Pet Insurance

[Caroline Thompson]

Is pet insurance worth it? If so, which provider is the best value?

Thanks!

[Amy and Annabelle]

If you have the funds to pay for a vet bill that can be in the thousands of dollars, then you probably don't need it. If faced with a big vet bill, you want to be thinking of getting your pet healthy, not how you're going to pay for it. There are a lot of posts here on DK, just type in pet insurance in the search and they will come up. They are a good read. I myself have Healthy Paws, but have never had to use it. I have it for peace of mind if something catastrophic happened.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

I agree ... there are many many discussions here if you do a search.  Many have it many are very against it.  It has saved my butt on many occasions.  It gets more expensive as they get older and I'm guessing at some point will get too expensive, but we shall see.  Some of the more popular on here are Healthy Paws, PetPlan, Trupanion ... It really just depends on what you want.  You can sort of shop and choose your own deductible and what % you want it to refund.  Some pay yearly exams, some don't.  Those are obviously more expensive.  I personally feel like when I got a dog I knew I had those yearly expenses.  It is the unexpected that I was concerned about.

[Bonnie and Kona]

I am grateful we have it even though our dogs have not have major accidents or illnesses. They have had enough to make it worth it for us. I have Pet Plan for my two doodles. I fully understand that someone would do well to put the money aside monthly to use only for emergency pet expenses but this is better for the way we function. 

[Amy and Annabelle]

If you decide to get it, do it asap because they don't cover pre-existing conditions. If your pup ends up with a chronic disease that requires expensive meds, then you want it to be diagnosed after your insurance is all set. Usually there is a 2 week period after you sign up before you are covered. Some of them have annual caps on what they will pay out, some don't. Most of them give you some kind of discount for things like Costco member, Military, Doodle Kisses etc.

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

I am one of the few who had insurance for 8 years and 6 years for my two. I just recently dropped it as I have paid out thousands more over the years than I hope I ever need to get back and just put $5000 aside.  Both of mine have only used it for one or two claims and I got so little back after deductible that it was not worth it.   We had Pet Plan and they did pay my claims quickly and have always had good customer service. 

My two being older makes my premiums pretty steep and the $1500-1800 a year will go into their emergency fund every year now instead.   We also are very sure that should either of them have a life threatening chronic illness like cancer, that we would not treat so that scare isn't valid for us, but that's an individual choice.  I still think its a good idea for a young dog though. 

[Marie and Hoka]

YES! YES! YES! At 9 months Hoka had $11,000 of bills after eating a toy. He very nearly died and we are so lucky we had the insurance. We have Healthy Paws and they are wonderful to work with.