Pet Insurance is a pretty hot topic these days. There are a lot of strong opinions for and against it, but how do you decide if it is right for you and your pet? Visits to the vet can really get expensive fast. With the developments in pet care, veterinary care is expanding, and becoming increasingly costly. Let’s look at how we made the decision about health insurance at our house.
Is pet insurance right for me?
What is your relationship with your pet?
Many vet clinics ask pet parents the first time they visit if their pet is a family member or just a pet. Your answer to this question will help you decide about insurance. Typically, if you answer, “just a pet”, it means you are not interested in going in over the top to treat the pet should the need arise. If you are just getting basic care for your furry friend, insurance may not be something you need. On the other paw, if your pet is a family member, and you would go to great lengths to care for any health issues that may occur, insurance might be a good idea. My mom would probably sell the house if needed to get us the care we need. For this reason, we have insurance. We need a home to come back to if we are sick or injured.
How much can you afford to spend on pet care?
Basic check ups and medications can be hundreds of dollars per pet, per year. Most people who have a pet accept, and are prepared for these expenses, but what do you do if your pet becomes seriously ill or injured, and needs expensive, sometimes extended care? Can you afford ten, twenty, thirty, or more thousand dollars at a moments notice? Would you want to be able to provide care for your pet where cost is not a factor, or would you prefer to let your pet go? These are tough questions pet parents need to ask themselves when deciding if pet health insurance is right for them.
How do you choose an insurance company?
The pet health insurance industry is growing like crazy right now, and plans are changing at a rapid rate. Check with people you know who have insurance for their pets to see what they recommend. The internet is also a great tool. There are many websites listing the various companies that offer pet insurance. Many of them offer plan comparisons.
Which plan and coverage do I need?
Each insurance company has their own plans. Plans vary from basic care, to illness and injury, to injury only. Make sure you find out if there is a cap on the amount the company will pay for a pet per year, or in a lifetime. Are preexisting conditions covered? Is coverage limited or is it not covered for certain breed specific ailments? What is the deductible? What percentage of expenses are covered after the deductible is met? With most plans, the best way to insure you get the most coverage is to start your pet when they are young. Some companies will not enroll pets over a certain age.
What is our plan?
Back in 2008, I had a lump, which turned out to be benign. When this happened, Mom realized how expensive my health care could get quickly, and she decided to find health insurance for me and Katie. We didn’t know much about pet insurance plans at the time, and insurance wasn’t as user friendly as it is now. At the time, we enrolled in what we thought was the best policy, but found out later, many things were excluded, or had reimbursement caps.
When Katie was diagnosed with a heart tumor, we cancelled her policy as heart tumors were not covered. So far, my insurance has been quite good. Much of my dental care last fall, and my lip fold surgery several years ago were mostly covered. Bailie has a newer policy which has also covered some of her more serious illnesses, and conditions the past couple years. Madison has the best policy, covering basic care, medications, accidents, and illnesses. With her policy, Mom meets the deductible, and everything else is covered 90% with no yearly or lifetime limit. Just an exam, and some heartworm medication covers the deductible, so it really is a great plan.
My GBGV Life isn’t going to say pet insurance is a must. We will only say, pet parents need to consider it when they adopt a new furry family member. Make sure you are prepared in the event something bad happens. Many people say to put the monthly premiums into a savings account instead of insurance, but even if you put away $1000 a year, it may not be enough should your dog have an accident, or develop a serious disease. Insurance isn’t made to be a money making investment. Insurance provides peace of mind, and one hopes to never need it. Think about your car, home, or health insurance. In most cases, you pay in a whole bunch of money, and never need the coverage. The decision for or against pet insurance is yours, but make it wisely.
This post is the opinion of My GBGV Life in the hope of helping pet parents decide if pet insurance is right for them or not. My GBGV Life does not work with a pet insurance company. Pet parents need to do their own research before making any decisions on pet health care insurance.
it can be essential, we learnt that the hardest way ever… thanks for posting about such an important topic…. to have an insurance can not solve all problems what can happen but to have one makes it much easier to pull through when a torrent of sorrows comes down on us…
It helps to know you will be able to do the most you can without going bankrupt.
Living in New York you need insurance. A annual visit to the vet is more than $500 plus if you make frequent visit for ear infections. Good information. Isn’t everyone’s pet part of the family?
One wishes that was so. We ran into a guy who had two dogs, but only had one. Mom asked where the other one was and he said he took him to the vet because he wasn’t feeling well. Vet said the dog had cancer, so the guy put him down right then and there. Then he said to mom, it’s a dog, who is going to spend thousands of dollars on a dog with cancer. Those are the people who don’t need insurance. Sadly there are a lot of them in the world.
Ellen Shedlarz I live in NYC – the upper east side and just recently on the upper west side. I don’t what vet you use, but I never paid more than $150 to $200 for a wellness visit for my dogs or cats.
