PetPlan rates are outrageous!!

[Christine & Camus]

I am, in part, venting and also wondering what others are experiencing with PetPlan renewals.

In 2011 my policy for Camus was $171.50, in 2012 it went to $249.90 and the renewal letter for 2013 indicates it will be $326.92.  That amounts to a 90% increase over the 2011 policy, which I think is outrageous.  I have not filed a claim for ~ a year and they do not cover his allergies because his vet made a notation in his chart before I signed up with PetPlan that he thought his first ear infection might be due to allergies.  I sent an email to them indicating that unless the policy is renewed at a reasonable rate I am going to cancel coverage.

Is anyone else experiencing similar policy increases?    

[Stella]

Check what your coverage is with Trupanion. Some of their policies don't cover rehabilitation such as physio, chiro etc.

[Robin and Libby Louise]

I guess this is one of those instances in which I, as the Godmother, don't have the cost of Libby's insurance, and so can't really speak from personal financial experience.  But when I do have my own dog, I will also have insurance.  Libby's emergency surgery when she was only a year old cost approximately $7,000.  The insurance, if I recall correctly, paid about 2/3 of that amount.  Still cost Libby's mom quite a bit, but $2,500 is a far cry from $7,000.  We were at University of Pennsylvania's emergency room, and there were so many owners who just didn't have the money to pay for their pet's care.  It was heart wrenching to watch.  I also would not want to be in a situation where I couldn't help my pet because of the cost, but I know it happens to wonderful people and their babies all the time.  Sometimes the cost of the insurance is just prohibitive depending on what other stuff life happens to be handing you at the time. 

[Camilla and Darwin]

I think that if you have the money to set aside and the discipline to leave it alone, then it could be a good option for those who don't want to pay for insurance.

[Bonnie and Kona]

I think what you are doing is what all of us "should" do for emergencies of any kind. I just know that I am not as disciplined and therefore appreciate the option of pet insurance. I do applaud you though for doing this well. Strong work, Sandy! I have no doubt that should an expensive emergency arise you will have the funds to cover whatever your darling doodles need with this system.

[Diana Erhart]

I applaud you for what you are doing!  I wish I could be that disciplined.  But I know that I can't.  So I go with the insurance.  I would just caution everyone to try to make the best decision you can on a pet insurance company the first time around.  Because once you get too far along with your baby all those things in his/her record become pre-existing conditions.  Make sure to read the fine print carefully.  When you self-insure you don't have to worry about that!

[Robin and Libby Louise]

I think it's great that you can do that, I don't think I have that kind of discipline.  And everyone has to do what is best for themselves in their own situation.  I am fairly certain that, to a person, everyone on this site would certainly go the distance for their babies. 

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

This is a great idea, and good for you to be able to do that. I have the discipline, it's the extra $10.000 that I think I could possibly need that is hard to come up with. I do have a little separate saving account for the dogs, actually set up when we redid our will, so that the person taking them has funds to help provide for their care, but it's only increased by $500 a yr. it's just so scary thinking of all the things that can go wrong and cost thousands of dollars. I'm with you though, I hope none of us really has to use either their funds or insurance.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

This is exactly the problem, even for those who do have the discipline and the money to put aside. How long would it take to have even $3000 in that account? That's the cost of a surgery to remove a swallowed sock, and i think it's the cost of treating one bout of severe pancreatitis, which can happen to any dog at any time. So can bloat, which is also an emergency and costs thousands to treat. And emergency disc surgery is $6000...my neighbors had to do this for their lab, she ruptured a disc and was paralyzed, it was do the surgery or euthanize her. Diagnostics for JD's IBD were $4500, and it was not a situation where we could put it off or wait and see, he was literally starving to death. If you can put aside a chunk of money and add to it every month, that would be great. But starting from scratch, it would be difficult to accumulate the funds required in an emergency situation. 

[Camilla and Darwin]

Good points Karen.

[Donna, Emma, Bender & Busby]

A few years ago, we had VPI insurance, mainly because we had just gotten our first Doodle, Max, and VPI was offered through my husband's employer.  We subsequently adopted Emma and added her to the plan.  We dropped VPI after Emma needed 5 staples (of course at the emergency vet!) as a result of being attacked by another dog and out of the $600, VPI paid only $90.  Since then, we have paid all vet expenses out of pocket.  However, since Emma is now 6 and Bender is 5, I started to get very nervous that they would need extensive care that we couldn't afford.  We chose Embrace and also took the Routine Coverage as well as the accident and illness because it will cover heartworm and flea & tick meds as well as Emma's regular anal gland (YUK!) appointments (which are considered well care).  The premium is pretty steep (1200 per year) for the two of them, but my goal is never having to be in the position of NOT being able to consider a medical option because of the cost.  I may not be able to do much, but I don't want money to be the deciding factor.  I truly envy the people who can (and will) religiously put funds aside, but I'm nowhere NEAR that disciplined.  I'm hoping that since my son is going off to college in two weeks, maybe I'll have more funds available (since I won't have him to budget in the food bill!).

[Jess & Stewart]

I have a general question for everyone about Pet Plan. I tried to get a quote for insurance from
their website but it was telling me my dog's birthday needed to be at least 6 months ago. (Just to see what the rates were, I originally said he had been born in May). I just wanted to research it before I get my dog & I know you all advocate for insurance, but is there a reason I wouldn't be able to get insurance when the puppy first comes home? I figured I'd do that to make sure I'd have it!

Also, do many of you have insurance that covers vaccines & well visits, in addition to anything else? I do like that Pet Plan seems to cover everything outside of those! Regarding pre existing conditions, hypothetically, if my dog never had anything wrong before getting the insurance, then I'm assuming it works like regular insurance & anything that comes up would be covered, right? I know some pre existing conditions like giardia, can be covered if they have only happened once since they're common.

[Jess & Stewart]

Update! That must have been a fluke, it said it needed to be at least 6 weeks old. I put in GD & it's $34 a month for the highest plan! That's more than I pay for myself (I admit I have very good insurance through work!) but still as much as I'll love my dog I'm not sure I want to pay more than I do for me! Interestingly though, having a poodle mix ($37) or a retriever mix ($40) was more expensive!