Anyone have pet insurance?

[david594]

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Just wonder if any of the other vet students out there have pet insurance on their own personal animals?

I currently have a job with a pretty decent employee discount, but I will probably be loosing that in a couple months when I start clinics. Our teaching hospital has a small discount, but not enough to turn me into the "do everything indicated!" client I think we all wish we could be. I only have a single cat, so I'm really tempted to get a plan for her while I'm in clinics. Seems I can get decent coverage with a slightly higher deductible for around $17 a month.

Any other vet students decide to go with pet insurance on their own animals?

 

[cuitlamiztli]

Both of my animals are insured through Petplan; my 8yo dog's premium is ~$25/mo while my 2yo cat's is ~$8/mo. The biggest reason I got them insured was so I could be the "do everything indicated" client you mentioned if either of them were to have a medical crisis. I am very glad my animals are insured and that I can make decisions on their care without cost being the deciding factor.

 

[bunnity]

My and my girlfriend's dog has PetPlan. It's $20 a month (she is 3 years old and mixed breed). They were pretty easy to work with when filing a claim for an emergency visit, although they want you to fax in all medical history for the past two years which can be hard to gather up. They paid with no problem though and I am so glad we had the insurance. I definitely recommend them.

One caveat is that most insurances including mine want you to pay up front and then be reimbursed so it doesn't solve a cash flow problem exactly.

 

[RadRadTerp]

I thought about getting health insurance for my dog, but he's a Boxer and will be prone to a bajillion things as he gets older, so I just fear that I'll have to pay for everything anyways, as I've seen pet insurance companies refuse to cover "pre-existing conditions" at clinics where I've worked.

 

[dyachei]

I thought about getting health insurance for my dog, but he's a Boxer and will be prone to a bajillion things as he gets older, so I just fear that I'll have to pay for everything anyways, as I've seen pet insurance companies refuse to cover "pre-existing conditions" at clinics where I've worked.

Definitely look over their list of conditions they won't cover - I know VPI has one somewhere and I'm sure the others do, too. There are a lot of things they are calling pre-existing conditions based on genetics, so make sure to check into it before you buy into it.

 

[OneDay81]

RadRad- That's why you get it before the conditions arise. Make sure you check to see if the insurance covers hereditary diseases (one of the reasons I went for PetPlan when I got my lab- they will cover the common joint and eye problems labs are prone to)

 

[cowgirla]

I just got a PetPlan quote for my dog (4 yr old, purebred, FS) and it was over $35 a month, even with the microchip/vet discounts.
WTF? She's not even a breed that's prone to lots of problems....I would probably go for it if I could get hers down <$20, since the quote for my other dog (3 yr, mutt, MN) was only like $12 a month.
And that's with the highest deductible and the lowest % reimbursement.

 

[Bill59]

I send clients here when they ask about insurance:
http://www.pet-insurance-university.com/

 

[CalliopeDVM]

You could self-insure - set aside the premium amount every month in a special savings account earmarked just for your pet's medical care. I know it doesn't earn a lot of interest, but it means that you're not at their mercy if the insurance company suddenly decides to change their rules or make it really difficult to collect.

 

[david594]

I ended up signing with a plan from Petplan for my cat. For $10 a month I have a $200 deductible per incident, 100% coverage for non-specialty care, 80% on the speciality stuff, and an $8000 yearly limit. For $120 a year, I'm pretty happy with the peace of mind it buys me.

"Self Insuring" isn't really an option in my case, because setting aside $10(the cost of the plan), $20, or even $50 a month would never put the $2000-4000+ into my bank account in the time frame that I am worried about to cover a major medical expense if it were to ever arrise. Granted I am really only worried about the next 18 months while I'm unemployed, on clinics, and living off student loans.

 

[libster06]

I thought about getting health insurance for my dog, but he's a Boxer and will be prone to a bajillion things as he gets older, so I just fear that I'll have to pay for everything anyways, as I've seen pet insurance companies refuse to cover "pre-existing conditions" at clinics where I've worked.

Pre-existing condition means the dog is affected at the time you apply for the insurance. All breeds are pre-disposed to things but that doesn't mean they won't cover you just for having a Boxer who could potentially get X, Y or Z. If anything, I would definitely get the insurance now before the dog gets anything, especially given that it's a Boxer. They're great, but as you said, they do have quite a few more (costly) pre-dispositions than a lot of other breeds. But if/when you do, as the others said, also read the fine print of ailments that are or aren't covered.

 

[bunnity]

Pre-existing condition means the dog is affected at the time you apply for the insurance. All breeds are pre-disposed to things but that doesn't mean they won't cover you just for having a Boxer who could potentially get X, Y or Z. If anything, I would definitely get the insurance now before the dog gets anything, especially given that it's a Boxer. They're great, but as you said, they do have quite a few more (costly) pre-dispositions than a lot of other breeds. But if/when you do, as the others said, also read the fine print of ailments that are or aren't covered.

Exactly; some insurances don't cover "congenital or genetic" diseases which is a huge cop-out, but some (like PetPlan) do cover them, so it's better to get the insurance when the dog is younger and hasn't had any problems yet.