Comments on: Is Pet Insurance Necessary?

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 23:35:10 +0000

Pet insurance can be downright essential in many cases. We have four cats (indoor only), who had never experienced anything worse than a cold. We figured that $20-30 here and there wouldn’t hurt for some anti-biotics.
Then one of our cats (4 years old at the time), developed a urinary blockage that put him in emergency care three separate times. Each of these bills came out to $150-$250 per visit. We finally considered consigery, due to the 99% success and survival rate of comparable cases, and the young age of the cat. All told, we spent around $6000.
If we had had insurance, it would have come to around $800 or so. For all of our cats and one dog, our insurance bill is $600 a year – small price to pay considering what we’ve already been through.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 16:15:50 +0000

I live in NYC where vet costs are outrageous. I had a Cairn with kidney issues for 1 year and my bills were close to 7k. I have insurance on my dog now and wonder about the rising cost of premiums but based on my experience; the premiums are nothing compared to what I would have to spend if he was really sick. My premiums add up to 600$ per year.

By: John

John — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 16:49:43 +0000

And if Nickfro’s pup had other health issues he would have saved even more. What’s your point? If you did a cost benefit analysis and decided pet insurance wasn’t for you then fine. Don’t go around trying to apply your situation to everyone.

By: Ari

Ari — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 05:43:11 +0000

We went with VPI when we got our rescue 2 years ago. Our coverage paid for itself last year for things like conjunctivitis, ear infection and some stomach ailments. After having a standard poodle who had bloat (2x), ear problems and hip dysplasia, my wife and I figured the $300 a year of insurance was worth it. We’ve been happy with VPI.

By: dogatemyfinances

dogatemyfinances — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 01:52:11 +0000

Those companies are making piles of money, some of the profitable kinds of insurance plans. That’s not an accident.

By: Beth

Beth — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 21:53:32 +0000

The AVMA estimates don’t always mean a whole lot because many insurance companies don’t cover routine check ups and vaccinations (which accounts for a lot of that mean of $200). It really depends on the policy.

By: Jim

Jim — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 20:48:19 +0000

“How does $251 a year stack up against the typical procedures a two and a half year old dog will face?”

For general reference: According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, in 2007 the mean annual expenditure on vet bills per cat was $81 and for dogs $200.
http://www.avma.org/reference/marketstats/ownership.asp

Your 2.5 year old dog is probably less than the mean cause the mean would be skewed towards older dogs with illnesses related to age.

I’d also look closely at the policy from any pet insurance. Looking at VPI’s site I found their maximum payouts on any procedure are relatively low IMHO. THey seem to max out around a few hundred dollars for most procedures and the most expensive things are around $1000. So if they only pay out max of $1000 for a very expensive procedure then that really limits what you’d get from them.

Jim

By: Deby

Deby — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 20:19:02 +0000

I find that pet insurance, for us at least, not to be worth it. We’ve had a couple of emergency visits over the years, but nothing we couldn’t handle. We set up a savings account for all pet expenses (food, vet vists, toys, etc.) for the year, so we earn interest on the money before we need it, and have the money available if an emergency does come up.

By: CK

CK — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 19:45:23 +0000

Comparing human health ins. and pet ins. is apples to oranges.

In my view insurance is supposed to protect your from large financial hits.

I love my dog but I’m not going to spend a large amount of money on him if he’s sick so pet ins. isn’t for me.

If you’re the type of person who is going to pay anything for your pet then it’s probably for you.

By: CK

CK — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 19:39:57 +0000

So you paid $20 a month for how long to get $300 dollars of benefit? If you have the ins for more then 15 months you’re in the hole.

By: John

John — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 19:29:29 +0000

“I’ve never met a dog worth $1000 of vet bills”

Hmmm…I would imagine that is because you view them as disposable objects. I would say a majority of pet owners share your view.

I am pretty frugal and tight with finances but I spent over $700 on pet bills last year. If you can’t see yourself allocating $50/month for pet health costs then you really shouldn’t even bother owning a pet.

By: thomas

thomas — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 19:27:22 +0000

Just like any insurance, the true value comes when you need to use it. For example, I haven’t had to use my health insurance in 3 years, but I’m certainly not going to cancel it to save a buck. Can insurance save you money? Yes. Can you “waste” your money? Sure. The cost of owning a pet and healthcare is rising just like people, so it is not out of the world to consider this. I do not have PI for my pets, but definitely see the value and have friends who have been able to take advantage of their policies.

People without pets shouldn’t be allowed to weigh in on this conversation because they do not have a frame of reference.

By: nickfro

nickfro — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 18:33:54 +0000

Jim – While I’ve only ever used VPI (and there are plenty of other options), I can tell you that one trip to the emergency vet and your coverage will pay for itself… The pup had a small (viral) growth on his leg that needed to be removed to prevent severe bleeding and the potential for infection. It had to be done over New Year’s weekend. The cost for the exam, surgery, antibiotics, and aenethstesia was about $600. VPI covered around $300 of the cost, on a policy that cost me $20/month. Had I been able to take him to my regular vet, it would’ve cost about $200-300 less, and I still would’ve more than broken even. I view it like a Home Warranty — it’s peace of mind. My $0.02.

By: RRPF

RRPF — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 17:57:25 +0000

VPI gets a lot of bad press online. I’m going to use them for my bird (they do offer avian/exotic which is nice) but for my cat, I’m going with Pet Plan (www.gopetplan.com). Cheaper than VPI and really good reviews online.

By: CK

CK — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 17:09:27 +0000

“Wow your pet insurance quotes are not far behind that of term life insurance quotes!”

Awesome point.