Opinions/advice regarding pet insurance?

[alygar]

Hi everyone, in my veterinary experience thus far I haven't been too exposed to pet insurance and haven't had the opportunity to form an informed opinion on it. I was wondering the general consensus on pet insurance-- should clients get it if they can? Is it cost effective long term, even for breeds with fewer predisposed health issues?

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[JaynaAli]

I have it and will never be without it, personally. I usually ask people to think about what they’d spend on their pet. One illness requiring diagnostics and hospitalization or major surgery can easily cost 3-5k...do you have that in the bank? Some people can set money aside in a bank account, not touch it and maybe don’t need the insurance. But I like that I can spend $55/month and know that 90% of everything I would want to do will be reimbursed. Which brings me to my next point...the model for pet insurance is different than human medicine. In vet med, the owner is still usually required to pay in full at the time of service (there are rare exceptions), so you need to have money in savings, credit available on a credit card, apply for care credit, or something similar until the bill is reimbursed by insurance. Often, the people who would benefit from insurance most don’t have the financial resources to pay and wait up to a month for reimbursement.

I had insurance on my last dog that I got when he was 7. We had it 4 years. I paid about $2500 in premiums but they paid me over $9,000 in claims. For my current puppy I haven’t made a claim yet, but he’s just 6 months old...the math doesn’t work out as well for him yet but all it takes is one accident or chronic disease to make it worth it. Insurance companies are in it to make money so the math may not work out for everyone, but I pay now even while he’s healthy because once you have a preexisting condition, it’ll never be able to be covered. If you’re the type of person who wouldn’t ever pursue a surgery or chemo or a hospitalization then maybe it’s not worth it. But I want to do those things and the freedom to be able to approve a treatment plan without worrying about the cost is so nice. Once you actually need insurance, it’s usually too late to get it.

 

[SkiOtter]

I have it and I love it. It gives me piece of mind that if anything were to happen to my dog I’d be able to get her necessary treatment, especially while in school.
My old family pets never had it and between the three of them over 16 years, they had an MRI, bladder stone surgery, heart disease, an insulinoma, soft tissue sarcoma (with metronomic chemo), pneumonia (x2), kidney disease (x2), a broken leg, weird neuro issues that we couldn’t figure out, and a concussion. And that’s just all he major stuff I remember. Thankfully, my parents were able to afford that all but it would’ve been much easier and less of a stressor to not have to pay out of pocket for all of that and get reimbursed from an insurance company.

 

[SocialStigma]

100% always recommend that clients get it. I have it for my dog, even though I'm a specialist (with the ability to perform surgeries at cost) and receive a significant employee discount at my ER/referral clinic. I am fortunate that I can afford to spend thousands of dollars for surgery or extensive diagnostics/hospitalization if needed, but I'd rather not take money out of my savings funds for a house, wedding, etc and just have insurance cover it.

 

[finnickthedog]

I feel it has value for some people but not necessarily for all pet owners.

I have no plans on getting insurance for my own pets and it's largely because I don't feel like the cost/benefit pans out as well when you have more pets. Insuring all of my pets would cost me too much to be worth it and insuring only some of them makes no sense. I think I'd be better off just putting money in savings than paying it to an insurance company.

If I only had one or two pets? Yeah, I might get pet insurance.

 

[Minnerbelle]

For your average client, yes. Absolutely! Those who could afford wellness care, and the initial round of labwork and ultrasound on their sick pet without a problem, but would be financially unable to do the $5000 surgery or $10,000 trauma care even though they would absolutely love to.

For the very low income client or those D/F clients who are “rabies only ma’am” and typically takes a looooot of convincing with a very sick pet to spend $150 to do some bloodwork only to do nothing about it (aka, in the lifetime of the pet, maybe spent <$1000 on vet care total), not worth it. They’ll most definitely spend more in premiums that would have been better spent on something else. And just the deductibles and copays will be more than they ever want to spend even if insurance covers 90% of the rest.

For me personally, it’s a tough one. I collect animals with pre-existing conditions so insurance doesn’t pay **** for a lot of their needs, and we could afford a $5000 bill every few years if needed. It would be for the catastrophic emergency/hospitalization back to back kind of situation. So every time I think I’m going to enroll them for the highest deductible just for peace of mind. But between 4 relatively healthy cats (none of whom I consider my heart cat... but push comes to shove I would still do anything for them) it would be like $100/month and they’re currently young so that premium is only going to go up each year. So a minimum of $1200 per year that keeps going up with a deductible of $1000 per condition. Where their pre-existing conditions make insurance every excuse to deny coverage for things they really should be paying for. That money could very easily cover whatever vet bills they’ll need between all of them at the specialty level, which is all the coverage I need. Other than surgery, these cats are ones that will NOT want onco care. They would be miserable. So while I still toy with the idea, I just have never been able to justify it. If they were dogs, esp puppy that I had without a ton of pre existing conditions, or a breed that I know will have predictable expensive issues, then yes I totally would.

 

[Trilt]

I had insurance on my cats the entire time I was in school. It wasn't super expensive and while I could have shuffled finances around and taken out extra loans in case of a big emergency, the piece of mind I got from knowing I'd be able to say "yes" to the ER if anything happened was well worth it.

They don't have insurance nowadays since I can manage the majority of things myself and pay for more extensive stuff out of pocket, but it's definitely still something I try to work into puppy/kitten visit conversations.

 

[supershorty]

I just recently got insurance on both of my cats. I'd been saying that the orange one was an idiot and was going to make me regret NOT having insurance, and she did... so now she's not covered for foreign bodies but everything else for both of them is 90% covered. It's a high deductible, but it gives me a lot of comfort knowing that I'll be reimbursed for the next time one of them does something stupid.

 

[Doctor-S]

I have carried a pet insurance policy for my cat ever since I adopted my cat (when she was around 10-12 months old).

The pet insurance policy has already paid for itself many times over (90% reimbursement) and the yearly premium is reasonable and affordable.

I like it ... and all of my cat's veterinarians like it!

 

[DVMDream]

I would say overwhelmingly--- yes. Sure, there are going to be those that spend more in premiums over the lifetime of the pet than they receive from the insurance, but it will only take 1 acute severe illness, 1 chronic disease or 1 accident/injury to flip that to the insurance paying out more than you put in, with the exception of those cases where the pet passes away suddenly and unexpectedly.

The other thing to consider is that pet insurance comes in a large variety of flavors: some just cover illness/accident and some cover wellness/illness/accidents/everything. None cover pre-existing conditions and some are very specific on what they will cover for certain dog breeds so you need to really carefully read all the fine print on them when deciding what is best for your pet.

