Pet Insurance

[mr.mister]

So, I'm finally in a position where I can own a dog. :)

I'm wanting to do some preliminary research first - I have two cats and don't have health cover for them. However, they're pretty bomb proof and are inside only cats, so risks to their health are minimal. Do you have pet insurance for your dog? If so, how much do you pay, and who would you recommend? I have just been looking at Medibank pet care which looks relatively reasonably priced, but I don't really know what to compare it to. :laugh:

Is it worth it? I don't have high disposable income so I think a $300 annual fee would be easier for me to handle than an expensive vet visit.

And on another, completely unrelated note, how do those who also own cats deal with the cat litter issue? I don't want my dog chowing down on kitty crunchies.

As I rent, I can't put a cat flap in the door to their litter tray, but thinking perhaps a baby gate would work in supervised situations? The dog wouldn't have access to that part of the house when I'm out anyway so thinking this may work - if the temptation isn't too great. :laugh:

[Rebanne]

I have my dogs with PetPlan, was with Medicare. I prefer PetPlan cause it allows alernative treatment like acupuncture. Very pleased I made the swap.

[Guest donatella]

1000% would not be without it (toy breed owner though).

I have premium accident & illness cover with Real Insurance and while I am not overly impressed with their illness claims (for Lucy $440 gastroenteritis I had to provide a stat dec to say she was a healthy pup when I got her, lots of running around).

I cannot fault their accident cover (and let's be honest as a small dog owner this is paramount). Bonnie's broken legs cost over $7000 and I am entitled to 80% back. She saw a Specialist, went to an emergency vet, had xrays and GA and every single thing was accepted and $5600 refund in my bank within 10 days. So impressed!

I pay $7 each a week for each dog and to me that is cheap as for peace of mind as they are so easily injured.

Edited May 18, 2013 by donatella

[DeltaCharlie]

As for the cat litter question, I used to use a baby gate to keep the dogs out of there. The other thing you can do is put the litter tray on top of a washing machine or counter etc in the laundry. Somewhere the cats can easily access but the dog can't.

[DakotaJ]

I use Petplan. We got 12 weeks free when we purchased our Golden Retriever from the breeder. She had health issues before the free plan finished so we continued it. We were very glad we did as she had to have some very expensive tests carried out before we found a way to tread her problem ( incontinence) . Petplan paid all but the $100 excess on a bill which was almost $2,000.00.

We pay approx $48 per month for our plan. I think it is worth it as it would have been very difficult for us to have raised that amount of money at short notice. However I have had many dogs in the past which I did not have insurance for and they never required expensive vet care - it is a bit of a lottery.

As far as keeping the dog confined to certain areas the baby gates work well for us. I don't have cats but my daughter does and the cats can get through the gate to their food, or litter box , and the dog can't - perfect.

[minimax]

+1 on PetPlan. I wouldn't recommend anyone else for insurance, firstly because PetPlan allows alternative treatments, but they also cover illnesses and conditions for life, not just one year like all the other insurers (after the first year with everyone else it becomes a "pre-existing condition).

I think I pay around $600 per year for each of my pugs, and I have a $125 excess per claimable condition.

Edited May 18, 2013 by minimax

[Rosetta]

I'm with Medibank but have never made a claim so I don't know what they are like for that. I just have it in case of accidents rather than illness because there are a lot of exclusions or limitations such as a ceiling on tick treatment - I think $1,000 (?). It may be worthwhile as a dog ages but many won't cover over 9 years anyway.

Donatella - how are your little girl's legs now?

[Guest donatella]

I'm with Medibank but have never made a claim so I don't know what they are like for that. I just have it in case of accidents rather than illness because there are a lot of exclusions or limitations such as a ceiling on tick treatment - I think $1,000 (?). It may be worthwhile as a dog ages but many won't cover over 9 years anyway.

Donatella - how are your little girl's legs now?

She is unbelievable. At 11 months you would never know she ever broke them, they are 100% back to normal.

She plays chasies

Runs through the grass

And is complete Diva at the beach (but loves mud, go figure!)

SOOOOOOOOOOOOO happy with her outcome, thank goodness :)

[faytiges]

I am with Petsecure... have been for many years.

Very happy with them, and I think most are about the same. Just which one suits you I suppose. Have never had a claim rejected. Have ongoing meds which are paid. Have a new claim, and will be persuing another vets opinion, again, they will support this.

