Thursday, April 4, 2013

Thoughtful Thursday-Should You Have Pet Insurance?

I've written before about how strongly pro-pet insurance I am and how much I love my Embrace Insurance policy.  If it were not for Embrace I would still be paying off the 6000 dollars (never mind that the initial estimate was 8000 dollars) for Norbert's emergency bloat surgery in 2011.   With Embrace I only had to pay 80% of the cost and Norbert, his dad, and I were all smiling.  



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When I brought Weasley home last May I had him insured before he even entered our house.


Still in the crate from the air plane ride but already insured.

To insure  four pets (Norbert, Bob, Weasley, and Scooter) I pay 150 dollars a month.   This covers them for emergency, illness, and medication.  Not covered is routine care (like annual exams and blood work), elective procedures like neutering, and there is a 200 dollar deductible.  Tubby, Ping, Baby, and Ernie are not insured the first three were too old for insurance by the time I got around to it and Ernie has a pre-existing heart condition that makes coverage impossible (however had I insured him as a kitten he would be covered as he wasn't diagnosed until age 1). There is no doubt that the insurance is expensive, but is it worth it?

In this older article from the NY times   Jennifer Schultz makes the argument that insurance is a waste of money as you can put the monthly  amount of the insurance bill into an account for pet emergencies.  She also argues that she pays only about $300 a year in medical care for her cat and has had only one pet health emergency which cost her $1000, making her vet expenses significantly less then the insurance pay out.   I find those numbers pretty low, every surgery my pets have had has cost $700 and up.  My experiences have been more like those of this family   from a Times article on the rising costs of pet care.  

At the time of Norbert's surgery my sister in law told me about an acquaintance of hers whose dog had the exact same emergency as Norbert, bloat and gastric torsion, they could not afford the surgery and had to have their dog put to sleep.  I cant imagine being in that position and having to deny my beloved dog life saving care.  It is in fact perhaps my greatest pet ownership regret that I did not insure Tubby, Ping, Baby, and Ernie when they were younger.  In the past five years I've paid $2000 dollars for Baby's treatment for fatty liver,    $3000 dollars for Tubby's mast cell tumor, and $2000 dollars for three surgeries in which Ping had suspicious lumps removed.  This is not including Norbert's bills which were covered. Insurance would definitely make me feel that I could handle all these bills with less worries.   Still I can see why some pet parents may not need insurance.   I think the  key questions to answer are:
  1. Are you a pro at saving money?  Can you set aside a good amount every single month and not touch it? This is really not me and I'm honest about it.  I am not a total of failure at saving but I'm not a pro either.
  2. Are you what my vet calls "a do everything owner" meaning will you want to pursue advanced specialist treatment for your pet.   I am and I choose Embrace because they cover cancer treatment, alternative therapies like chiropractic treatment, emergency and specialist care, and with the drug benefit  prescription medication.
  3. Do you live close enough to major veterinary hospitals and specialists so that using them in an emergency would be feasible.  I know that plenty of people live miles from a major veterinary hospital and thus might never use the specialists that are easily accessible to a city dweller like myself.
  4. Do you have multiple pets.   As a multiple pet owner I feel that insurance is even more important, if I have a major bill for one pet I don't want have to worry that I will have to neglect another or face financial ruin.
If you do choose to get insurance it is extremely important to do your homework.   A co-worker just told me that she had ASPCA insurance for her Yorkie and when the Yorkie developed congestive heart failure he was covered for the first year of treatment, but not for the second.  The company apparently considers any condition that lasts beyond one year pre-existing, even if it develops after you enroll your pet in the insurance plan.  As many pets live for years with chronic conditions this almost guarantees that your insurance payment will be wasted.

   In my opinion the best pet insurance companies are Embrace and Pet Plan, but of course needs are different for different people in different situations.  I would note that Pet Plan's emergency coverage is a bit iffy, they require your primary vet  to certify the reason for the visit, that means you don't know for sure if an emergency will be covered.   This  makes me uncomfortable since emergency hospital visits tends to be the most expensive of all.

The question I have for my fellow pet bloggers is  do you have insurance for your pets, do you think its  an essential part of pet ownership or a bad investment?


22 comments:

  1. We are both insured and we would not be without it, no way. We can't understand why people wouldn't. Over here you are mad not to. Have a terrific Thursday.
    Best wishes Molly

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  2. I was always thinking of getting pet insurance for Kirby but kept putting it off this post though makes me realize I should get on that! And Im good at setting money aside so I guess that'll help. Thanks and nice meeting you, great post

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  3. We do have all 3 insured and it is definitely worthwhile. Our old girl, Jasmine wasn't and although she had minimal vet care for the 1st 10yrs, at 10 she had major surgery and for the last 4 yrs of her life we paid a lot on vet care, all willingly of course, but with 3 now, we won't take the risk of having hefty bills. Yes, the monthly premiums are not cheap, but the cover we have is the best you can have and for me, that is why we insure, if you don't get top level cover, it really isn't worth bothering with as its the expensive or chronic health treatments that can wipe out bank balances so quickly. Good topic to discuss. x

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  4. We've been looking at catastrophic coverage. We thankfully do save and can cover routine issues. What we do need to think about are the more expensive issues that can cost.