My mom currently has a plan that covers wellness/accident/injury/everything at 90% reimbursement for her cat. Her cat is two years old, it has already paid her more than she has paid in. It covers all wellness/vaccines, it covered her to get the cat spayed (and declawed which I don't agree on but that is a different soapbox), it covered the eye issues that kitty had for a couple months, and most recently it covered a dental cleaning for her. She has definitely gotten more out of the insurance than she has input. And, quite honestly, she wouldn't be able to do near as much without the insurance. Kitty is going to see a vet behaviorist even and I can say for certain that would not happen if she did not have the insurance for her.

I thought about getting some insurance for my older kitty but with her current underlying health issues, so many things would be considered pre-existing and would not be covered. I have a savings account instead for her, however, it would have been REALLY REALLY nice to have been reimbursed 90% of her $2k dental/biopsy procedure a few months ago. It isn't that I didn't have $2k for that, I did and I would spend it again in a heart beat but who would decline getting back $1800 of that? Even if you have the savings account and can afford treatment out of pocket, it would still be nice to get some of that money back with pet insurance.

Plus, with pet insurance you have to have the funds up front anyway. Whether it be a savings account or a credit card that you just plan to pay off immediately once you get the reimbursement. So, for people who can't have a credit card or a savings account with money to pay the initial bill, it might not be beneficial. There is one exception to this: Trupanion has a program set up with VCA where they can "pre-approve" something and submit the money directly to the vet. However, this is one insurance company, one type of plan and with only certain veterinary clinics so insanely limited. Personally, I don't like Trupanion's set up and I will keep my opinions on VCA to myself (nothing to do with the vets just the corporation).

 

[DVMDream]

My next cats will 100% have pet insurance at 90% reimbursement including both wellness and accident/injury since I am now no longer in clinical medicine, I have to rely on fellow colleagues to provide care (wellness and ill care) to my cat, which is fine, I prefer it this way since I hate doing anything medical with my own pet.

 

[KCgophervet]

I did the thing where you open a separate savings account and put the money you would be spending on your monthly premiums into it and then I have that fund for emergency care. Eventually it just turned into another savings account but honestly the insurance thing never felt that appealing to me based on the way it functions. If I have the money in the bank to pay for it then fine and dandy, and if I don't well insurance only operates on reimbursement anyway so I'm SOL. I feel like it worked better for me to do it that way but then you have a lot of people who swear by insurance so your mileage may vary. I will say I also signed up for the wellness plan for my dog at the vet school when I was in vet school because it was discounted for students and covered all office visits - that ended up saving me buckets of money when my stupid dog had his GI upset attacks because I only had to pay for the diagnostics rather than all the exam fees as well (think he went in 5x over 2 weeks?).

 

[DVMDream]

The other thing insurance can help with is that even if you don't have $3k in cash/savings lying around, pet insurance makes people more willing to drop that $3k on a credit card, or more willing for a friend/family member to assist/lend money to the pet owner since they know that reimbursement is coming and the vast majority of that money will be back in their pockets within a couple weeks to a month.

So, people are more willing to charge up the credit card or get care credit to cover the cost initially as the insurance will pay them back and they just pay it right off.

 

[JaynaAli]

Yeah I put my bills on my credit card. Usually Nationwide paid out before the CC bill came due, but I do have money in an emergency fund I could use if there was an issue getting reimbursed.

I don’t have wellness coverage despite not being in clinical medicine. I thought it made the premiums too high personally, but I’m in a different situation as a vet because I can purchase preventative medications at cost through a distributor. The first year or so they’d be covering more than I’d pay in because of the neuter and vaccines, but then you’re stuck at that higher rate (Plus the inevitably yearly increases) for the life of the policy. It was $50/month without wellness and over $100/month for my Cairn with wellness...I decided I’d rather pay his vaccines and neuter out of pocket that first year than pay an extra $600/yr the rest of his life. But that’s definitely something where YMMV.

 

[DVMDream]

Yeah I put my bills on my credit card. Usually Nationwide paid out before the CC bill came due, but I do have money in an emergency fund I could use if there was an issue getting reimbursed.

I don’t have wellness coverage despite not being in clinical medicine. I thought it made the premiums too high personally, but I’m in a different situation as a vet because I can purchase preventative medications at cost through a distributor. The first year or so they’d be covering more than I’d pay in because of the neuter and vaccines, but then you’re stuck at that higher rate (Plus the inevitably yearly increases) for the life of the policy. It was $50/month without wellness and over $100/month for my Cairn with wellness...I decided I’d rather pay his vaccines and neuter out of pocket that first year than pay an extra $600/yr the rest of his life. But that’s definitely something where YMMV.

Damn. My mom's monthly with wellness for her cat is less than $50/month.

I know I could order routing things through a distributor, but vaccines come in sets and I won't use them all. Preventatives tend to come in bulk and there is no way I would go through it before it expires.

 

[JaynaAli]

Damn. My mom's monthly with wellness for her cat is less than $50/month.

I know I could order routing things through a distributor, but vaccines come in sets and I won't use them all. Preventatives tend to come in bulk and there is no way I would go through it before it expires.

Difference between cat vs dog, geographic regions, and whatnot I suppose. I’ve never priced it for a cat. My friend had a wellness+injury/illness on a Frenchie and it was over $220/month with Nationwide. She dropped the wellness coverage eventually. I think Winston’s 90% accident/sickness policy was like $55/mo through Nationwide. Murphy’s Trupanion accident/illness policy is like $58 but I have some add on options for things like rehab too.

Midwest Vet Supply will let you order preventatives by the box and even by the dose (edit for the non-vets: once you set up an account and they verify you are a licensed veterinarian, they don’t sell to the public). They don’t even mark it up from the bulk price which is cool. If you want more info feel free to message me. Vaccines are a different story though, I admit that.

 

[SkiOtter]

I use Pets Best and got the wellness plan for this year but they allow you to change your plan yearly so I figured it was worth doing the wellness for her first year with me because I needed to get her spayed and UTD on every vaccine. My wellness plan only covers up to a certain dollar amount for each type of thing ($70 bloodwork/fecal, $30 heartworm test, $150 spay or dental, $65 flea/tick, $30 heartworm prevention, and $55 for rabies and other vaccines, plus a bunch of other stuff) but it was like $300 for the wellness package for the year and you get $535 worth of stuff covered if you get it all, so it was worth it to me. Pets Best was far cheaper than any other plan I could find and still had 90% reimbursement. I think my plan was like $55 a month including wellness, accident/injury, and illness. Next year I won’t get the wellness because I’ll be able to get vaccines, HW, bloodwork, fecal, and preventions free through the school (bless our reps).

