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Anyone here have it or has looked into it? Since Maggie's accident I've been thinking about researching it at least, especially since I'll be adding a new dog in about a year and I never want to have to make the decision between my animals' health/life and personal financial issues.

 

I've considered creating a savings account for pet emergencies and putting money in it each month rather than insurance, but for two (or possibly 3) dogs I'm wondering if it would be better to go w/ the smaller monthly amounts the policy would require. On the other hand, if necessary I'd have the funds to use for other catastrophic emergencies.

 

Thoughts/Experiences/Suggestions??

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I've had VPI insurance for my dogs/cats and never used once. I have the premium one for Jazzy and standard for the others. It's easier for me to have insurance because I never see the money and they just take out of my account. If I had extra cash, I'd just spend it on dog gears.

 

I like to have insurance/warranty on whatever I can just for pieces of mind. I think most of my team mates have VPI after trying other companies. I tried the other one (forgot the name) but I like this one better. The premium is a little over 21 dollars, the standard is 12 dollars after multiple pet discount.

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A few years ago, I did the math on this and determined that you'd be much better off self-insuring. Of course, if something major happened before you had accumulated the money in the savings account, you'd be in a bit of trouble if you didn't have resources (credit) to fall back on.

 

Pet insurance, extended warranties, and the like are huge money makers for the companies that provide them. If you have the discipline, saving the money will be better.

 

FWIW, I did my calculations based on the worst passbook savings account I could find -- I think the yield was less than 2%. ING Direct (and I assume other banks) now have savings accounts with APYs approaching 5%. And you can have a set monthly amount deducted from your checking account.

 

It's really important to understand what is covered and what isn't -- and how much they will pay for the things that they cover. I remember figuring out that the single most expensive procedure I've ever had done -- the removal of a stick that impaled a working dog -- would have yielded a reimbursement of about $330 out of a $2,000 tab. Assuming that I had already satisfied my deductible. The other $1670 would have had to come out of my pocket. A year's worth of premiums would have been about $5 less than the reimbursement that I would have gotten. I think I laid that all out in the thread that's linked in Kitch's post above.

 

If you're buying pet insurance as a means of gaining peace of mind, make sure that it will really cover what you're expecting it to. I think it borders on being a scam.

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I have recently wondered the same thing, whether the insurance was worth it or not...I think I've already funded a section of my vet's new building. I agree, remembering to send in paperwork, deductibles, what's covered/what's not etc.....was too much hassle for me. I now work at keeping a credit balance at my vet, usually have a 300 to 500 dollar cushion. When I take a dog in, I usually pay for whatever gets done, if I don't happen to have it, then they can take it from the balance I have there, which, I then replace as soon as possible. Crazy I know, but works for me. I suppose it helps that I love my vet and have used him for 20yrs. Might be hard to do if you move around or don't really trust/love your vet. FWIW

 

WWBC

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Okay, just for grins, I looked this up on VPI's website again.

 

The scenario was that my dog was gathering sheep out of brushy area, and was impaled by a stick. The stick entered her side along her rib cage and lodged in her pelvic canal. There was about 16 inches of stick inside her, four of which was broken off. at the far end of the wound.

 

It happened in the daytime, so no emergency charges.

 

Primary diagnosis: Wound, foreign body.

 

maximum allowable daignosis: $141.

maximum allowable testing: $131

maximum allowable anestesia: $74

 

Total: $346.

 

Plan pays 90 percent of allowable, covered costs: $311.40

 

The total bills for the diagnosis, tests (x-Rays), surgery to remove the stick, hospitalization, medication, and supplies was about $2,000. I rejected the staff's proposal that Bess be taken to an emergency clinic where she would have 24-hour nursing care for two or three days, which would have added another $1,200 to $1,800 to the bill, none of which would have been covered as far as I can tell.

 

My premiums for the year would have $429.

 

How is this a good deal, and how does it provide peace of mind?