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  5. Making me think....we don't have insurance now but I wonder if we should. Thank you for the thoughts!

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  6. My insurance covers accidents, injuries, x-rays, surgeries, wellness exams, vaccinations, flea/heartworm, urinalysis, dental cleaning all for the rockin price of $30.05 a month. AND MOM did not get me this insurance until I was 11 years old. We think insurance is well worth it.
    Blessings,
    Goose

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    1. Goose, that soounds like a great deal, what company is this through? Many companies won't cover dogs over 9 or 10....?

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  7. We sure need to check into it! Thank you for your information!!
    stella rose and mags

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  8. I had insurance on Jimmy for the first three years. It came with his registration into the AKC for the first 3 months and I kept it going from there. It pretty much broke even in the 1st year as it covered all the puppy stuff, plus neutering, and one injury he had to his leg. But after that, it just wasn't worth it. It was a bit over a thousand a year and my expenses were only about $350 for routine stuff. So I was $1300 in the hole at the end of the 3 years of coverage. The premiums would jump every year as well. They tied premiums to the cost of veterinary care in my area, and DC is high end. It was a pretty good policy for what it covered, picking up 80% after the initial deductible, but, knock on wood, Jimmy has been a healthy boy so far and it is less expensive to just save up the premiums. It also dropped you at 10 years old....which is just when things are likely to go wrong...and didn't include cancer.

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  9. Agreed. I have pet insurance from Banfield because my parents are very scared that I will get sick anytime!:P

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  10. It only cost us £20 sterling a month to insure Mollie and Alfie, that is nothing compared to the £700 vet bill we had for Alfie once, we could never of afforded to pay it. If you can afford it, insurance is a must and it covers if they cause an accident.. xx00xx

    Mollie and Alfie

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  11. How can you not afford pet insurance if you have a beloved pet ?????
    JUST DO IT !
    Lots of luvs Freya Rose Blossom er, no.. I have it, but have never had to claim yet.. but one day.. " ! ! ! ! ! JUST MIGHT HAPPEN... especially if I keep eating stuff that I shouldn't. It happens !
    If you can afford to have a beloved pet you also can afford insurance for their safety.. just sayin.
    x

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  12. I don't have insurance for Nola, at least not yet. I can pay for routine stuff just fine, and I have $2,000 put away for emergencies. The biggest reason Nola's not insured is because most insurance plans I've looked at don't cover breed specific issues such as IVDD, which is my biggest fear.
    Nola's Mom

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    1. Nola's mom, check out Petplan, the insurance we have. They do cover breed specific and hereditary issues. They are very helpful on the phone and can answer all of your questions. We haven't had to use an emergency vet yet, but we feel comfortable with our coverage. Tallulah had a scare recently with two masses that required surgery and biopsies to the tune of $1000+. If it had been cancer, just the chemo would have been $2000. That doesn't include blood tests, check ups and any other medications. My insurance has a $200 per incident deductible and then 100% reimbursement after that. And as long as I maintain the policy, any treatment after would be covered. It's worth a call to get a quote and information.
      Good luck.

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  13. We don't want to know how much we have spent over the years on all of us for medical expenses. No one should have to give up on life due to finances. It's just not right.

    It's never a thought about finances it's always what do we need to do to make this life well. We would have spent every penny if it would have cured Emma's cancer. Unfortunately she was too old for chemotherapy/radiation treatments.

    If you don't have insurance you might qualify for CareCredit for an emergency or expensive procedure. It can also be used at participating physicians, dentists and eye doctors. Just a thought.

    Bella & Sweet Pea

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    1. Luckily we have never needed to do care credit but we would in an emergency. We would have paid for Norberts surgery of course, insurance or not, but I do love Embrace

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  14. We do not have pet insurance, but I have thought about it, especially since we are a multi-pet household. I will check out Embrace. I don't think it is essential, but I think you very clearly present the right questions to ask yourself to determine if insurance is right for you. This is a wonderful post.

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  15. Thank you for the great advice. Mommy goes back and forth on it, but she is gonna check into it again.

    Loveys Sasha

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  16. Thank you for a thought-provoking post. I have considered the insurance off and on but had never looked into it. Maybe this will get me motivated before Toby's too old.

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  17. We don't have insurance for now but I have thougt about getting multiple times. I have hard time deciding which company is the best but your post is very helpful!

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  18. Mummy and daddy pay alot for my insurance, we're with pet plan. But they'd rather pay for it and not need it then not have it and not be able to afford any treatment I might need

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  19. i've thought about getting it, but i don't know if my girls would be covered. they are both seniors and have a lot of pre existing stuff. it would be so good to have though! we go to the most expensive vet in town (she happens to be a pug person and is awesome and i've never trusted a vet more) and phyllis' suprise 4 abscessed teeth were a big blow to our savings accounts.

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