Pet Insuance

[StaceyB]

Given the medical problems Gypsy has had over the past 2 months - and the small fortune I've had to fork out in vet bills, I've decided to get Pet Insurance.

There are quiet a few companies out there that cover various different things, so I though I's ask all of you what you think of the various companies...

Thanks

Stacey

[Danois]

One thing to take into account StaceyB is that the insurance will not cover any pre-existing conditions that Gypsy had prior to taking out the policy.

I am a fan of Insurance as I got it for Angs when he was only 10 weeks old so everything is covered - I have claimed back around $3,000 in the past year. It is worth noting that most of the policies have a per illness cap - so while I am covered for $6,000 of illness every premium year, there is actually a $6,000 limit on each illness for the life of the policy.

[Justchillin]

Hi, I have been lucky since getting my girl but I just started looking into it and think it's something worth doing especially since viewing a few recent posts where vet bills have been incredibly high.

Well worth it, I'd go and will go with the RSPCA I think.

Ben

[Rusty's Dad]

We haven't gone with it, but Manchester Unity, I think it was, looked very good with no caps on each category (drugs, surgery, etc). On a print out from our vet. Worth a look anyway.

[outatime]

I'm getting a puppy soon, so starting to look into this now.

One thing to take into account StaceyB is that the insurance will not cover any pre-existing conditions that Gypsy had prior to taking out the policy.

I am a fan of Insurance as I got it for Angs when he was only 10 weeks old so everything is covered - I have claimed back around $3,000 in the past year. It is worth noting that most of the policies have a per illness cap - so while I am covered for $6,000 of illness every premium year, there is actually a $6,000 limit on each illness for the life of the policy.

im confused lol, is the cap per year ie restarts each year/when premium is paid? ie $6000 for one illness for one year. If in the next year the illness continues, are you eligable for a further $6000 in claims? or $6000 and thats it for that illness?

[Danois]

We haven't gone with it, but Manchester Unity, I think it was, looked very good with no caps on each category (drugs, surgery, etc). On a print out from our vet. Worth a look anyway.

There will be caps!

I'm getting a puppy soon, so starting to look into this now.

One thing to take into account StaceyB is that the insurance will not cover any pre-existing conditions that Gypsy had prior to taking out the policy.

I am a fan of Insurance as I got it for Angs when he was only 10 weeks old so everything is covered - I have claimed back around $3,000 in the past year. It is worth noting that most of the policies have a per illness cap - so while I am covered for $6,000 of illness every premium year, there is actually a $6,000 limit on each illness for the life of the policy.

im confused lol, is the cap per year ie restarts each year/when premium is paid? ie $6000 for one illness for one year. If in the next year the illness continues, are you eligable for a further $6000 in claims? or $6000 and thats it for that illness?

I get $6,000 per year for illness cover generally - regardless of how many illness issues arise - this year we had immune mediated polyarthritis, necrotic tongue tissue and surgery, a hot spot, an abcess and damage to feet after getting out - I get reimbursed $6,000 maximum (at 80% of actual costs).

If there is an ongoing illness then this is capped at $6,000 for the life of the dog.

Another thing to note with Insurance is that it does not actually cover treatment for ticks which can be very costly.

[StaceyB]

I've been having a look at them all, and I think Pet Plan looks pretty good. $14000 per year (and thats the standard cover) fro accident & illness for $34.90 per month plus they pay out a few other things as well, I read their PDS and there really isn't much they don't cover - they will even pay rewards for lost dogs!

[koolietas]

I have had my boy insured with AFS Pet Med since he was a pup. I've only made a couple of claims (all for pretty basic things) but they've been excellent.

[chicko]

I looked into it with Misha (leonberger) and they wouldnt cover her until she was over 5 years of age or something similar so not really worth it

[Danois]

I think the 5 years relates to the maximum age that they must be at the time you take out the policy. All policies are available from 8 weeks of age.

With Pet_Plan - you will potentially void your insurance if you do not have annual dental check ups and vaccinate.

I remember now why I did not go with them - they were one of the few that penalised selected breeds through excesses or premium loading.