Insurance has saved several people i know from costly vet bills. If I ever got a puppy, I would get insurance because that’s obviously the best time. Roxy and Torrey both have pre existing conditions now, so it would be super expensive to even think about insurance. Plus, We don’t have insurance so it’s hard to insure them, and not us.
Mom always says our insurance is better than hers, and she spends more on our healthcare than hers too!
We got pet insurance when Cody and Dakota were around 2 years old, we wouldn’t be without it!
It may not be right for everyone, but for us it is a good thing. Insurance is a gamble one hopes never has to pay off, but piece of mind is priceless.
We don’t have insurance but we need to get some for the newbies!
The guy with the tail may find himself in some predicaments one day!
I am ashamed to say that I don’t have insurance for the boys. It is something I need to decide on sooner rather than later.
It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Not everyone has it or feels the need to have it. Without it, it is a gamble, like driving without car insurance. You never know. Hopefully, the boys will stay healthy.
When Callie & Shadow were pups, the pet insurance that was available was garbage. So I never gave it much thought until we adopted Ducky. At the time, I just continued the policy we got through the shelter; but a few years ago they cancelled it on us. So, now I’m trying to decide on a new plan for Ducky. Thankfully, with the exception of her occasional IBS episodes, she’s a healthy girl. Shadow is beyond the “insurable” age; but at 13-1/2, any serious issues would probably call for a serious consideration of her quality of life anyway.
Emma, I would greatly appreciate you letting me know which company and plan you have for both you and Bailie. You can send me a pm on Messenger if you prefer.
Plans have changed so much just in the ten years I have had my insurance. Madison’s policy is wonderful, but not available as an option to switch to for pets over a certain age. Sent you an email with our company.
Really good post talking about the different aspects of making this decision. I go back and forth about insurance. We have always self-insured by investing the premiums we would be paying in a rainy day fund. But I still wonder about my decision. And it helps to start young with your dogs before they develop health concerns that would not be covered under a plan.
In reality, insurance has a limited value (including our own health insurance) since we’re permanent nomads. It makes more sense when you’re rooted in one place.
Insurance is a gamble really. Everyone has car/boat, home, health insurance. We pay in thousands of dollars and rarely see any return. Pet insurance just gives Mom the piece of mind that no matter what happens we can get the care we need. Especially Madison has no limit so we could spend $50K on her tomorrow and would receive 90% of that back. Even traveling it is useful as you can use it at any veterinarian. It is something everyone has to decide for their own personal situation. We just realized if we saved the money rather than buying insurance, it would take a long time to add up, and then there are three of us.
The vet bills added up for Linus with several trips to the emergency vet before he passed. Now we’re researching pet insurance so we won’t have to worry about unexpected vet bills with our current and future dogs.
So sorry about Linus. Insurance is there if you need it. We would rather pay premiums and never need it, but it provides peace of mind.
The #1 thing I get asked about if friends or family adopt a new pet, is pet insurance. It’s probably the one subject I know the least about! The only time we had pet insurance is when we had free coverage that came with Luke from the rescue when we adopted him.
I have mixed feelings about insurance in general. It seems like high stakes gambling to me! You pay all the money and oftentimes don’t even use the coverage. However, we let Luke’s lapse and next thing we knew he gets diagnosed with his luxating patellas and may someday need surgery. I don’t know if that insurance would have covered that or not, but it certainly always gets me thinking about it.
Mom hates paying car and home insurance since she has never needed it, but it is required and if we need it, we will be thankful we have it. Since we pups are so important, pet insurance is worth the money for us. It has changed a lot in the past years. Every company is different. We have good policies, but the one Madison has is new and really great. No caps, everything is covered. One has to decide what is right for their own situation. One dog isn’t as bad as three if problems start to arise.
Mom got us insurance when Elbe joined the family, because he was/is such a chewer/swallower and jumper;, and because she loves me and I am getting older. IT has been a wise decision. Chablis
Everyone has to decide for themselves. Some years we break even, overall we pay in more than we have gotten out, but if something big comes up, we know our furs are covered and that is what insurance is all about.
Mama can’t tell you how much she appreciates this post, and it made her really sit and think about things…It’s always good to make Mama think!
xoxo,
Jakey, Arty & Rosy
Good she is thinking. Rosy, especially is young enough to get a good policy started.
This was a great post, I do see people asking all over FB which company is the best. I have insurance on my girls and it has paid off for me.
For us, it is worth the gamble, and it looks like Bailie’s will be paying off now. We prefer to pay in and get nothing, but injuries and illness happen.
Emma, I would greatly appreciate you letting me know which company and plan you have for both you and Bailie. You can send me a pm on Messenger if you prefer.
I’ll send you an email to the address you used to comment.