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We have had VPI on both Briar and Rob for years now. And we are one of those where a major problem came up and it has more than paid off. Briar had to have a kidney removed and 3000 dollars later VPI covered all of it but about a hundred bucks.

 

I see Bill's point but then again, my human kids are insured, why not the animals I care so much for also. It's nice to know that I can walk into the vet and say do whatever she needs and know that I don't at that moment have to make a choice of whether she lives or dies due to costs. That is more important to me than the $30 a month I spend for their insurance.

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My vet will hold checks for me and in the instance of an emergency/expensive treatment will allow payments. For established patients of course. Ins. is a tricky thing. I think I would rather be inclined to get it for catastrophic things that it would pay at least 80%, and not have a deductable. Most vets will work with established and loyal patients. But I think the idea of a savings account just for pet care is much more sensible. You pay into an ins. premium, that money is gone forever, pay into a savings acct., it is always there. And if pet ins. paid like people ins., it would be a good deal, but they don't.

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Concensus in my family is to have either a separate account for pet care or to have enough in your regular account to cover emergencies.

 

Heck, my brother-in-law has found it smarter to have his own health savings account (not the official kind) to cover medical costs for him, his wife, and their teen-age son. It's cheaper than the insurance he could get - and lots less hassle. We're considering that for me.

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Personally, I would choose a savings account. At my credit union right now I can get a 6 mo $500 CD with an interest rate of 5%. I can get the money for an emergency if needed, I would just forfit a couple months of interest. You could also keep a credit card with pet emergencies in mind.

 

For myself, I've decided to have a savings account in place for a critter before I get it. I figure I'm going to have to being paying for another animal anyway, I might as well get used to setting the money aside before I have to.

 

I would consider pet insurance with a high deductable, if I was sure it would cover most of the rest of the cost of an accident/illness.

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Cheri,

 

So suppose I had had VPI, and I went in and told my vet to do whatever was needed. I would still have had to come up with nearly $1,700 and I would have had paid over $400 in premiums that year to get $330 in benefits. So in reality, I paid $2,100 for $2,000 worth of veterinary services, meds and supplies. If I didn't have $1700 in the bank, I'd be just as screwed as if I didn't have insurance in the first place.

 

I'm certainly glad they paid for the kidney operation, but I can't see any way they were obligated to -- unless your vet's office was very creative with submitting it as lots of different dianoses and tests. Nephroctomy pencils out to about $1,400 according to the benefit sheet.

 

Seems to me that if you have the wherewithall and discipline to pay the bill, you should be able to put the same amount of money in a savings account, where you'd come out ahead, almost for certain.

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Bill, I am not sure how you are breaking it down but I have never had a problem getting everything (the 90%) paid for; even in cases where I was sure I wasn't covered, VPI still paid.

 

VPI breaks down the bill into different categories when they process it so x-rays, bloodwork, diagnosis, etc all gets applied separately. As I said in the previous post, I actually made money last year (and a good chunk, too). When I get the reimbursements, that money goes into a separate "vet" account in addition to whatever money I have been able to put aside each month. When I get to an amount I feel comfortable with, I will stop the insurance and just use the savings account.

 

You can pay for the vet bills on a credit card and only have to make one payment and one month's interest by the time the reimbursement comes in (they take between 4-6 weeks to process a payment) so you don't have to have cash up front if you don't have it.

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Nov 2005, my cat is diagnosed with PKD, requires dialysis but dies anyway.

 

June 2006, one of my BCs collapses and almost dies. She was seen by a board certified vet cardiologist, radiologist, internal medicine specialist, endocrinologist and theriogenologist. All that to tell me she is the healthiest dog alive.

 

pet emergency savings are gone at this point

 

July 2006, my oldest Border Collie is diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma. Between the specialists, the drugs, diagnostic testing, time on oxygen, etc he runs up quite the bill.