[WoofnHoof]

I wish I'd had pet insurance when I got my husky, he has cost about $8k in vet bills and meds. I dare say the insurance companies will probably wise up and refuse to insure pet shop pups before too long too I think. I looked into it afterwards and thought it was dear but it still would have been cheaper than the credit cards

[Miss B]

I have always thought pet insurance was a bit of a ripoff, although having said that - it's been a few years since I looked into it and things have no doubt changed a bit since then. I work in a clinic anyway and get all products/medications/surgery etc at staff rates, so it may not really be worth my while to fork out monthly premiums on 4 dogs.

[Jean26]

My boy Kaiser was sold to me with a 6 week puppy insurance with Pet Plan, I continued on when that expired.

Since he was covered from a wee liddle pup with no reported health probs the insurance covers pretty much everything. You dont have to pay a specific breed excess with Pet Plan.

I have Kaiser and Mya on Pet Plan. I think around $65.00 per month in total.

I think it is well worth it

[StaceyB]

I called them up and asked about the selected breed thing, the girl said that apart from the age limit there were no other restrictions or excesses on the insurance as long as vaccinations are kept up to date.

The vaccine my vet uses last for 3 years and they said that was fine too.

[Henrietta]

With Pet_Plan - you will potentially void your insurance if you do not have annual dental check ups and vaccinate.

Excuse my ignorance, but is a dental check considered to be the general check-up you get done (for us every 6-8 months if there is no need to go to the vet otherwise). While we are there they always check our dogs' mouths/teeth etc. Is that what they mean by dental check-up or is this a special dental check-up?

If that is the case, I can't even recall whether 'dental checkup' is listed on the records/receipt. I'll have to dig them out. I guess if you had insurance you would have to be super careful to have this listed on the records, or would the insurance talking to your vets suffice?

Edited, sentence structure.

Edited May 15, 2008 by Emm

[Tilly]

I looked into Vet Insurance for my boys when we got them. We instead opted to pay money into an ING Direct account (good interest and no bank fees). We put about $500 in to start and then paid in what it would have cost us if we were paying insurance. Thankfully we have never had to use the money but it is there just in case.

We did find the insurance companies (at the time we looked) didn't cover general vet bills and it really limited what they would pay out on. Also the other problem was that we would have had to pay the bills up front and then get some of the money back - if they would actually pay up. By having the money in an account - we had the money on hand to pay the bill.

[lilys.mum]

I have pet insurance for Lily & Memphis, my cats, through the RSPCA. Memphis is an indoor and outdoor cat and has too many possible injuries waiting to happen, so we have it for him... Lily is a delicate girl who just seems to be costing me more and more money since I got her, so it was a wise investment... Most recently, she SOMEHOW chipped her tooth and needs to get it pulled... costing me only $300, which is cheap compared to other things...

We obviously love them!!

[kymbo]

I have the RACQ add on pet policy, attached to my contents insurance. It is only $50 a year/dog, but covers accidents/ sickness up to $500 per event, with no cap on the amount of 'events' per year.

For a cheap policy it is worth it well and truely. I have claimed once with Frodo, when he was lame, and it ended up covering 2 sets of xrays under anaesthesia, drugs, specialist report and all up I was 70 bucks out of pocket, 50 of which is the 'one of excess per event' It was better than paying the $670

I got my refund checks within a week of lodging them ovewr the phone.

I think it will cover me for things like simple broken bones/everyday accidents. We have an account set aside that we can use for anything more costly.

Having two dogs on a dearer more comprehensive policy against gambling that nothing major will happen to both dogs, if at all, is what we weighed up.

I liken our cover to basic hospital

[Danois]

I looked into Vet Insurance for my boys when we got them. We instead opted to pay money into an ING Direct account (good interest and no bank fees). We put about $500 in to start and then paid in what it would have cost us if we were paying insurance. Thankfully we have never had to use the money but it is there just in case.

We did find the insurance companies (at the time we looked) didn't cover general vet bills and it really limited what they would pay out on. Also the other problem was that we would have had to pay the bills up front and then get some of the money back - if they would actually pay up. By having the money in an account - we had the money on hand to pay the bill.

To me - this approach has never made sense. I pay $45 a month for Angs' insurance which would give me a little over $500 a year in an account. I have claimed back over $3,000 in the last 12 months.

I have always been refunded within 5 days of the claim being submitted and have never had any problems with the claims submitted being accepted.

[Sheridan]

Instead of buying insurance, I pay into the vet's account each fortnight.