Why Get Pet Insurance?

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

I decided to post this in the Puppy Madness group because I felt that is the first place that the majority of our new members, as well as the majority of our 1st time dog owners would spend a lot of time learning about the new member of their household.  When we first got our girls in April of 08 I didn't think too much about Pet Insurance.  However, the more I read about health issues here on DK and saw the amount of money it could cost me I started thinking about it.  Because we had two puppies that played really hard it wasn't long before we started to see that in the blink of an eye we could have a serious injury.  Just running through the yard and stepping in a hole could result in a broken leg ... you get the picture.  So, I started looking into different insurance and how much it would cost me.  I wasn't interested in something that was going to pay for the routine things because I knew up front I had to pay for those things and was ok with that.  It was the broken leg or hip dysplasia that was worrying me.  We took out our policy in March of '10 when the girls were two years old.  It was one of those things always on the list of things to do that just never got done.  Then I read a story here about an owner with some serious Vet bills and I stopped what I was doing, started researching insurance and did not stop until I clicked the complete to purchase policy button.  What a relief.  The girls were now covered and I didn't have to worry about it any longer.  So, I'm here today because we have just used our insurance for the first time.  As I was on the site today looking at our claim status I noticed that across the bottom of the screen they show the claims that have been paid recently.  Here is just a sampling:  $829.31, $500.20, $1579.67, $1207.20, $816.61, $1133.73, $1092.00, $629.12, $671.30, $5088.21, $1,000.00, $1,477.30, $3,186.70.  Those numbers in many cases are only a portion of the original charges when you consider deductibles and things like that.  However, a deductible is better than the whole amount.  Those are the claims that they indicate they paid yesterday.  They were for everything from vomiting to tumors to a broken tooth to CCL tear to cancer.  The days of $50 Vet bills are a thing of the past.  The good news is they can save so many of our beloved Pets now that they couldn't in the past, but it comes at a price.  If you don't have this kind of change sitting around that you would like to hand over to your Vet, I urge each of you to consider stopping and investigating Pet Insurance now.  Don't wait until it is too late.  Once a note is made in your Doodles file, it is too late.  Please, stop and think about what you would do if your puppy got seriously sick and the Vet told you it was going to cost $3000 to save them?  Could you write a check?

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

yes, but even with Pet Insurance you need to be able to pay up front and wait a while for reimbursement. I think it's essential that every pet owner should have an emergency fund set aside. Easier said than done, but I'm slowly building mine up for my doodles and the kitty.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Totally agree, good point to mention.  I thought I was going to float my bill on my American Express card until the check came from the insurance as I seemed to remember everyone saying they paid fairly quickly.  Unfortunately, it didn't work that way and I had to take some of the money from savings.  Even with the insurance though I still had to pay a little over $600 out of pocket, so you do still need that savings saved up along with your insurance.  Sherri's comments also got me to thinking that this is probably a good discussion to have with your vet up front.  Know what all options are available in an emergency, have a plan etc.  Don't wait until you have a situation such as Barbara's above to try and think it all through. 

[Lauren & Buddy]

I don't know about other insurers, but I can tell you that Healthy Paws pays up right away! I was really amazed by the speediness of their payment. And they even send me an email checking up on Buddy! But, we still had to pay up front...so yes, it's good to remember that we need a little saving to make sure we can take care of our little ones right away.

[Puppy Love]

Will I be required to pay vet bill up front?  Then wait for reimbursement?  What if its thousands of dollars?  Is there any pet insurance company out there that will pay the bill directly to the Vet? 

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

To my knowledge you have to pay up front with all of them, but I'm not positive about that.  I know with Pet Plan you do and then submit your receipts.  You would be amazed at how quickly a vet bill can end up being several thousands of dollars.  Hopefully if someone is aware of a policy that pays the vet directly they will chime in here, but I don't know of one.