should i get pet insurance while i'm in vet school?

[dreamvet]

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so. . . .here I am. . .in virginia. and am already racking up $200+ in vet bills (apparently my dog began with some random symptoms that is leading the doc to think lyme disease or auto-immune?)

anyway, the vet school here does not give any discount to vet students.
what are your opinions on pet insurance? and what plans are really worth it?

i'm thinking they almost pay for themselves (about 25/month, 300ish a year).
i mean, yearly vaccines with a fecal and a ht/w test alone can run about 150 with the exam.

 

[aspiringDVM]

Some of our clients have pet insurance for their dogs, and in their case it has really, really paid off (the dogs were added as healthy puppies, then grew up to have some really pricey chronic conditions requiring long term meds and care). Just make sure you know what the policy includes -- the cheaper ones probably cover trauma/poisoning/etc., but likely not yearly vaccinations, HW meds, bloodwork, etc. And if your dog has been diagnosed with a preexisting condition, that might up your rates as well.

 

[jglovicz]

I have had my horse insured, but not dogs so I may not be the best person to comment, but I just wanted to say that insurance more than likely won't cover routine care (ie, you will still have to shell out $ for vaccines, heartworm, etc). Also, if your dog has a pre-existing condition they will likely put in your agreement that they aren't required to pay for that pre-existing condition or anything related to it. I think it can be very beneficial to have insurance on your pet so it would be worth it for you to call a few companies and explain your situation...that way you can find out if they'll cover your pet, what types of conditions will they cover, and what it'll cost. Good luck

 

[Ben and Me]

You can get insurance for small animals that covers routine care. I know that VPI offers it. The best deal (that we've seen through our clients) is offered through the ASPCA, but you can only add a pet immediately after acquiring them, and even then only if they're a puppy.

I've been thinking about getting a "in case of emergency" - type policy. Routine stuff I can handle, but if something really devastating happened (HBC, another trauma) I'd like to have it not totally drain my bank account.

 

[LLIPPY]

Pet Care Pet insurance all the way!!

We have this for my 9.5 year old rescue ridgeback. We rescued him when he was 6 and got it right away. It has MORE than paid for itself! At 8 he had a surgery that cost thousands. They covered 80 percent because he was over 8. They have covered almost everything I have taken him in for at my hospital. But what's more is they even cover his acupuncture / holistic treatments with his holistic DVM and things like Denamarin (sam-e and milk thistle for liver support). As long as my holistic vet said she was treating a condition and not preventing it, it was ALL covered! We have what's called the quick care gold policy.

Whatever you chose,I think people are happy overall with it and I think its a brilliant thing.

 

[Pandacinny]

I have Pet Plan insurance for my two year old cat, too. It's not very expensive and the plans are pretty easy to customize. You can decide how much coverage you want and what the deductible will be. Also, they're pretty easy to reach by email. Since my cat is young and healthy, I haven't had to make a claim yet, but LLippy seems to be really satisfied.

 

[ri23]

so. . . .here I am. . .in virginia. and am already racking up $200+ in vet bills (apparently my dog began with some random symptoms that is leading the doc to think lyme disease or auto-immune?)

anyway, the vet school here does not give any discount to vet students.
what are your opinions on pet insurance? and what plans are really worth it?

i'm thinking they almost pay for themselves (about 25/month, 300ish a year).
i mean, yearly vaccines with a fecal and a ht/w test alone can run about 150 with the exam.

The only problem is, that whatever your dog has will be considered a pre-existing condition, and won't be covered under the plan being that work-up has been started.

 

[david594]

so. . . .here I am. . .in virginia. and am already racking up $200+ in vet bills (apparently my dog began with some random symptoms that is leading the doc to think lyme disease or auto-immune?)

Being from new england where easily 10% of dogs here will test positive for lyme on any given day, this just seems odd.

Suspect lyme, do a 4dx, 10 minutes later life goes on(+/- doxycycline)?

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

we did a snap for lyme and it was negative (first thought), along with erlichia and anaplasma (4dx w/Hw). Lyme isn't quite as common here. we tend to see more erlichia. How is Remy tonight? 😉 All Doxied and Rimadyled up? 😉 Heehee (we have him on doxy still because acute/recent infection may test negative in case anyone is confuzzled). Poor baby! He's was a great patient today.

I've heard mixed things on insurance. I think in Remy's case it'd be a pre existing condition and not covered 🙁 I can see it being of use to people that have, say, disease prone breeds (Boxers, Goldens, etc)...but it is still in its infancy.

 

[david594]

What was the presentation?

Acute onset hind limb lameness with no history of trauma? Febrile?

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

Due to confidentiality I don't feel comfortable going more into the case than I already have since I'm the one assigned to it (kind of regret my earlier post but I was not thinking), but if dreamvet wants to she can describe it.

 

[dreamvet]

thanks "whats the frequency" (keeping with the anonimity theme)

for those curious:
began last thursday having trouble sitting and trouble going up and down stair
the next day, could not sit or lie down (trouble bending and putting weight on hind legs) and not able to go up stairs. lots of pacing in his kennel alone and crying. edema at the hoks and knees. slight lymph node enlargement.
that friday night began rimadyl and doxy
today, tuesday, he is 80% better, able to run and go up stairs. still having some trouble sitting, as well as decreased appt and V/D (i'm assuming from the antibiotic), easily worn out.

crossing my fingers the doxy will do it's job (if it is a tick issue)