No such thing as a free dog

July 5, 2007 6:26 PM

Tell me about your experiences with pet insurance.

Due to skyrocketing local vet costs I've decided to purchase pet insurance for the dog. I'm primarily looking for good surgical and emergency coverage: surgeries, cancer, clinic stays etc. I'm not interested in the routine care coverage etc.

I'm looking for a company that has reasonable rates, doesn't take forever to make a decision in a crisis and won't make me buy a bunch of extra stuff to get decent surgical and major medical. If you've bought one of these policies let me know how it worked out!

posted by fshgrl to Pets & Animals (9 answers total)

There are a couple of pet insurance providers - we went with VPI for our cat. It was OK, but the trick to keeping down costs if you have a chronic illness is to get a real diagnosis. Our boy has irritable bowel syndrome, or something very like it, and you have to get your vet to make sure that all invoices reference that diagnosis. "Irritation of the small bowel due to IBS" or whatever, in our case. Otherwise, you are always paying really most of the bill (in my experience). There seem to be a few more providers than when we did the insurance thing, so your situation may be different. Crisis care, I'm not so sure about - the company isn't in a position to "make a decision" - you have to know what is and isn't covered and then make a decision, submit your expenses and hope they pay. At least, that's how ours worked.
posted by Medieval Maven at 6:33 PM on July 5, 2007

We got VPI pet insurance for our cats after we learned the hard way how expensive a medical emergency can be. We have a comprehensive plan with them which also provides some coverage for routine appointments & vaccines, but that is optional. Overall, they are reliable & fast, and I wish we had insured our cats before Smacky had a urinary tract blockage.

Also, they send your pets birthday cards, which is a totally frivolous, but adorable, bonus.
posted by tastybrains at 6:34 PM on July 5, 2007

Response by poster: Interesting. VPI is who my vets office mentioned but their brochure seemed a bit fluffy. It also gave me the impression that I would have to sign up for routine care etc in order to get the highest limits on surgical coverage.

I've been insuring horses for years and you have to get pre-approval for a lot of stuff, which is a pita for obvious reasons. otoh, the major medical limits aren't tied to any kind of "comprehensive" plan.
posted by fshgrl at 6:42 PM on July 5, 2007

I have Petcare Health Insurance for my dog... It costs me $25 a month for my very healthy puppy, but her getting sick would destroy me financially, so it's a cheap price to pay. It doesn't cover any routine costs, but it does require a yearly exam (you have to mail proof).

The most important consideration for me is that it was the one plan that covered Hip Displasia, which is common in my dog's breed and isn't always diagnosed at an early age, especially in rescued dogs like mine.
posted by SpecialK at 6:50 PM on July 5, 2007

I have VPI insurance on two of my cats, after the other two came down with major illnesses that have gotten very expensive over time. One of the two insured cats was just diagnosed with diabetes about three months ago. I've been submitting claims steadily ever since for various diagnostic tests and follow-up blood tests, and just started getting my reimbursements this week. (This was after I called to make sure my claims weren't lost in transit somewhere.) So I'm not particularly thrilled with the speed of the reimbursement.

That said, they're paying 90% of my expenses for him without putting up a fuss, so I'm quite pleased overall that I got the insurance. It's paid for itself already quite handily.

Their site at petinsurance.com has a lot more information than the brochures, if I recall correctly, if you want to know exactly what sort of surgical coverage each level of coverage involves.
posted by Stacey at 7:30 PM on July 5, 2007

Petsmart's vets offer something akin to pet insurance — it was something like $12 a month and it included all yearly exams and vaccines, as well as 40% off any extra medication and office visits or procedures. I'm not sure what the cost would be for major surgery but I loved my vet at Petsmart and this was really, really convenient for us.
posted by Brittanie at 9:40 PM on July 5, 2007

insurance for my dog would be around $50/month, I pay everything, then at the end of the year they reimburse you everything except the first $300 as a deductable. I found it made more sense to put $50/month into a 'dog fund' (that's $600/yr) and I figure I'll come out on top in the end. Not what you asked, but just an idea.
posted by imaswinger at 12:02 PM on July 6, 2007

Here's a case study I wrote up last year about Mister, a 4-year-old cat:

For the first three years of his life, Mister was in perfect health. This year, however, he's started having urinary tract infections. In just two visits, total vet bills have reached $542.75 -- all of that paid out of his owner's pocket.

Here's a look at what treatment would have cost if Mister had been insured, how much his owner would have saved this year, and savings or costs of insurance spread out over healthy and sick years.

Pethealth Inc. (indoor cats insurance)
Monthly payment: $13.95.
Deductible: $200.
One-year cost to owner: $367.40.
This year's savings with insurance: $175.35.
Three-year cost: $702.20 -- not saving money over time.

Veterinary Pet Insurance (basic plan)
Monthly payment: $9.93.
Deductible: $100.
One-year cost to owner: $219.16.
This year's savings with insurance: $327.75.
Three-year cost: $457.48, net savings of $85.27.

Petshealth Care Plan (basic plan)
Monthly payment: $10.63, plus annual $10 fee.
Deductible: $100.
Total one-year cost to owner: $326.11.
This year's savings with insurance: $216.64.
Three-year cost: $512.58, net savings of roughly $30.

The bottom line: Despite Mister's recent costly health problems, the insurance savings over time aren't that great. His owner might benefit from insurance, however, if it's easier to set aside a small amount of money each month rather than to come up with a large chunk at once. Every animal is different, and the savings for a pet with more serious health problems could be significant. Just remember: pre-existing conditions aren't usually covered.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 1:45 PM on July 6, 2007 [2 favorites]

VPI says they will reimburse you at 90% of the cost they consider reasonable for each treatment. I'm told by my regular vet that they are pretty fair market. They will send you a schedule of coverage with your policy. Preexisting conditions aren't covered and they don't require any pre-approvals. The policy gives them 30 days to approve or deny your claim.

Approximately one month after I had signed up my beloved, healthy St. Bernard with VPI she became ill. She had an in immune system problem and a dew claw that had to be removed. It was sudden and unexpected. My regular vet wouldn't do it and referred me to a specialty hospital. She had a plasma transfusion, surgery, very expensive drugs and many other treatments. (Who knew they did hydrotherapy for dogs?) The costs for all of these were much higher than usual because she was being treated by the specialists and not a regular vet. She was hospitalized in intensive care for about three weeks before she passed away.

I anticipated nothing from VPI because of how new the policy was. They sent me a letter asking for all her medical records for the past year about thirty days after I sent in my claims. I was told by a phone rep that they did that for all large claims involving new policies because of the chance of fraud. About 30 days after that they sent me my checks. About a week later they sent me a letter saying that they were canceling my policy and refunding to my credit card all premiums (two and a half months worth) paid after she died. About a month later they sent a sympathy card.

Vet bills: $6,800. Premiums paid: about $70. Reimbursement $3,900.

I would, of course, pay anything to have my dog back.
posted by colt45 at 8:48 PM on August 26, 2007