 

now I am wondering how to pay my rent and buy groceries, borrowed some money from family

 

August 2006, the cat I adopted after my other one died in November is lame. Rads show that before I adopted him someone tried to beat him to death. He requires major orthopedic surgery on both back legs, his pelvis can't be fixed.

 

I borrow the max allowed by Care Credit and make arrangements to pay the rest off at the hospital

 

September 2006, one of my BCs breaks a tooth, needs it pulled.

 

I start doing any form of extra work for cash under the table. I even transported farm equipment in my truck in exchange for gift cards to the grocery store.

 

Would pet insurance have helped? I don't know. I will be making payments for the next 12 months on the remaining vet bills. I wish I could say that I don't think I will have any monstrous bills this year, but my 8 yr old BC with HD is getting progressively more lame and it doesn't look good.

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I've been using a separate savings account for years. When I deposit checks I'd put some away in the "doggy account". I've had several friends through the years that had pet insurance and it never seemed to cover what was needed. I've been very lucky with all my borders through the years, living long healthy lives into mid and late teens, without needing any medical interaction. So for me, to pay that money up front would not have benefited.

 

My present border collie gets a pay check for goose work, his check goes right to his account. He's doing pretty darn good, may have to borrow from him! :rolleyes:

 

David

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Based on Liz's post above, I think perhaps the number of pets you have might be a factor. I only have two dogs.

 

I do not have the insurance because while one year I was in the vet's office every other week (Tess was sick, Kipp had well puppy exam plus all the puppy shots, Tess hurt her shoulder, Kipp got sick with a cough, then Kipp broke his puppy canine and required surgery for that, then Kipp was neutered & microchipped) last year. But over the past year I have not taken them in except to get their checkups.

 

I have an emergency fund for my two dogs that is just money set aside in my own account. My dogs are healthy, get an excellent kibble, plenty of exercise, and are supervised almost every minute of the day. They do not work stock. They have it pretty easy and so injuries that they collect tend to be very minor.

 

Allie + Tess & Kipp

http://weebordercollie.com

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I looked into pet insurance a long time ago and concluded that it was only worthwhile if something catastrophic happened (although Bill's post now has me wondering about that as well). The list of non-covered conditions included pretty much every big-ticket item that I would realistically worry about (i.e., cancer, hip surgery).

 

I keep a savings account and a credit card for emergencies.

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I worked for a life insurance company for 12 years. From that experience I learned this: a person should always have insurance to cover possible financially catastrophic losses, plus legally mandated insurance. Examples are house insurance, car insurance, and life insurance on people whose job income supports the family. Insurance is optional in areas where losses are most likely to be relatively small, and that would normally include pet insurance.

 

In those areas it makes more sense to self-insure by putting away some money in a savings account and having that available for emergency medical bills. Insurance companies are in business to make a profit. The catastrophic claims are relatively few in number and the individual person is not able to bear such losses. The smaller claims are usually a lot more frequent and the individual should be able to cover such expenses by planning ahead and putting money away in advance.

 

Keep in mind that insurance companies don't manufacture money. They must take in enough insurance premium money to pay for all claims, all their business operation expenses, plus return a profit to the company owner(s). Pet insurance companies try to keep claims expense down by having significant exclusions and deductibles.

 

This is not to say that nobody should have pet insurance. Some pet owners will come out ahead on that insurance. But like all insurance, that is a gamble. Most people with pet insurance end up receiving less in claims benefit than they pay out in premiums. If that were not true the company could not stay in business.

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I wish to god I had covered Daisy from day 1 as finding out and treating the Pancreatic Insufficiency that she has has been very costly. What with all the tests, scans, courses of tablets and god knows what. Also the fact that she is now on a powder suppliment for life that costs us ?60.00 a month and the special food we have to feed her on costing ?60.00 a month. Thats ?120.00 a month every month for the rest of her life and she is only a year old !!!!!!!

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