pet insurance (yay or nay)

[Nadia]

I am sure this topic has been brought up many times before but I figured I would bring it up again...LOL

I was thinking that it may be a good idea to get pet insurance.  My husband on the other hand thinks its a waste! I just keep thinking that anything could happen and be a huge financial burden.  I figured that if we have insurance  it can help monetarily in case of an emergency.

I try and say that we have insurance for our kids and ourselves but he says "he's a dog"!

what are your thoughts, suggestions, opinions???

 

thanks a bunch :)

[Donna Bay & Buzz]

I wonder why a couple of weeks??? I also signed up to Pet Plan yesterday and Bay's coverage starts today!  We got the "Gold Plan" (I think...the highest one) Feeling so much better now.  So glad this post got me off my butt to do it!

[Nadia]

I did not get pet plan....I have vpi but most plans (from what I was told) if you pay 2 months in advance they are covered in about a week or so. We did not choose that option. We went thru my husbands job who offers a discount and directly takes payment from his pay check.
I am too feeling better!!!! My husband not so much as he still thinks its a waste but he knows better than to go against me....lol

[Anita - Thunder, Noodle, Sparky]

I am researching Pet Plan too.....

• Petplan policies are effective at 12:01am (EST) the day after enrollment. There is a 24-hour waiting period for accidents, a 14-day waiting period for illnesses and a six (6)-month exclusion for problems associated with cruciates and patellas (knees).

On a side note, for the knees, within 30 days if you get a certificate of good knees from your vet, the 6 moht waiting period is waived. Please confirm this with Pet Plan.

[Camilla and Darwin]

Great news!

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

Glad you got it!  we have VPI- have not had to use it but a co-worker has it and they pay promptly, according to him

[Traci -Bexter & Maggie]

YES!!!!  Please get it.  Smartest thing I ever did.  Of course, you might not need it if you have $5,000-$10,000 set aside for a pet emergency.  My husband thought it was stupid when I got it for ours, but ask him now.  He's a FAN! We paid $200 for Bexter to get part of a sock removed rather than the $2,000 it cost.  Pet Plan and some others I think lets you determine your deductible and percentages covered.  You could just set your deductible pretty high just in case something major comes up & that way your annual fee won't be much.

[Anita - Thunder, Noodle, Sparky]

The deductible is per incident, not per year. I am trying to figure out which deductible makes more sense.

[Nadia]

I know VPI is per year

[Anita - Thunder, Noodle, Sparky]

Good to know. 

[jenn D]

Thank you for bringing back this thread.

[Anita - Thunder, Noodle, Sparky]

This is so confusing - I must admit! I know Petplan is who I am going to go with, but I am wondering for those of you with insurance, how often do you make a claim and how often do you think something will be covered and it isn't. Also, is the office visit for the illness or accident covered under the plan, or just the testing and treatment? 

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Anita, I recently filed my first claim with Petplan for my cat Amber. She spent one night in the ER over Labor Day weekend (lots of testing) and then had 3 followup office calls with her regular vet in the following weeks. Only one office call required treatment (sub-q fluids).  I waited until she was doing well and submitted all the paperwork  to Petplan at one time. Petplan covered everything including the office visits. Nothing was excluded. One thing though. and I was aware of this so it wasn't a surprise, the copay for emergency room visits is 80% even if your policy has a 90% copay (which mine does). So you do end up paying more for an ER visit.  Her total bill was around $1300 and Petplan reimbursed around $900 after deductible and copay ( I have a $200 deductible and 90% copay for her). I was pleased with their service and how quickly they processed the claim.