Insurance?

[2kitties]

Does anybody have an opinion or recommendation for pet health insurance? I wonder if it's worth having and what companies are reputable.

I see so many people who have to make really tough decisions when faced with their pets' expensive illnesses. I'd like to avoid even having to think about that.

[PayItForward]

I think insurance is definitely worth it, if you get the right one.

We pay £6.50 ($10) per month for the younger cats and £7.50 ($12) for our George, to Pet Plan (English Firm)

This policy doesn't cover regular bills, booster etc but any medical bills over £55 ($85) for younger cats or £65 ($100) for George are covered.

This is great for us, we can always find smaller (??) amounts of money if required but we wanted coverage for any serious illness.

Also Pet Plan will cover your pets year after year even if they develop an ongoing illness, like diabetes. Most policies would pay out one year and refuse to cover you or raise your bills in later years, Pet Plan don't.

I think they are great, I had to claim for George. Just after we got him, he had bladder problems. We thought it was serious but to make a long story short, it was only mild cystitis but he had many vet visits and stayover, totalling over £130($207) bill, which our pet insurance paid out for.

It is good to know whatever happened, we could decide how to treat our cats based on their needs not our bank balance.

[2kitties]

That sounds like the right kind of thing for us, but Pet Plan doesn't offer its services in the US. Does anybody know of anything comparable in the US?

[julijul]

Here's one that I see recommended the most:
http://www.petinsurance.com

When I got my kitties from the breeder, they came with 3 months of this insurance, but chose not to continue it. I decided to go the route of keeping a special bank account (which I deposit to from time to time) specifically for pet emergencies.

[NoahsMommy]

We first had Noel and Noah on a Banfield (VetSmart) plan that was really good. The ONLY problem was that you can only use one Banfield office! For example, we went to the office close to my work for their check-ups and whatever else. For some reason, their vet left and all the vet techs went with him. Noah had blood in his stool and we had to take him in, but to the office at least 30 minutes away from us and we had to pay full price because their computers aren't linked!! It took forever to straighten out, and wasn't worth the $4.00 we got back.

So, we cancelled that.

I tried PetCare and they cancelled us for some reason...I found out when I submitted Basil's feline asthma claim. When we got the letter, its reason was that our bank wouldn't allow the automatic transfer of the premium... But.....all my other bills allow that. It didn't make sense...

We are trying to find a good one out here too, but with 5 cats, I'm afraid to see the monthly premium. I'll be checking this thread for info as well.

[kitten645]

I haven't checked in a long time but when Bruce(RB) passed on from kidney failure/diabetes I looked into insurance for Calvin & Hobbes. I found that essentially most pet insurance is geared for dogs. If they (dogs or cats) are hit by a car they are covered but pretty much outside of that there was nothing. I figured since the boys are indoor only what was the point? I'd love to hear of anyone having a different experience.

[NoahsMommy]

Thanks for the link Julijul!

As an FYI for everyone, here is what my quote was:

Micah: $23.91/month (VPI Superior Plan + Vaccination and Routine Care Coverage) - He needs the superior, I just feel it.

Olivia: $19.33/month (VPI Standard Plan + Vaccination and Routine Care Coverage)

Basil: $16.00/month (VPI Standard Plan + Vaccination and Routine Care Coverage)

Noel: $17.50/month (VPI Standard Plan + Vaccination and Routine Care Coverage)

Noah: $17.50/month (VPI Standard Plan + Vaccination and Routine Care Coverage)

Total Monthly: $94.24, less $4.82 (multiple pet discount), plus a CA surcharge makes the total $91.13 a month.

Vaccination & Routine Care Coverage
Comprehensive physical exam
Professional consultation (office call)
Fecal Test
Deworming
Microchip Identification $10
Choice of one of the following benefits:
FeLV/FIV test (cats only)
Heartworm test
Heartworm preventive medication
Plus your choice of one of the following benefits:
Spay/Neuter
Teeth Cleaning (includes polishing, scaling, anesthesia and antibiotic treatment)
Comprehensive health screen
(such as blood panel, urinalysis and EKG)
Vaccinations:
Canine
DHL-P
Parvovirus
Rabies
Bordetella
Lyme Disease
Corona Virus

Feline
FVRCP
FeLV
FIP
Rabies

Prescription Flea Control
Purchased during the months of:
January - June
July - December

**at a reduced rate**

VPI (Superior & Standard) Plans
1222 Gastritis $357 $173
1224 Gastric Torsion $1,993 $1,149
1243 Intestinal Foreign Body (Surgical) $1,363 $780
1270 Pancreatitis $593 $353
2951** Neoplasia (Pancreas) $2,265 $1,458
1290 Liver Disease $409 $240
1303 Lacerations $501 $287
1306 Abscess $378 $213
1322 Atopic Dermatitis $268 $145
1326 Pyoderma/HotSpot $276 $145
1445** Neoplasia (Thorax) $2,558 $1,617
1447 Pneumonia $588 $355
1550** Neoplasia (Prostate) $2,022 $1,287
1802 Bladder Infection $270 $148
2019 Feline Leukemia / FIV virus infection $519 $302
2020 Fever (unknown origin) $278 $158
2107 Conjunctivitis $172 $100
2205 Epilepsy $326 $160
2206 Disc Disease $371 $187
2208 Laminectomy $2,338 $1,305
2305 Otitis $253 $144
2309 Lacroix Surgery $803 $474
2503 Abscessed Carnassial (tooth) $387 $224
2729 Soft Tissue Trauma $247 $192
2821 Fracture - Splint $545 $382
2830 Fracture - Pin $1,132 $643
2831 Fracture - Plate $1,852 $1,023
2920 Hypothyroidism $340 $163
2950 Diabetes Mellitus $568 $300

(The first number is the code, the words are the condition. The first $ number is the amount they will pay with the Superior Plan, the second $ number is how much they will pay with the Standard Plan.)

What do you all think? Is it worth it??? In your opinions?? 2kitties, does this help at all?

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Here is a link to a thread I started about pet insurance. Hope this helps some.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I've just recently put my cats on pet insurance. I'm currently using the VPI that NoahsMommy talked about. I've filed a couple of claims with Sunny but haven't heard anything yet. Storm and Sunny are on the VPI Standard Plan with Routine Care Coverage and right now Cirrus is on another plan which is free for 2 months. I decided that it was time to insure them because I'm still trying to pay off my RB Pepper's bill. It's so hard to pay a bill for an animal that is no longer with you.

[K9karen]

I enrolled my dog, Cody on VPI about 8 yrs ago..He went to R.B on April 3 and being 11, his monthly premium was high on the Superior plus Cancer plan. In one week, his bills totalled around $1000 as he got suddenly very ill with the last stage of cancer, and I almost got everything back, Xrays, tests, blood trasfusion, except for boarding and food. I never had to use it much, gratefully all his years, except for shots, some Xrays, but the were great! Sadly, they even pay partially for euthenasa. Worth every cent.

[jenluckenbach]

consider this:

When you put that kind of money into insurance and DON'T use it .... it is lost. BUT.......if you put that money into a separate account, ear marked for kitty emergencies, then it would be available to use at the time that you need it and/or for something else.

I could never afford insurance for all of mine, but on the other hand, I would not have gotten my money's worth for services either. And hopefully I will not have ths dilemma anytime in the fuure.