 

[DVMDream]

Difference between cat vs dog, geographic regions, and whatnot I suppose. I’ve never priced it for a cat. My friend had a wellness+injury/illness on a Frenchie and it was over $220/month with Nationwide. She dropped the wellness coverage eventually. I think Winston’s 90% accident/sickness policy was like $55/mo through Nationwide. Murphy’s Trupanion accident/illness policy is like $58 but I have some add on options for things like rehab too.

Midwest Vet Supply will let you order preventatives by the box and even by the dose (edit for the non-vets: once you set up an account and they verify you are a licensed veterinarian, they don’t sell to the public). They don’t even mark it up from the bulk price which is cool. If you want more info feel free to message me. Vaccines are a different story though, I admit that.

More reasons to own cats....

 

[Minnerbelle]

More reasons to own cats....

Haha, overall so much cheaper.

omg the people with giant breed dogs who bitch and moan about the cost of medications. I tell them the amount their dog needs could treat 15 cats... so yes a treatment that is reasonably priced for a cat is going to be much more expensive in your 150lb dog...

 

[Trilt]

Haha, overall so much cheaper.

omg the people with giant breed dogs who bitch and moan about the cost of medications. I tell them the amount their dog needs could treat 15 cats... so yes a treatment that is reasonably priced for a cat is going to be much more expensive in your 150lb dog...

Ugh seriously. I'm soooooo very sorry your 170lb (atopic, probably aggressive...) mastiff requires two different heartworm preventions to add up enough. Can I recommend not owning a dog who weighs more than me? Thanks.

 

[Minnerbelle]

Ugh seriously. I'm soooooo very sorry your 170lb (atopic, probably aggressive...) mastiff requires two different heartworm preventions to add up enough. Can I recommend not owning a dog who wears more than me? Thanks.

Haha. Cytopoint, apoquel, atopica . All mega expensive when they’re that big. And no... I can assure you, you do not want to have a PU/PD mastiff, not that I’ll agree to forever steroids on a young dog if the owners aren’t willing to go through other hoops

 

[mmmdreamerz]

Midwest Vet Supply will let you order preventatives by the box and even by the dose (edit for the non-vets: once you set up an account and they verify you are a licensed veterinarian, they don’t sell to the public). They don’t even mark it up from the bulk price which is cool. If you want more info feel free to message me. Vaccines are a different story though, I admit that.

I am noting this for my future brain lol

 

[mmmdreamerz]

Yeah I put my bills on my credit card. Usually Nationwide paid out before the CC bill came due, but I do have money in an emergency fund I could use if there was an issue getting reimbursed.

I don’t have wellness coverage despite not being in clinical medicine. I thought it made the premiums too high personally, but I’m in a different situation as a vet because I can purchase preventative medications at cost through a distributor. The first year or so they’d be covering more than I’d pay in because of the neuter and vaccines, but then you’re stuck at that higher rate (Plus the inevitably yearly increases) for the life of the policy. It was $50/month without wellness and over $100/month for my Cairn with wellness...I decided I’d rather pay his vaccines and neuter out of pocket that first year than pay an extra $600/yr the rest of his life. But that’s definitely something where YMMV.

I approached this very similarly with wellness when I got a puppy. Honestly the wellness add-on never seemed worth it to me and my concern was more over the $$$ unexpected surgery than the wellness care I could plan for.

 

[mmmdreamerz]

I have Embark for my dog. Worth the peace of mind for me.

 

[Minnerbelle]

Also, when speaking to clients about it, I say that pet insurance companies aren’t charitable entities. They’re designed to make profit. So on average, you are going to pay more in premiums than you get back. For every person who says, “my pet insurance has paid for itself over and over” there are many who lose out by subsidizing that... So don’t get it if you are looking for a way to save money. The average person is going to spend more money on vet care overall by getting insurance. It’s an investment in your pet that on average will not reward you financially. You get it for peace of mind that you’ll be able to afford major things if they come along that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford. Or you’re that person who’ll take your pet to every specialist on earth for every minor problem and elect to err on the side of going for intensive treatment vs conservative management (aka the person who drives up premium costs for everyone else). If you know you’re going to do radical surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy if your pet were to get cancer, then yes, insurance is totally for you. You’ll still pay more money on vet care than the average person, but you’ll save soooo much money. Get the plan that covers the most with the smallest deductible.
If you are in the “I’m not going to put my pet through X, QOL is more important” camp, and prefer your GP to handle as much as they can unless a specialist was absolutely necessary, but wanted peace of mind for the possible ortho surgeries, major hospitalization for acute but treatable illnesses, it makes more sense to elect the highest deductible plan and have $1500-2000 in savings to cover your out of pocket costs, and just cover the minor illnesses yourself. Also kinda depends on how expensive your regular vet is. Even within 15 miles of each other, I worked at two practices where costs were double in one vs the other.

Most wellness plans predicate on the fact that on average, people don’t take full advantage of it such that the increase in premium is more than what the company pays out. It only saves money (and a limited amount at that), if you make full use of it. Calculate out how much you would spend on wellness, and see if it’s worth it. Especially if your pet is one that only needs dhlpp and rabies, and seresto collar/interceptor for preventatives, and you wouldn’t otherwise elect to have bloodwork every year... even with a small lab panel, depending on how cheap your vet’s office is, still might not be worth the premium bump. Now, if you know you want extensive labwork annually, annual COHATS, all the vaccines known to man, nexgard and trifexis for prevention, you’ll get some money back.

 

[Minnerbelle]

My friend had a wellness+injury/illness on a Frenchie and it was over $220/month with Nationwide.

How old was this Frenchie? Those premiums only go up and up as they get older.... which is the thing people also need to understand too. Many many people get insurance for their puppies. They pay into that for 7 years or so (where they weren’t getting their money back because their dogs were relatively healthy). And then they stop coverage because the premiums get too high, and they are mad that they are paying so much for insurance they have barely ever used. Juuust in time for all of the expensive older dog stuff starts to kick in.

That $50-100 per month they’ve paid insurance by this point over 7 years... Comes to about $6500 for trupanion ($500 deductible for a lab in New England). That’s $6500 guaranteed money you’re paying to insurance over 7 years in premiums during the most healthy years of your dog’s life.

