Health insurance - a must

[Jeannie]

I took out health insurance for 10 years on Chalkie n cat never used it so cancelled when they cheekily raised the cost. However, after reading how Pugs have health conditions I took out insurance for our little girl Lola who is now 12 months old. Good job I did as she has cost a small fortune. The biggest issue being an ulcerated eye which took along time to heal. And unlike when I took the other two to the vets years ago. The vet now charges a consultation every time even if they just look. Treatment ran into probably over £200 I strongly advise insurance as those beautiful angelic eye protrude and are so easily injured. We will most likely have to pay for her baby teeth to be removed but due to lack of finances I shall wait until we go to get Booster jab in a couple of weeks. When we first had her from breeder she had an eye infection and possible ear infection - more cost but good job we didn't settle for the fact she was vet checked and I wanted my own vet to check her out.

[AmberB]

I debated also about getting pet insurance for Remy but decided to give it a try. In the first month we had him he came down with pneumonia and it cost us $750. We paid the deductible and pet insurance covered the rest. So it paid for itself twice over in the first month.

So glad we had it.

[CountryPug]

I would agree it's a must have, if you have a pug!!!

[mieu]

I've paid more in vet bills for non-routine things in the first two months of having Scootaloo than it cost me to bring her home from the breeder! Insurance is a life-saver!

[Loconn55]

What company do you recommend, and can you give any ball-park figures for basic coverage? I'm wondering if I could even find a company that would insure my oldsters. I don't have health insurance myself, but I worry more about the pack, since Chainsaw's recent health costs have pretty much wiped me out for now. Gotta start working overtime again!

Thanks for any info.

[mieu]

What company do you recommend, and can you give any ball-park figures for basic coverage? I'm wondering if I could even find a company that would insure my oldsters. I don't have health insurance myself, but I worry more about the pack, since Chainsaw's recent health costs have pretty much wiped me out for now. Gotta start working overtime again!

Thanks for any info.

I'm currently using PetPlan's Bronze plan with 100% coverage and a 200$ deductible. Took it out when she was 8 weeks, it's about $40/month. The deductible is PER INCIDENT though so every 'diagnosis' gets one deductible per year. For example if she 'ingests a foreign object' one week and gets a urinary tract infection the next week, two deductibles are started for a total of $400, but even if she has more UTIs or swallows more objects by the end of the year they will all be 100% covered once the deductible is paid. They have lower deductible options as well, I didn't realize they were per incident so for next year I'll probably pay a little extra per month for the lower deductible amount.

They have a 14 day waiting period before coverage begins after purchasing the plan, and they require a release of the last 2 years medical history from your vet and don't cover pre-existing conditions unless the condition is curable (like an infection). You'll have to pay out of pocket of course for all costs then file claims and get reimbursed, I'm fairly sure most, if not all pet insurance companies are like that. They cover medications and labwork, they don't require pre-authorization (basically there is nothing that they won't cover EXCEPT some certain things around hip dysplasia and luxating patella so make sure you read that fine print no matter who you choose!) but they do not cover the vet fee for emergency or maintenance visits (but they do cover any treatments or labwork done as part of a routine or emergency visit for which there is a condition/diagnosis to be done).

[CSollers]

I have the same concerns as Laurie. Insuring Ray would be impossible due to the fact that he's 12 and in pretty rough shape. I really gotta get insurance for Minni.

[kardawg]

I have Healthy Paws. I have a 250 deductible and 80 % coverage and it's not per incident which i liked. It costs about 37 a month. This plan doesn't cover dental or normal checkups. I did a lot of research and called them with the what if this happens.....Unfortunately I didn't have it when he was sick (it was over 5,000) and it will never cover any preexisting conditions but he will be covered for most issues. There is a website I used to compare plans but I can't remember what it is

[maryluvspugs]

i found this:

Best Pet Insurance Websites | Consumer's Advocate

[maryluvspugs]

So I'm beginning to research insurance a bit after reading this thread. I have a question though. It looks like you have to pay upfront for services and then the insurance companies reimburse. So if, God forbid, there were an accident that required surgery, xrays, specialists, hospitalization, etc. and the bill were upwards of 5K or more. I would be responsible for the thousands of dollars upfront and then file a claim to get reimbursement? Is that how it works?

Is there any company that does a copay for these situations like human insurance?