, he is surviving. but he developed many other issues, so insurance is helpful. And my another dog got accidently sick, and so it was helpful to her too. I am not so favor of insurance system in general, but it was very beneficial to my cases. Embrace was pretty ok to handle to reimburse. Vets dont bill. I have upload receipts, but it is pretty easy.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I have Healthy Paws pet insurance that I am happy with. The woman that gave me my 2 dogs showed me her receipts when her dogs were sick and she collected more than she paid in. They pay within 10 days. I got it because being divorced my income is much lower so it protects my savings. My dogs haven’t used it much but may as they age. Vets here are extremely expensive.

 

[pacergal]

We have never purchased specific pet insurance, however, with our last pup, we did enroll in a "wellness plan" at the vets. It saved us a phenomenal amount of money over time. His yearly physical exam, all labs, shots, his yearly dental exam and tartar removal were free. Any illness visit or medications were heavily discounted, with discounts on any other services/goods (prescription foods, etc).
It was a great deal, as he turned out to be a very expensive dog over the years. But well worth the money.
Still miss him.

 

[MrsHaloFIRE]

Healthy paws. Doesnt cover routine exams fees and tgeres a deductible and cost share but it pays. You scan and send receipts via app.


Lemonade is another one. My mom uses it she says it pays

 

[Markola]

I asked my vet today and they sent me this tool to figure out what we need. https://www.pet-insurance-university.com/index.html

I walked through it and decided to self insure.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Healthy paws. Doesnt cover routine exams fees and tgeres a deductible and cost share but it pays. You scan and send receipts via app.


Lemonade is another one. My mom uses it she says it pays

I actually haven’t found any company that pays for anything routine including dentals. If they did they wouldn’t make any money.

 

[retire to nature]

I actually haven’t found any company that pays for anything routine including dentals. If they did they wouldn’t make any money.

Embrace do but it is optional to buy. Wellness part. I only have accident and illness.

 

[ncbill]

Maybe if I had a dog but with a cat there seems less that is fixable.

And cats are very good at hiding medical issues even when seriously ill.

 

[eytonxav]

Thanks for the input. I do not need the insurance for normal vet visits for shots and annual checkup. After this bladder obstruction something like that could happen again or possibly something even worse, so just looking that would cover 80% or more surgeries/emergency treatments.

 

[retire to nature]

Thanks for the input. I do not need the insurance for normal vet visits for shots and annual checkup. After this bladder obstruction something like that could happen again or possibly something even worse, so just looking that would cover 80% or more surgeries/emergency treatments.

But if there is preexisting condition and it developed from it what you are saying it like surgeries/emergency tx from bladder obstruction, they wont reimburse. I had my dog for radiation tx, and all mri and ct. Since my dog had preexisting of seizure, brain tumor was not covered. but he had thyroid tumor found accidently, so I did all tx and I claimed thyroid ca. so i got reimbursed. but without it, I had to pay. But after radiation tx, he had to get on steroid, and he caused liver issue, then it is covered without questions.

 

[eytonxav]

But if there is preexisting condition and it developed from it what you are saying it like surgeries/emergency tx from bladder obstruction, they wont reimburse. I had my dog for radiation tx, and all mri and ct. Since my dog had preexisting of seizure, brain tumor was not covered. but he had thyroid tumor found accidently, so I did all tx and I claimed thyroid ca. so i got reimbursed. but without it, I had to pay. But after radiation tx, he had to get on steroid, and he caused liver issue, then it is covered without questions.

I'd have to look into to that, as dog developed bladder stones presumably due to diet, but if the diet is changed to a vet recommended one, I wonder if it is still considered a pre-existing condition and not reimbursable if there was a reoccurrence down the road.

 

[Scuba]

I had Healthy Paws, but as my dog got older and had more issues, the premium costs went up astronomically. Decided to self insure.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I pay 89/month for a 6 and 9 year old dogs. To keep the premiums lower I switched to a 500 deductible and 70% payments on the older dog. She has developed a heart condition.

 

[eytonxav]

I pay 89/month for a 6 and 9 year old dogs. To keep the premiums lower I switched to a 500 deductible and 70% payments on the older dog. She has developed a heart condition.

It seems pricing follows medical insurance practices for humans, except no Obamacare.

 

[Teacher Terry]

When I first obtained the pet insurance I didn’t realize it could go up.