Then at age 8, you’re paying $120+/month or $1500+/yr on premiums alone. By age 13, you’re paying $2100/yr on premiums alone.
That $10,000 you spent on insurance premiums over the first 10 years of your dog’s life (which is also helpful for 90% of vet bills you’ve paid beyond $500 per condition - meaning you’ve also probably spent a significant $ to add on to the premium costs) in many cases will have been better saved in a savings/investment account. That dog would have needed at least two $5000 issues to make it worth it. If you’re a lab owner who can’t spend $1000 on sick care per year for a dog, you’ll want to evaluate if insurance is worth it for you... as over just the first 10 years, that’s what you’re averaging on premiums alone. You may be better off to take the gamble without coverage. It kinda is a luxury service to an extent, and it’s not right for everyone... which is sad because those who have less money are those who need it the most.

that being said. If this dog ruptured its cruciates, or needed total hip replacements, or was hit by a car, had foreign bodies, etc... and you’re someone who doesn’t have the capacity to spend $5000-10000 on an emergency basis - credit or not... but have the capacity to invest the premium dollars, then it would have been so worth it. Or gosh if this big dog became diabetic and the insulin that works for your dog alone was going to cost $5000 per year and the pet was initially DKA and cost Multiple thousands to stabilize. Or even allergies. Between maintenance apoquel and/or cytopoint injections that could cost $100+/month plus every however often vet appointment for skin/ear infections each time costing $200-500... then yeah, you are going to be so happy you got that insurance!

all this to say. It’s very much not a black and white matter with the state of insurance these days in this country. If insurance was so widely spread that virtually all dogs/cats had it and it drove premium costs way down, then I would be all for it!

But cringe... a 5yr old english bulldog is $70/month with a $1000 deductible, $115/month with a $500 deductible, $170/month with a $200 deductible. In all honesty though, I just cringe at thinking about how much vet costs that bulldog needs in its lifetime. If you’re bull headed enough to buy a $5000 bulldog (pretty much a guaranteed lemon), then you really should invest in insurance. Otherwise it always borders on welfare issues when bulldog owners don’t have money to adequately treat them even for the little stuff.

 

[DVMDream]

How old was this Frenchie? Those premiums only go up and up as they get older.... which is the thing people also need to understand too. Many many people get insurance for their puppies. They pay into that for 7 years or so (where they weren’t getting their money back because their dogs were relatively healthy). And then they stop coverage because the premiums get too high, and they are mad that they are paying so much for insurance they have barely ever used. Juuust in time for all of the expensive older dog stuff starts to kick in.

That $50-100 per month they’ve paid insurance by this point over 7 years... Comes to about $6500 for trupanion ($500 deductible for a lab in New England). That’s $6500 guaranteed money you’re paying to insurance over 7 years in premiums during the most healthy years of your dog’s life.

Then at age 8, you’re paying $120+/month or $1500+/yr on premiums alone. By age 13, you’re paying $2100/yr on premiums alone.
That $10,000 you spent on insurance premiums over the first 10 years of your dog’s life (which is also helpful for 90% of vet bills you’ve paid beyond $500 per condition - meaning you’ve also probably spent a significant $ to add on to the premium costs) in many cases will have been better saved in a savings/investment account. That dog would have needed at least two $5000 issues to make it worth it. If you’re a lab owner who can’t spend $1000 on sick care per year for a dog, you’ll want to evaluate if insurance is worth it for you... as over just the first 10 years, that’s what you’re averaging on premiums alone. You may be better off to take the gamble without coverage. It kinda is a luxury service to an extent, and it’s not right for everyone... which is sad because those who have less money are those who need it the most.

that being said. If this dog ruptured its cruciates, or needed total hip replacements, or was hit by a car, had foreign bodies, etc... and you’re someone who doesn’t have the capacity to spend $5000-10000 on an emergency basis - credit or not... but have the capacity to invest the premium dollars, then it would have been so worth it. Or gosh if this big dog became diabetic and the insulin that works for your dog alone was going to cost $5000 per year and the pet was initially DKA and cost Multiple thousands to stabilize. Or even allergies. Between maintenance apoquel and/or cytopoint injections that could cost $100+/month plus every however often vet appointment for skin/ear infections each time costing $200-500... then yeah, you are going to be so happy you got that insurance!

all this to say. It’s very much not a black and white matter with the state of insurance these days in this country. If insurance was so widely spread that virtually all dogs/cats had it and it drove premium costs way down, then I would be all for it!

But cringe... a 5yr old english bulldog is $70/month with a $1000 deductible, $115/month with a $500 deductible, $170/month with a $200 deductible. In all honesty though, I just cringe at thinking about how much vet costs that bulldog needs in its lifetime. If you’re bull headed enough to buy a $5000 bulldog (pretty much a guaranteed lemon), then you really should invest in insurance. Otherwise it always borders on welfare issues when bulldog owners don’t have money to adequately treat them even for the little stuff.

I mean, the insurance companies aren't dumb. You aren't going to get a $50 or less/month insurance on any breed dog that is a genetic nightmare. English bulldog/French bulldog/Boston Terrier/etc--- like these companies aren't stupid. You are going to be paying a lot for those breeds, but, overall, those breeds can easily incur $2000-5000 worth of medical bills every year even at young ages just from allergies and the breathing issues crap. Not even adding in accident/injury.

 

[Minnerbelle]

I mean, the insurance companies aren't dumb. You aren't going to get a $50 or less/month insurance on any breed dog that is a genetic nightmare. English bulldog/French bulldog/Boston Terrier/etc--- like these companies aren't stupid. You are going to be paying a lot for those breeds, but, overall, those breeds can easily incur $2000-5000 worth of medical bills every year even at young ages just from allergies and the breathing issues crap. Not even adding in accident/injury.

well yes. That’a why my example was a lab, which have their own issues, but they are like the quintessential family dog in this country.

 

[DVMDream]

Also, when speaking to clients about it, I say that pet insurance companies aren’t charitable entities. They’re designed to make profit. So on average, you are going to pay more in premiums than you get back. For every person who says, “my pet insurance has paid for itself over and over” there are many who lose out by subsidizing that... So don’t get it if you are looking for a way to save money. The average person is going to spend more money on vet care overall by getting insurance. It’s an investment in your pet that on average will not reward you financially. You get it for peace of mind that you’ll be able to afford major things if they come along that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford. Or you’re that person who’ll take your pet to every specialist on earth for every minor problem and elect to err on the side of going for intensive treatment vs conservative management (aka the person who drives up premium costs for everyone else). If you know you’re going to do radical surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy if your pet were to get cancer, then yes, insurance is totally for you. You’ll still pay more money on vet care than the average person, but you’ll save soooo much money. Get the plan that covers the most with the smallest deductible.
If you are in the “I’m not going to put my pet through X, QOL is more important” camp, and prefer your GP to handle as much as they can unless a specialist was absolutely necessary, but wanted peace of mind for the possible ortho surgeries, major hospitalization for acute but treatable illnesses, it makes more sense to elect the highest deductible plan and have $1500-2000 in savings to cover your out of pocket costs, and just cover the minor illnesses yourself. Also kinda depends on how expensive your regular vet is. Even within 15 miles of each other, I worked at two practices where costs were double in one vs the other.

