Pet Insurance
- Thread starter gocy444
- Start date
Here comes the ******* in me......if you can't pay for this type of thing out of pocket, you shouldn't have a pet.
I can 100% pay for it...I would just rather budget in $25 a month than drop $5,000 if something bad happens.
I think the big things to evaluate in a plan would be: 1) Are there any "pre-existing conditions" clauses? 2) Is there any condition that they would stop covering at any point (eg - a dog that has multiple foreign body surgeries)? 3) Is there any cap to their coverage? and 4) How do they handle payment? (Many companies require you pay the full vet bill first, then submit a claim for reimbursement.)
Than just put $25 a month into a savings account.
Good call. Most companies seem to deny pre-existing conditions, but that's pretty common in any insurance.
That's a strange take on insurance. Pet insurance is the same as having human insurance but for an animal. It can really benefit some if their pet ends up having major problems someone didn't know about. The other option is getting to the vet, finding out the probably will be for the pet's life and just saying screw it, Ill get a new one. With insurance the person can still care for the dog.
I'm curious what the details are of your plan and I'd look at that closely. We have two large dogs (boxer and lab) and have looked into pet insurance. Every provider I've looked at, the numbers just don't work out. At one point, my employer was actually going to provide pet insurance as a benefit and asked me to evaluate if it was worth it or not.
In that case, it was $40/month per dog. Pre-existing conditions were not covered. And there was a $250 deductible. In our case, we have $80/month in allergy meds that one dog uses, so insurance would be great for that, except pre-existing conditions aren't covered. Also, with this particular plan, we'd go from paying $80/month for meds to $80/month for insurance so not really worth it.
In all cases that I've looked at it, it only makes financial sense if you were to buy the insurance knowing you have a huge claim coming up (big surgery, as an example). However, if you know, that means it's a pre-existing condition and not covered.
All that being said, please do share as maybe I'm just not looking into the right plans. My in-laws have insurance on their two golden retrievers. I think they pay in that $40/dog range and yes, it has come in handy when they've had to pay for big surgeries. However, paying that $40 premium each month over a few years about equals what they would've paid for a major surgery.
In that case, it was $40/month per dog. Pre-existing conditions were not covered. And there was a $250 deductible. In our case, we have $80/month in allergy meds that one dog uses, so insurance would be great for that, except pre-existing conditions aren't covered. Also, with this particular plan, we'd go from paying $80/month for meds to $80/month for insurance so not really worth it.
In all cases that I've looked at it, it only makes financial sense if you were to buy the insurance knowing you have a huge claim coming up (big surgery, as an example). However, if you know, that means it's a pre-existing condition and not covered.
All that being said, please do share as maybe I'm just not looking into the right plans. My in-laws have insurance on their two golden retrievers. I think they pay in that $40/dog range and yes, it has come in handy when they've had to pay for big surgeries. However, paying that $40 premium each month over a few years about equals what they would've paid for a major surgery.
Last year the company I work for started to offer pet insurance. I haven't participated, but several co-workers love it. Especially the one with like 5 dogs LOL.
I used to be purely in this boat, and laughed the first time I heard about such thing. But since hearing about it I've had several friends that likely would have been better off with the insurance (mostly all dog stories eating a toy or something).
Not something I pay for, but I'm also the type that does have a limit on what I would cover on my pet. Love him, but not going to put our family in any sort of financial situation over him.
We love our dog and cats. We have had family pets for my entire life. Yet I cringe at the idea of "pet insurance", or even the idea of spending thousands of dollars on a pet surgery. Folks...these are still just pets. Yes, have them vaccinated, fixed, etc...treat them well...play with them...but they are still just pets. They have a short life span..they are just pets.
My wife calls me the grinch by the way.
My wife calls me the grinch by the way.
Here's the company I'm looking in to: https://figopetinsurance.com/. You can play around with quotes pretty easily.
