Bluefairy Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 Hi, I no longer have a dog, as she was put to sleep on Jan. 4th. But eventually I hope to get another dog. But also have a cat that has been through hell and back with a life threatening illness and survived. I usually just pay the vet bills, sometimes into the thousands, but I have never heard of Pet Insurance before. Can someone please explain what it is? What do they cover? What don't they cover? Can it be for any vet visit or only emergency care? What companies do it? Is it for all pets? Is it worth it? I'm assuming going by my animals track record it will be so worth it to me Thanks Lynn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megan_ Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 (edited) Hi,I no longer have a dog, as she was put to sleep on Jan. 4th. But eventually I hope to get another dog. But also have a cat that has been through hell and back with a life threatening illness and survived. I usually just pay the vet bills, sometimes into the thousands, but I have never heard of Pet Insurance before. Can someone please explain what it is? It is like health insurance for your pets. The big difference is that, in general, you need to pay the vet upfront and then claim the money back. Some insureres have extras like re-imbursement if your pet is lost. What do they cover? Different policies cover different things. Some cover accident or illness, some cover both. Some offer routine care too (eg vaccinations). For routine care, none that I have seen are actually worth it. What don't they cover? Pre-existing conditions. Some have exclusions depending on the breed or age of your dog. Some cover all costs to a limit with a $100 excess (eg PetPlan). Some only re-imburse 80% of the total cost (eg RSPCA). There is a really cheap one - Bow Wow Meow, which has a higher excess ($500 from memory) but you pay only a small annual amount. If I had to start over again, I think I would go for something like that. I have enough savings to cover routine care and $500, it is the big bills that scare me! Can it be for any vet visit or only emergency care? As above, it depends on the type of cover you have. I recommend accident and illness. What companies do it? lots. PetPlan, PIA, BowWowMeow, RAC, Medibank etc. A have different costs and covers, so it is thinking about what you want insurance for. Is it only the big bills or the small stuff. If you go for 80% cover (eg RSPCA) and the bill is $10,000, can you get access to $2000? If you have a large breed, it is particularly important to read the fine print as many companies have exclusions for these. Is it for all pets? Cats, dogs and horses are the ones I've seen. Is it worth it? For me, yes. My boy had a really bad gout of gastro a few months back. Because it was on the weekend and he needed x-rays, overnight care etc etc, it cost me $3800. I got $3700 back. Even with insurance though, you either need a credit card or savings to cover paying the vet before you claim (unless you have a prior arrangement with them). The other options are having savings, a credit card or an emergency loan (I think GE offers one for pets). Personally, I don't like credit cards and loans because you have to pay them back! I'm assuming going by my animals track record it will be so worth it to me Thanks Lynn Edited January 9, 2010 by megan_ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluefairy Posted January 9, 2010 Author Share Posted January 9, 2010 (edited) Thanks Megan, My last two dogs got cancer, the first died at aged 8 in 2008, the 2nd was ill most of her short life, and her vet bills for operations, biopsies, blood tests, urine and feces testing, etc.....it came to nearly $2000 with her having to be put to sleep at aged 11 months. Our cat developed a life threatening illness, that she was operated on and hospitalised for 4 weeks....again in the $1,000's. So I am seriously looking at getting Pet Insurance this time round. So with our bad luck of having animals at vets....you can see my point I don't mind the usual small bills, vacinations, desexing, etc....its the emergency ones that are the killers, they usually come when you least expect it. Our vets used to be pay on the day, but now we have such a good repore with them they except payments. I'll definitely be doing some research, thank you. Lynn Edited January 9, 2010 by Morgansacre Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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