Most wellness plans predicate on the fact that on average, people don’t take full advantage of it such that the increase in premium is more than what the company pays out. It only saves money (and a limited amount at that), if you make full use of it. Calculate out how much you would spend on wellness, and see if it’s worth it. Especially if your pet is one that only needs dhlpp and rabies, and seresto collar/interceptor for preventatives, and you wouldn’t otherwise elect to have bloodwork every year... even with a small lab panel, depending on how cheap your vet’s office is, still might not be worth the premium bump. Now, if you know you want extensive labwork annually, annual COHATS, all the vaccines known to man, nexgard and trifexis for prevention, you’ll get some money back.

I mean, I am somewhere between the "do ALL the things" and QOL is best. Like, I am going to the dental specialist if a pet needs that (just did a few months ago as my cat recovers horribly from anesthesia so wanted her under as minimal amount of time as possible), it was just shy of $2000. Personally, I think just dental issues alone/dental specialist alone will more than make up for anything paid into insurance and I don't consider these "minor" problems. I will pay to have a fracture repaired, which depending on the fracture can be anywhere from $1500-3500. I would definitely pay for internal medicine consultation -- IBD/GI lymphoma diagnostics/treatment which aren't very invasive or extravagant (which let's be upfront, many cats actually need this work up but rarely get it, occasionally vomiting a "hairball" is NOT normal). I would definitely do I131 treatment for a cat (which a decent number of older cats will develop hyperthyroid, fairly common old cat issue). I am not going to do radical radiation for SCC treatment. Not going to treat certain cancers, not going to go kidney transplant route for renal disease, etc. I don't think it is "out there" to go to a dental specialist, or work up an IBD with IM or repair a fracture, heck even an amputation is over $1000. So even the "minor" and common old age issues are going to add up quickly

I mean, I get it, that $100-200/month does add up and theoretically you can put that into a savings account instead and have money saved up, however, if that dog gets hit by a car at 6 months old-- even at $200/month, you'd only have $1k in savings for that incident. At $100/month it would take just over 4 years to have $5000 saved up in a savings account for that pet. It takes time, very slowly, whereas insurance, you have only a one month waiting period and if you need expensive treatment it is going to be covered. Plus, let's talk human nature-- most people are awful about saving money and leaving it alone. If anything else goes wrong, you know that pet health savings account is going to be used for the car battery, broken AC unit, cracked windshield, new fridge, new tires for the vehicles, etc. Plus 4 years to save up $5k, one acute illness, one chronic injury, one accident and that $5k is gone and you don't get to recover it in a few weeks or a month like you would with pet insurance. It will take you 4 years to recover that money at least. So to me, the difference between pet insurance and just put it in savings is that pet insurance doesn't limit the number of chronic/acute/illness/accidents you can cover, whereas the savings account method means you can cover maybe 1-2 major issues over the lifetime of your pet and only if they space themselves appropriately so you have time to re-build that savings account.

I get it, yes, obviously insurance companies are out to make money, like every other business, and, yes, some people will pay out more than they put in, otherwise the companies would go bankrupt. But that is true for all insurance: home, car, renter's, human health, etc. I just overall, think that unless your pet is one that drops dead unexpectedly or only develops that acute illness at the end of it's life and just doesn't recover, the insurance is going to pay out more than you put in. They make money off those who do have healthy pets that unfortunately, only get that one acute disease or chronic arthritis that slowly can't walk anymore and then is euthanized.

It is very much a personal decision, but, overall, I will never not recommend insurance. I think it helps more people than it doesn't, in my opinion and it more readily allows me to be able to provide care to my patients.

 

[DVMDream]

well yes. That’a why my example was a lab, which have their own issues, but they are like the quintessential family dog in this country.

Yeah, looking at trupanion is probably the worst example, I have found they are the most expensive and they have that stupid policy of having a per condition deductible which is beyond mind-boggling and can easily be manipulated so that you are basically paying a deductible every time you have your pet seen. I really hate trupanion, it is my least recommended insurance to go with.

 

[JaynaAli]

@Minnerbelle My friend’s Frenchie was insured at about a year old with (I’m pretty sure) no preexisting conditions through Nationwide. She was owned by my pathology residentmate. When she got the policy it was like $75/month and they raised her rates more than double in 2018. She dumped them and changed to healthypaws. I would have probably gone with HealthyPaws but I’ve heard from other vets they won’t let you treat your own animals and get reimbursed if you’re a veterinarian. I had lots of issues getting paid from Nationwide with Winston and didn’t want to do that again with Murphy. I will say Nationwide did pay for everything they should have in the end, but it was almost always a fight and I had to escalate things and get one of their supervising vets to review the case and always took at least 30 days to get my money. I went with Trupanion in the end because most vets I talked to said payments went pretty smoothly and quickly, especially if there weren’t preexisting conditions. Like DVMD said, it does have a per condition deductible which I don’t love, but it’s a trade off...if you have chronic multi-year diseases (Like Winston had atopy, IBD, and cancer we managed for years) it can pay off to have a per condition deductible, but if you have an accident prone pet who had a zillion different things wrong with it it isn’t as good of a deal. I tried to mitigate that sucky situation some by choosing a pretty low deductible...mines either $100 or $150, which was quite a bit lower than my yearly deductible with Nationwide.

 

[Minnerbelle]

I mean, I am somewhere between the "do ALL the things" and QOL is best. Like, I am going to the dental specialist if a pet needs that (just did a few months ago as my cat recovers horribly from anesthesia so wanted her under as minimal amount of time as possible), it was just shy of $2000. Personally, I think just dental issues alone/dental specialist alone will more than make up for anything paid into insurance and I don't consider these "minor" problems. I will pay to have a fracture repaired, which depending on the fracture can be anywhere from $1500-3500. I would definitely pay for internal medicine consultation -- IBD/GI lymphoma diagnostics/treatment which aren't very invasive or extravagant (which let's be upfront, many cats actually need this work up but rarely get it, occasionally vomiting a "hairball" is NOT normal). I would definitely do I131 treatment for a cat (which a decent number of older cats will develop hyperthyroid, fairly common old cat issue). I am not going to do radical radiation for SCC treatment. Not going to treat certain cancers, not going to go kidney transplant route for renal disease, etc. I don't think it is "out there" to go to a dental specialist, or work up an IBD with IM or repair a fracture, heck even an amputation is over $1000. So even the "minor" and common old age issues are going to add up quickly

I mean, I get it, that $100-200/month does add up and theoretically you can put that into a savings account instead and have money saved up, however, if that dog gets hit by a car at 6 months old-- even at $200/month, you'd only have $1k in savings for that incident. At $100/month it would take just over 4 years to have $5000 saved up in a savings account for that pet. It takes time, very slowly, whereas insurance, you have only a one month waiting period and if you need expensive treatment it is going to be covered. Plus, let's talk human nature-- most people are awful about saving money and leaving it alone. If anything else goes wrong, you know that pet health savings account is going to be used for the car battery, broken AC unit, cracked windshield, new fridge, new tires for the vehicles, etc. Plus 4 years to save up $5k, one acute illness, one chronic injury, one accident and that $5k is gone and you don't get to recover it in a few weeks or a month like you would with pet insurance. It will take you 4 years to recover that money at least. So to me, the difference between pet insurance and just put it in savings is that pet insurance doesn't limit the number of chronic/acute/illness/accidents you can cover, whereas the savings account method means you can cover maybe 1-2 major issues over the lifetime of your pet and only if they space themselves appropriately so you have time to re-build that savings account.

