Do you have pet insurance? (to cover vet bills)

The last few years I've seen a few advertisements for companies offering pet insurance. Those who have owned a dog for a long period of time will know that vet bills start to add up. Especially when dogs get older and there are unexpected medical costs and overnight stays in the clinc. In some cases vet bills are higher than our own medical bills.

So do you have pet insurance? Or would you consider taking out a policy in the future? Some policies aren't cheap and cost upwards of $10 a week. Currently I'm not interested in taking out a policy and will just put money aside in my bank account for a rainy day.

 

I don’t have pet insurance. Savings in bank would do in times of emergency. Anyway, dogs’ needs are part of the budget. But it’s also good to have pet insurance given that they will cover the need of your dog and you need not worry about where to get the money for every checkup or some serious operation or something. If you have an excess in your earnings to spare for it, why not enroll your pet on dog plans?

 

You don't need pet insurance at all. Just put a few bucks to the side every paycheck for your dog. I do it just in case something happen to my dog like sickness and ect.

 

I don't, but I think it's a great idea for some people. I know people who've had to spend thousands of dollars on their pets medical expenses when something bad happens and insurance could've saved their butts. Like Ja'cobeC mentioned, you could do the same yourself by simply tucking away a few bucks here or there for "just in case."

 

I do not have dog insurance either for our dogs.
I just do not let myself run out of money for emergency like just in case they got sick.

 

I don't have pet insurance, I'm pretty sure no one in my country has it - it really is not popular here, where I live. I think that it may be too expensive anyway. I prefer to put some money aside every month in case of an emergency.

 

Really? Nopes I don't have pet insurance and I have never heard of such thing ever. That would be awesome though if we can have pet insurance... because dogs are like family members!

 

I have pet insurance for my dogs. It sounds horrible but it is similar to insuring my investment. I have had emergencies happen with my dogs when there were other emergencies. I had my hot water heater go and my dog was injured. It is one of the times that I was glad I had it. It also saves money if you have a big expense with the vet. A friend of mine had to have an emergency c-section on his dog and if it wasn't for the pet insurance it would of cost him $1500.00 the insurance came in handy. It can be a tad expensive but most of the vets around here will not work with you on a payment plan so the insurance does help out greatly.

 

I hear you that sometimes a visit to the Vet is more costly than going to regular doctor as I've experienced that myself. I understand your concern that in the future our dogs may need medical insurance when they grow old but the cost for pet insurance is pretty steep. I'm waiting for other companies to also sell the same services, that way the cost of pet insurance will hopefully become more competative. For now I'm saving a certain amount per month so that should my pet become ill I have money set aside for her .

 

I had health insurance for my oldest dog for about two years through PetFirst. I paid about $64 a month for a plan that covered wellness visits and offered a low deductible. After two years, they switched underwriters to Aetna, and the price of my plan shot up to $98 a month. I calculated the cost of what I had spent on the plan and on veterinary care over the past year and discovered that I wasn't getting much for my money. I had a $200 deductible and then I was responsible for 20% of the cost after that. It just didn't make sense to continue paying for insurance. Instead, I put aside money to cover an emergency. If my dog needs major surgery or chemotherapy, then I will apply for CareCredit and just pay it off after the treatment, instead of relying on the insurance. Some treatments like chemotherapy may not be covered by health insurance policies anyway.

 

Wow that's a massive jump in premiums, no wonder you ended the plan. I think what you are doing makes a lot of sense!

P.S. Welcome to the forum!

 

I recently read a news article where the dog was accidentally hit by a car. The owner was told by the veterinarian that if she did not pay for immediate surgery which they priced at $10,000 they would report her for animal cruelty. She tried to come up with the money but couldn't and was reported to the authorities. Although the charges were dropped it brings to the forefront if indeed we should bite bullet and invest in insurance for our pets. I'll be looking at plans in the coming months to see if there is one that is cheap enough for me to afford.

 

No, not yet, but I might consider it in the future, specially if I move to the Netherlands. Some people think pet insurances are a waste of money, but I think they can actually be life savers if something goes horribly wrong! Like for example a very unexpected injury!

 

To be honest, I'm not sure if it's such a life saver.
I have special savings just for Homer. If something happens, I'm prepared. A visit to the vet is sometimes really costly, but, at least in our case, a pet insurance would be even more expensive.