Just read all the conditions. If any questions, just ring and ask them.....

Would never be without the Insurance,

[Rosetta]

I'm with Medibank but have never made a claim so I don't know what they are like for that. I just have it in case of accidents rather than illness because there are a lot of exclusions or limitations such as a ceiling on tick treatment - I think $1,000 (?). It may be worthwhile as a dog ages but many won't cover over 9 years anyway.

Donatella - how are your little girl's legs now?

She is unbelievable. At 11 months you would never know she ever broke them, they are 100% back to normal.

She plays chasies

Runs through the grass

And is complete Diva at the beach (but loves mud, go figure!)

SOOOOOOOOOOOOO happy with her outcome, thank goodness :)

No sand in the paws Mum! What a cute munchkin :)

Hope there are no long term effects from the breaks.

[Guest donatella]

Thanks me either. Only time will tell! God bless pet insurance at this stage is all I can say.

[smashtank]

I got my Frenchie today. He has four weeks free insurance with PetPlan and I will DEFINITELY be continuing it with them.

[moosepup]

Zoe and Moose are with PetSecure, Nacho is currently on his 6 weeks free with Petplan. I must admit I like the Petplan coverage better so I might move Moose over. Zoe is 14 so she'll need to stay with PetSecure.

[Pretty Miss Emma]

PetPlan, just under $40 per dog per month. Haven't had to use them but moved to them after a great deal of researching.

The way I deal with the litter tray is to clean it every time there is anything in it! When I get home I check the tray before the dogs are let in, generally if they are in the house I'll know if it has been used. I used to have a baby gate to the laundry, but one of my cats has some lower back pain and it makes it difficult for him to scale (so I ended up with scratching poles everywhere so he could get over it!) and Kenzie taught herself how to open it!! So now I've just gone back to vigilance about the litter tray and the cats food all lives on the washing machine so they can get it and usually the dogs can't (Kenz has also taught herself how use the scratching pole to give herself some more leverage to be able to pull the bowl towards her if I don't put it far enough to the oppostie edge!) - be careful about getting a clever ratbag dog!!!!

[disintegratus]

I don't have pet insurance, have never needed it so far (I bet I'm shooting myself in the foot now :p)

I prefer to put away a bit whenever I can, so I've got a "float" for whatever comes up. So far, so good. I figure that it's better in my bank account than going to an insurance company that may not cover me when I need it, and that way it's there if something else comes up, like when my car crapped out on the way to work a couple months back ($2500-odd later... :|)

That said, we've also got the redraw on the mortgage, so if something ridiculously expensive came up, the money's always there. If I was less financially secure then I would probably consider it.

As for kitty litter, we don't have trays because my sister insists on not keeping her cats contained , but we keep the cat food up on the laundry bench, where the dogs have now figured out that they're tall enough to reach, and will be installing a shelf above it in the not too distant future because feeding the cats is getting expensive!! :laugh:

[YvonneM]

Another vote for pet plan - not that I have had to use them yet as I only took it up a couple of weeks ago and Banjo is just 11 weeks old so no need to use it yet. I went with them after reading several threads here about pet insurance and it seemed to be the most popular and those who have had to claim were very happy with how their claims had been processed - I really didn't do too much comparison. I pay about $50/month with a $100 excess. I've had 2 previous dogs and never had pet insurance before and never really had any major vet bills but this gives me peace of mind because I know that in the event of accident or serious illness the costs can run into many thousands of dollars very quickly.

No cats here so can't make any suggestions in that department but hope you find a solution that works for you.

[hippo]

I used to have a baby gate to the laundry, but one of my cats has some lower back pain and it makes it difficult for him to scale (so I ended up with scratching poles everywhere so he could get over it!) and Kenzie taught herself how to open it!!

I put the baby gate about 20 cms off the floor, so cats can easily slink under.

Also don't have pet insurance, and am slowly building up my savings again after spending close to $3k on the animals this month

[Rocketeer]

No. Its not like Im at home waiting for an accident to happen.

[moosepup]

No. Its not like Im at home waiting for an accident to happen.

[trinabean]

And another

No, and I wasn't waiting at home for my dog to develop allergies either, but he did.

I'm glad I already had pet insurance though, as his allergy treatment is expensive. Petplan are covering the condition and have been good to deal with.