I get it, yes, obviously insurance companies are out to make money, like every other business, and, yes, some people will pay out more than they put in, otherwise the companies would go bankrupt. But that is true for all insurance: home, car, renter's, human health, etc. I just overall, think that unless your pet is one that drops dead unexpectedly or only develops that acute illness at the end of it's life and just doesn't recover, the insurance is going to pay out more than you put in. They make money off those who do have healthy pets that unfortunately, only get that one acute disease or chronic arthritis that slowly can't walk anymore and then is euthanized.

It is very much a personal decision, but, overall, I will never not recommend insurance. I think it helps more people than it doesn't, in my opinion and it more readily allows me to be able to provide care to my patients.

I think you’re putting words in my mouth. I never said I don’t recommend insurance. like I said initially, yes I think it’s a good idea for the average client. And honestly I recommend it in all puppy/kitten visits, and warn people about how expensive vet care is and that if they do not have the reserves to pay for unexpected issues, they ought to consider insurance

When I was talking about the do everything vs more conservative owner, I didn’t ever say that the latter shouldn’t get pet insurance. I said, the latter may better be served with a high deductible lower premium plan, whereas the “do everything all the time client“ would be more likely to get their moneys worth with a high premium, minimal deductible plan. I wasn’t judging you or whatever you decide is right for you or your pet.

I just tell clients to see pet insurance for what it is and have realistic expectations, and think about the the long haul and what types of plans/options work the best for them.

My personal belief is that it doesn’t make financial sense for everyone. For those who live pay check to pay check and the monthly premiums are a big stretch for their budget that cuts into money they could have otherwise spent on concrete things their pet could have benefitted from, or those who don’t value vet care. I see people in these groups who get pet insurance and often end up really upset about it being a waste of money for them. Doesn’t mean I don’t discuss pet insurance with these clients. I still talk about it just as I do with everyone else. I just bring up the common pitfalls and issues so that owners can make an informed decision. That’s all.

As far as choice of pet insurance goes, I don’t really care where people get it from. I tell people to read the fine details and decide if they want a per year vs per condition deductible, and to get quotes for that same animal with a range of ages to get a feel for how the premiums might change over time. I’ve had a lot more clients unhappy with nationwide than I have with trupanion. I feel like I’ve had to write way more appeals for nationwide than for any other one, so I don’t really like dealing with them and am reluctant to endorse it. I have a lot of clients happy with healthypaws. The rest are kind of hit or miss. I treat my own pets so for myself, I would be more limited because of that than anything else. YMMV

 

[Minnerbelle]

@Minnerbelle When she got the policy it was like $75/month and they raised her rates more than double in 2018.

Yeah this is the problem with a lot of companies. It’s hard to know how much you’ll pay in premiums over the lifetime of the pet, and a lot of companies try to lure people in with a cheap initial cost for puppies/kittens.
There was a newspaper report about it a while back, and healthy paws and trupanion actually had the lowest over the lifetime premiums if you were to keep the pet enrolled throughout at the time. Not sure where things stand today. A lot of people start dumping their policies when their pets need it the most because they had no idea how expensive the premiums were going to become. I wish it was more transparent.

 

[JaynaAli]

They usually say they won’t increase because of claims but they definitely do creep up at least a few dollars/month every year, even if the companies claim it’s just to adjust for cost of care and whatnot. And once you have used it a few times, you’re really ‘trapped’ in with that company since you’d have preexisting conditions on a new policy somewhere else.

 

[Minnerbelle]

They usually say they won’t increase because of claims but they definitely do creep up at least a few dollars/month every year, even if the companies claim it’s just to adjust for cost of care and whatnot. And once you have used it a few times, you’re really ‘trapped’ in with that company since you’d have preexisting conditions on a new policy somewhere else.

Yeah it’s not supposed to be due to your personal claims (though for a short while trupanion was doing their super ****ty thing where premium costs factored in what vet you used.) But My understanding is that many adjust based on the average cost of claims factoring in breed, age, and location.

At least with my disability and life insurances, my rates are kind of set based on the age that I enrolled and my premium only changes minimally each year otherwise. I wish they would do something like that given that dogs/cats don’t live that long... so rates locked in based on age at enrollment (taking into consideration location and breed) with a set % increase so that it’s predictable.

 

[DVMDream]

I think you’re putting words in my mouth. I never said I don’t recommend insurance. like I said initially, yes I think it’s a good idea for the average client. And honestly I recommend it in all puppy/kitten visits, and warn people about how expensive vet care is and that if they do not have the reserves to pay for unexpected issues, they ought to consider insurance

When I was talking about the do everything vs more conservative owner, I didn’t ever say that the latter shouldn’t get pet insurance. I said, the latter may better be served with a high deductible lower premium plan, whereas the “do everything all the time client“ would be more likely to get their moneys worth with a high premium, minimal deductible plan. I wasn’t judging you or whatever you decide is right for you or your pet.

I just tell clients to see pet insurance for what it is and have realistic expectations, and think about the the long haul and what types of plans/options work the best for them.

My personal belief is that it doesn’t make financial sense for everyone. For those who live pay check to pay check and the monthly premiums are a big stretch for their budget that cuts into money they could have otherwise spent on concrete things their pet could have benefitted from, or those who don’t value vet care. I see people in these groups who get pet insurance and often end up really upset about it being a waste of money for them. Doesn’t mean I don’t discuss pet insurance with these clients. I still talk about it just as I do with everyone else. I just bring up the common pitfalls and issues so that owners can make an informed decision. That’s all.

As far as choice of pet insurance goes, I don’t really care where people get it from. I tell people to read the fine details and decide if they want a per year vs per condition deductible, and to get quotes for that same animal with a range of ages to get a feel for how the premiums might change over time. I’ve had a lot more clients unhappy with nationwide than I have with trupanion. I feel like I’ve had to write way more appeals for nationwide than for any other one, so I don’t really like dealing with them and am reluctant to endorse it. I have a lot of clients happy with healthypaws. The rest are kind of hit or miss. I treat my own pets so for myself, I would be more limited because of that than anything else. YMMV

Sorry wasn't trying to put words in your mouth.

