Pet Insurance... Is it worth it?

[Stacy Holden]

I've been shopping around pet insurances lately searching for the right option for proper but affordable pet care. I looked into a couple- VPI, PurinaPetcare, Trupanion... I'm not sure is it worth it? What about Petassure?

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

Pet insurance is definitely worth it, is PetPlan available in your area?  I read a thread in a discussion where a Vet said to an owner if you have to think about whether you can afford Pet Insurance then you can't afford Vets fees.  Regular shots etc are affordable but what if your dog eats something and gets an obstruction and has to have emergency surgery for example. Or gets a long term illness requiring expensive meds? What would you do?  I know people who have had to take out large loans to pay for these things and others who had no choice but to have their pets put to sleep,  You need whole life cover. This covers an illness for life if it should occur.  Best of luck

[Ellen Patrick]

Consumers Union, NY Times and almost everything else I've read says pet insurance isn't a great idea. I did find better reviews from Petassure though. You should check them out they're supposed to be cheaper and will cover any pet.

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

For us the peace of mind alone is worth it! We use PetPlan.

[Leslie, Dexter & Kirby]

We just struggled with our renewal this year.  Dex just had ACL surgery and we wondered if we should go for more coverage.  In the end we stayed with our very very basic VPI plan that costs very little and would cover just an emergency (like ~30% of an ACL surgery).  We did the cost analysis to upgrade and it just didn't make sense with 2 dogs. 

If we had 1 dog we would definitely look at PetPlan first.  With 2 of them it just costs so much.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

It is worth it to me, for peace of mind.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

We have PetPlan which covers emergency issues and not routine care such as vaccinations or dental cleanings, etc.  The cost of vet care has really risen over the years partly due to better yet more expensive diagnostic and treatment options. If your dog encounters a life threatening situation your insurance will pay for itself very quickly. I don't want to find myself in a position where money is the determining factor as to whether or not my doodle lives or dies. That is why I carry insurance for her.

I believe that PetPlan still has a 5 percent discount for on line registration and also a 5 percent discount if you mention the Doodle Messenger,

Here is a link explaining the last discount:

http://doodlemessenger.webs.com/

[Joe R.]

We went with PetPlan also. Mainly for the peace of mind like others here said. Since we don't have any human kids at home anymore, we don't have that expense to worry about. The only things with PetPlan is you pay the deductible on every claim. Also they would only give one discount. I tried getting both the on-line registration and multi-dog discounts, but they would only give one or the other. But I liked the reviews it got from others here on DK when it came to the claim process. Though I hope to never to have to use it.  

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

I talked about doing this the entire 1st year we had our girls.  Last year when I saw little Beemer and his double hip dysplaysia surgeries at over $8,000 I got my butt busy and got some insurance.  As soon as I hit "send" with my on line order, I felt such relief.  I think for me it was a matter of even if I had $20,000 sitting in the bank, would I want to have to spend it in this way?  Would I, yes, of course, but I wouldn't want to if I could find another way.  For me, Insurance was the answer.  We went with PetPlan as well, and just did our 2nd year renewal and the costs did go up.  I'm not sure if there will be a point at which it becomes too expensive and worth the gamble, but for now it is worth it.

[Diana Erhart]

Like you Stacy, I have been looking at Pet Insurance too.  I have heard all of the good comments on Pet Plan here and have narrowed it down to either Pet Plan or Embrace.  Does anyone have experience with Embrace that they could comment on their service?

[Camilla and Darwin]

Yes, it's worth it! We have PetPlan and so far it's been great.

[Stacy Holden]

Thanx all you guys- Ellen, I was very impressed with petassure and a good friend of mine who has four pets has a membership, she says she saved alot of money with them on vet bills already. You guys should check it out http://www.petassure.com/ . All the other ones are expensive and don't seem worth it unless you're unfortunate to have major vet bills that they'll cover.

[Heather & Brinkley]

I haven't purchased yet but know that I need to... it's just all so confusing.  I don't know which one is good and how much coverage would be worth it.  Every time I make the calls I get overwhelmed... which I know isn't a good reason NOT to have it.  :)