Maybe it's just me, but I'd rather pay the $25 a month and have some piece of mind knowing if she swallows something that gets lodged in her throat I'm not stuck with a $2,500 bill. If she lives to be 12 that's $3,600. All it takes is one claim and it's worth it.
Insurance companies are not in the business of losing money, which is one of the many reasons I rarely buy insurance of any kind and when I do it has a high deductible.
My exception to this is something that could bankrupt me or cause major financial harm. An example of this is me carrying an umbrella policy.
Life Insurance-Maybe if I was broke, in my 20's, had kids, one income, etc. this would make more sense. The money that would have went to life insurance has instead gone into various forms of savings.
Car Insurance-I've had a high deductible for the last 20 years. At the time, it was saving me about $50/month by having this high deductible. In those 25 years, I had one claim and the deductible didn't come into play. Assuming I made no return on this money, it has saved me at least $15k.
HDHP-I haven't been to the doctor in 15 years or so, which is pretty dumb. However, what is not dumb is my HDHP, where I've stashed thousands without spending a cent. An added bonus is that my employer has also contributed.
Pet Insurance-If your pet has a preexisting condition, I'm assuming they are not going to just charge you $25/month and then allow a $5,000 surgery the next month. Yes, just like all other insurance, you may get lucky and it may work out for you but the numbers don't lie, the insurance company is going to come out on top, which means the customer is going to lose money. As far as comparing it to human health insurance, it's not the same. Before buying an animal you need to think "What's the worst thing that could happen and could I afford it?". If not, don't get an animal.
Household Insurance-See car insurance. Never have used it so I get a high deductible.
Everyone is in a different position but this is what has worked for me. Your results may vary.
My exception to this is something that could bankrupt me or cause major financial harm. An example of this is me carrying an umbrella policy.
Life Insurance-Maybe if I was broke, in my 20's, had kids, one income, etc. this would make more sense. The money that would have went to life insurance has instead gone into various forms of savings.
Car Insurance-I've had a high deductible for the last 20 years. At the time, it was saving me about $50/month by having this high deductible. In those 25 years, I had one claim and the deductible didn't come into play. Assuming I made no return on this money, it has saved me at least $15k.
HDHP-I haven't been to the doctor in 15 years or so, which is pretty dumb. However, what is not dumb is my HDHP, where I've stashed thousands without spending a cent. An added bonus is that my employer has also contributed.
Pet Insurance-If your pet has a preexisting condition, I'm assuming they are not going to just charge you $25/month and then allow a $5,000 surgery the next month. Yes, just like all other insurance, you may get lucky and it may work out for you but the numbers don't lie, the insurance company is going to come out on top, which means the customer is going to lose money. As far as comparing it to human health insurance, it's not the same. Before buying an animal you need to think "What's the worst thing that could happen and could I afford it?". If not, don't get an animal.
Household Insurance-See car insurance. Never have used it so I get a high deductible.
Everyone is in a different position but this is what has worked for me. Your results may vary.
My company offers pet insurance. I looked into it as I have several pets. From what I saw, it only serves a benefit for someone who couldn't afford an unexpected event in the ~$2500 or so range. Most pet surgeries would fall in this range or lower.
Long term care for an illness could easily surpass this range, but that would either be a pre-existing condition (which isn't covered) or would only be covered for the remainder of the plan year and then after that considered a pre-existing condition (and not covered any longer).
Long term care for an illness could easily surpass this range, but that would either be a pre-existing condition (which isn't covered) or would only be covered for the remainder of the plan year and then after that considered a pre-existing condition (and not covered any longer).
I agree with everything you say, but get to the doctor! I assume your HDHP pays for one preventive physical a year? At worst, you maintain a relationship with a doctor for when you do need it.
Most companies offer a discount on your insurance for doing the preventative checkups.
Sorry but in that instance the pet gets put down. My priorities are my family because they’re not replaceable.
I have Embrace and like them. They just end up reimbursing you, so its pretty simple. Got it for our dog last Summer since she is starting to get up in age; dog ended up needing a couple of surgeries in the Fall, so right now I've come out ahead.