I definitely agree for some people, pet insurance is going to be a bad financial idea, especially if you are super stressed/paycheck to paycheck as it is. (Though I'd argue some of these don't need a pet to begin with but that is a different soapbox).

You also have those that just don't really see pets in the way of needing medical care like a human does. So for those that just get a dog or cat and never (or rarely) provide it care, definitely not worthwhile to get insurance, and not necessarily because they can't afford it but because "it is just a dog/just a cat" so they aren't going to be searching for more than the bare bottom basics of pet care.

 

[MyDogsAreBarking]

I would say yes, if people have extra money for that monthly bill. I have ASPCA for my cat! $24 a month, $250 deductible, and covers $5k a year. If I saved $24 a month it would take me over 17 years to save $5k. For me, it's definitely worth it. I have yet to reach the deductible, but it's a wonderful peace of mind that I wouldn't need to worry about that chunk of money if something happens or he gets sick. Mine also covers dental illness, and he does need a dental. I am glad I have it.

 

[Molar77]

I have a question, I am a dentist but with a 13 year old cat. Never had problem, until he lost like 2-3 lb weight(originally 14.5 to 15 but seem to lost in in a few months), not eating well, not acting entirely normal, still moves, lab test for for kidney is normal, blood is normal except a slight elevated wbc. Vet said maybe intestinalis, currently on pregnisone. but still not eating that well after 1 full day after medicine. I am suspecting cancer.
My question is, if not diagnosis with anything, can i get pet insurance and be cover for all future exam and treatment or because the cat has symptoms of not eating well nullify any coverage? Any advice will help.

 

[MyDogsAreBarking]

I have a question, I am a dentist but with a 13 year old cat. Never had problem, until he lost like 2-3 lb weight(originally 14.5 to 15 but seem to lost in in a few months), not eating well, not acting entirely normal, still moves, lab test for for kidney is normal, blood is normal except a slight elevated wbc. Vet said maybe intestinalis, currently on pregnisone. but still not eating that well after 1 full day after medicine. I am suspecting cancer.
My question is, if not diagnosis with anything, can i get pet insurance and be cover for all future exam and treatment or because the cat has symptoms of not eating well nullify any coverage? Any advice will help.

I am so sorry to read about your cat..I hope he is feeling a bit better. I would definitely reach out and ask an insurance company prior to signing. I don't think anyone here is a pet insurance rep, and I don't want to steer you in the wrong direction.

Pre-existing conditions are not covered for pets, unfortunately, since it is technically a property insurance. This is my understanding of it. They may deny coverage based on your cat's history, but of course I am not an insurance rep and I could be wrong. There's usually a waiting period if you do sign insurance until it kicks in, and anything diagnosed in that period isn't covered. For instance, I signed up and had a 14 day waiting period. In that time, my cat was diagnosed with heart disease (wasn't even the reason I brought him to the vet), and now none of his heart checks/medications are covered. However, I know your cat has clinical signs and not necessarily a diagnosis of something. If insurance can't help you, you may want to look into Care Credit if you don't have that already. It can at least allow you more time to pay off bills. I wish I could provide better information for you.

 

[JaynaAli]

I have a question, I am a dentist but with a 13 year old cat. Never had problem, until he lost like 2-3 lb weight(originally 14.5 to 15 but seem to lost in in a few months), not eating well, not acting entirely normal, still moves, lab test for for kidney is normal, blood is normal except a slight elevated wbc. Vet said maybe intestinalis, currently on pregnisone. but still not eating that well after 1 full day after medicine. I am suspecting cancer.
My question is, if not diagnosis with anything, can i get pet insurance and be cover for all future exam and treatment or because the cat has symptoms of not eating well nullify any coverage? Any advice will help.

Most (if not all) policies I’ve had or read will not cover anything that had any clinical signs of disease prior to coverage, even if a diagnosis is not reached. So unfortunately, I think it is exceedingly unlikely that you will be able to find an insurance company that would cover your cat. Like the above poster said, there is often a waiting period (mine was 7 days for accidents and 30 days for illnesses) and/or a vet usually has to do an exam and say your pet is healthy at the outset of the policy. For this kitty, I would prepare yourself to pay out of pocket to figure out what is going on. If you currently have other pets or get more animals in the future, look into insurance for those...unfortunately once you need it is too late with the current model of pet insurance.

 

[Roquefort]

Hi everyone! I know this thread's a little old but I wanted to ask a relevant question instead of starting a new thread. I'm trying to decide on an insurance plan for my cat, who's just under a year old. I'm going back and forth a bit, mainly between Trupanion and Embrace. PetFirst was on that list, but it seems they have a lot of bad reviews. It's been mentioned a couple times in this thread, but does anyone have thoughts on or experience with the annual vs. per condition deductible? The per condition sounds tempting, but I'm worried if they're nitpicky with it.

My cat is inbred (from a hoarding situation), so I'm worried she'll rack up some hefty vet bills in the years to come. She doesn't have anything actually diagnosed, other than a deformed hind leg that was amputated, so I don't think she would have many conditions that would be considered pre-existing. I like that Trupanion doesn't change their annual cost with age, but the initial cost is much higher than the initial cost for Embrace, which does change with age. Does anyone have experience with if Trupanion's annual cost actually stays pretty constant, or if they find sneaky ways to increase it? I may be looking too far into things, but any advice or thoughts would be much appreciated!

 

[JaynaAli]

I’ve had both through different companies. If the plans were otherwise equal I’d probably go with per year. My current plan through trupanion is per condition. But it’s a toss up really. If your pet only ever develops one long term disease you manage all it’s life (allergies, inflammatory bowel disease, endocrine diseases), the per condition deductible may be better over time. If your pet has a ton of different illnesses, especially al in a short period of time (maybe an ear infection, a UTI, an accident where the hurt themselves, a ligament tear, cancer), the per condition deductible would probably cost you more. So just accurately predict the future and choose, haha. An insurance company is out to make money so I’m sure they’re fairly strict with what counts as a condition.

I haven’t personally had trupanion long enough to have price increases, but it’s important to realize that their “your annual cost doesn’t change due to age” doesn’t mean price won’t increase. They will almost certainly increase your payment a little bit each year due to inflation, rising costs of veterinary care and the like. They also might change your prices when you move if you move to a more expensive area. It just means that they won’t add on additional fees just because your cat became a year older. People I talked to said trupanion usually increases a couple dollars a month each year.

 

[alleycat03]

I would say overwhelmingly--- yes. Sure, there are going to be those that spend more in premiums over the lifetime of the pet than they receive from the insurance, but it will only take 1 acute severe illness, 1 chronic disease or 1 accident/injury to flip that to the insurance paying out more than you put in, with the exception of those cases where the pet passes away suddenly and unexpectedly.

The other thing to consider is that pet insurance comes in a large variety of flavors: some just cover illness/accident and some cover wellness/illness/accidents/everything. None cover pre-existing conditions and some are very specific on what they will cover for certain dog breeds so you need to really carefully read all the fine print on them when deciding what is best for your pet.

My mom currently has a plan that covers wellness/accident/injury/everything at 90% reimbursement for her cat. Her cat is two years old, it has already paid her more than she has paid in. It covers all wellness/vaccines, it covered her to get the cat spayed (and declawed which I don't agree on but that is a different soapbox), it covered the eye issues that kitty had for a couple months, and most recently it covered a dental cleaning for her. She has definitely gotten more out of the insurance than she has input. And, quite honestly, she wouldn't be able to do near as much without the insurance. Kitty is going to see a vet behaviorist even and I can say for certain that would not happen if she did not have the insurance for her.

I thought about getting some insurance for my older kitty but with her current underlying health issues, so many things would be considered pre-existing and would not be covered. I have a savings account instead for her, however, it would have been REALLY REALLY nice to have been reimbursed 90% of her $2k dental/biopsy procedure a few months ago. It isn't that I didn't have $2k for that, I did and I would spend it again in a heart beat but who would decline getting back $1800 of that? Even if you have the savings account and can afford treatment out of pocket, it would still be nice to get some of that money back with pet insurance.

Plus, with pet insurance you have to have the funds up front anyway. Whether it be a savings account or a credit card that you just plan to pay off immediately once you get the reimbursement. So, for people who can't have a credit card or a savings account with money to pay the initial bill, it might not be beneficial. There is one exception to this: Trupanion has a program set up with VCA where they can "pre-approve" something and submit the money directly to the vet. However, this is one insurance company, one type of plan and with only certain veterinary clinics so insanely limited. Personally, I don't like Trupanion's set up and I will keep my opinions on VCA to myself (nothing to do with the vets just the corporation).

I know this is an old thread that I am reviving, but I was wondering if you could share what company she went with? I'm looking to get insurance on my two cats, and from my research it definitely seems like there are way too many options and I am getting a bit overwhelmed.

 

[SkiOtter]

I know this is an old thread that I am reviving, but I was wondering if you could share what company she went with? I'm looking to get insurance on my two cats, and from my research it definitely seems like there are way too many options and I am getting a bit overwhelmed.

Caiter and I both use PetsBest for our pets! She has two cats and a dog on it and I have one dog plus I have my moms puppy on it too.

 

[WildZoo]

Caiter and I both use PetsBest for our pets! She has two cats and a dog on it and I have one dog plus I have my moms puppy on it too.

Oh hey I didn't know you guys had Pets Best too

 

[alleycat03]

Caiter and I both use PetsBest for our pets! She has two cats and a dog on it and I have one dog plus I have my moms puppy on it too.

Oh hey I didn't know you guys had Pets Best too

Dubz recommend PetsBest to me too! That's reassuring that several people have PetsBest. It looks like Healthy Paws is slightly cheaper than PetsBest, but I know there's that provision about treating my own pets. Since I am not going to be a vet until 2025, I feel like that might affect me less. What I really like with Healthy Paws is that I can lower my yearly deductible to $100 and it is still slightly cheaper (~$70 less per year) than PetsBest.

 

[WildZoo]

Dubz recommend PetsBest to me too! That's reassuring that several people have PetsBest. It looks like Healthy Paws is slightly cheaper than PetsBest, but I know there's that provision about treating my own pets. Since I am not going to be a vet until 2025, I feel like that might affect me less. What I really like with Healthy Paws is that I can lower my yearly deductible to $100 and it is still slightly cheaper (~$70 less per year) than PetsBest.

Healthy Paws was great when I had it, in terms of coverage and claim payouts and everything. See if you can find information about how much premiums increase over time though. That is another reason why I eventually left. Every year the premium jumped up whereas I'm pretty sure I found reviews...somewhere that PetsBest doesn't have those major increases. If I remember the site I was looking at, I'll send it to you. Thankfully Gandalf didn't acquire any pre-existing conditions during the years that I had Healthy Paws so switching wasn't a big deal, but it is something to think about.

 

[alleycat03]

So I read some more comparisions and reviews online, and it appears that (at least at one point in time) Healthy Paws moves pets to a $500 deductible, 70% covered policy once they turn 8 years old. They also supposedly do not cover exam fees for illness and injury exams, which I am also not a fan of.

For those of you who have PetsBest (@WildZoo @SkiOtter @Caiter92), which plan (Essential, Plus, or Elite) are you on?

The Plus covers exam fees, so I would like to have that coverage at a bare minimum. For the Elite coverage, it covers "Rehabilitative, Acupuncture & Chiropractic Coverage" for ~$1 more than the Plus coverage. Are those benefits worth it? I've never done those services for an animal before, so I am not sure how much I would use those additional benefits.

 

[WildZoo]

So I read some more comparisions and reviews online, and it appears that (at least at one point in time) Healthy Paws moves pets to a $500 deductible, 70% covered policy once they turn 8 years old. They also supposedly do not cover exam fees for illness and injury exams, which I am also not a fan of.

For those of you who have PetsBest (@WildZoo @SkiOtter @Caiter92), which plan (Essential, Plus, or Elite) are you on?

The Plus covers exam fees, so I would like to have that coverage at a bare minimum. For the Elite coverage, it covers "Rehabilitative, Acupuncture & Chiropractic Coverage" for ~$1 more than the Plus coverage. Are those benefits worth it? I've never done those services for an animal before, so I am not sure how much I would use those additional benefits.

I don't recall what her coverage level was, but old lady kitty did have a $500 deductible. And that is correct that Healthy Paws does not cover exam fees (which in an ER situation could be $100 or more).

I believe I have Elite. I haven't used the extra services and maybe never will, but it was also like you said only about $1 more so idk, if the pup gets some kind of orthopedic injury and needs rehab, nice to have it on there.

 

[JaynaAli]

I will say that as a veterinarian, I am rarely charged exam fees by other vets, especially specialists. in my experience, they’re usually waived or discounted as a professional courtesy. Obviously that won’t happen for people who are still students, but I don’t really care that my Trupanion policy doesn’t cover exams because usually those cost me very little or nothing. Maybe it’s different in other areas or with other corporations though. And just because it happens now doesn’t guarantee that’ll always be the case.