FAQ: Pet Insurance?

[binxrexchubbs]

Hubby & I are thinking about it, looking at different companies. Do you have pet insurance? If so, is it worth it? What company do you suggest? If not, why?
Thanks!

 

[Marine91]

To be brutally honest pet insurance is only worth it if you get it when you brought your pup home as a mention of a concern will be considered a preexisting condition. Many people just have a credit card specifically for vet bills

 

[binxrexchubbs]

To be brutally honest pet insurance is only worth it if you get it when you brought your pup home as a mention of a concern will be considered a preexisting condition. Many people just have a credit card specifically for vet bills

Thanks so much! ��

 

[ddnene]

This was a daily poll question, and this will give you some feedback on pet insurance...
http://www.englishbulldognews.com/f...ly-poll/40169-daily-poll-bully-insurance.html

 

[binxrexchubbs]

This was a daily poll question, and this will give you some feedback on pet insurance...
http://www.englishbulldognews.com/f...ly-poll/40169-daily-poll-bully-insurance.html

Thanks! That actually helps quite a bit. :D

 

[HoldenIron]

Nope. We are using a Wellness Plan from Petsmart. A lot of people have had bad things to say about Banfield and their wellness plans in regards to jacked up prices on meds or unnecessary test. So far we are happy though. For us it's about education. When they offer to give Abraham something like ear cleaning solution for yeast I generally say "no thanks" because I know I can get it a lot cheaper over the net. Use this site to educate yourself on what you can and can't do comfortably from home and a wellness plan can be all you need. We have used them in the past and had good results so we choose to use them again.

 

[JennyBean]

We bought Healthy Paws for Farley when we adopted him he was 3. It was recommended to us to get an insurance policy by our vet since we were English bulldog owners. We were so scared of major health issues happening that we wanted to be covered in an emergency. We have a $500 deductible per year. It does not cover office visits, vaccines or routine type visits. They have so many plans it can be overwhelming researching insurances. I haven't had to use it yet.. *knock on wood*

 

[MichelleDavis]

We have had our bulldog insured since we brought him home. It is still quite expensive though. It costs us $90 a month and that is with a $100 deductible. We have barely used it because it doesn't cover general things - But when he has had the odd ear infection, they will cover the medication and visit (When we didn't have the deductible because it usually is only about $100. Honestly, I find right now it isn't worth it, but because our bullie is turning 6 in November, I won't cancel it. Our insurance company covers even hip dysplasia. We are with Trupanion. I hope this helps!

https://trupanion.com/canada/ppc/homepage?gclid=CM7dwaSK78YCFQiTaQod2y4K7Q

Michelle & Wesley

 

[natski282]

Our breeder supplies with all dogs 6 months of pet insurance when you get a puppy , when it runs out it stays run out for us so far on all our Bulldogs . I just do not need to argue with a insurance company over what they consider covered , of all industries in the world that bunch needs REGULATIONS and the word FINE PRINT removed and put way up front not in the FINE area of contracts !
Sorry to be blunt but it is just the experience I have had with any Insurance company !

 

[ksunseri]

I do have trupanion and it pays for itself monthly. Since bulldogs usually have issues our vet recommended. They are great. At a year she was diagnosed with hip displasia and is on a supplement that is 50 dollars. Are deductible is 350 per issue - once that is met they cover 90 percent but not the office visit. If she has to have surgery it will be well worth it. I just had a dog pass and she cost me over 10,000 dollars. Personally it is worth it unless you just put money away each month knowing that you will incur expensive vet bills.

 

[nycbullymama]

I do have trupanion and it pays for itself monthly. Since bulldogs usually have issues our vet recommended. They are great. At a year she was diagnosed with hip displasia and is on a supplement that is 50 dollars. Are deductible is 350 per issue - once that is met they cover 90 percent but not the office visit. If she has to have surgery it will be well worth it. I just had a dog pass and she cost me over 10,000 dollars. Personally it is worth it unless you just put money away each month knowing that you will incur expensive vet bills.

I had Trupanion. Got it for one of mine when he was 4 months old. They would not cover his Hip Dysplasia because one vet mentioned something about it in his chart. Mind you, he was 9 weeks old and was not diagnosed with it.
They won't cover cherry eye, allergies, vaccines, or neutering. The allergies because again, the vet mentioned something about it in his chart.

We had it for over 2 years then I had enough of them denying everything and cancelled.

I'm glad to hear your experience has been positive, but for every positive I hear about, I also hear a negative.

For anyone considering them, buy at your own risk.

 

[madie4589]

Nope. We are using a Wellness Plan from Petsmart. A lot of people have had bad things to say about Banfield and their wellness plans in regards to jacked up prices on meds or unnecessary test. So far we are happy though. For us it's about education. When they offer to give Abraham something like ear cleaning solution for yeast I generally say "no thanks" because I know I can get it a lot cheaper over the net. Use this site to educate yourself on what you can and can't do comfortably from home and a wellness plan can be all you need. We have used them in the past and had good results so we choose to use them again.

EXACTLY! I had such an awful experience with banfield. Because I was a new pet owner and was willing to trust the banfield vet 100% with my dog... I bought everything they suggested and agreed to every test they wanted to run. After several months of this I started doing exactly what you suggest. Do independent research and educate yourself, no one is looking our for our dogs best interest more than we are!

After my banfield nightmare was over, I got coverage with healthy paws and have been more than happy with the coverage. I was just looking at my statement for the year and they've paid out over $3000 back to me. Every single claim I submitted, I got money back.

But echoing what others have said, pet health insurance is truly only worth it if you get it right when you get your pup, and he/she has no 'pre-existing conditions'.

 

[madie4589]

Adding to my above statement. I also think the peace of mind the insurance provides is worth the 38/month I spend. several months ago frank was hospitalized for over 3 days and racked up a $2000 bill. healthy paws paid out almost $1900 of that bill. That incident alone was enough to make me a lifetime customer of healthy paws.

 

[Cali Doll]

EXACTLY! I had such an awful experience with banfield. Because I was a new pet owner and was willing to trust the banfield vet 100% with my dog... I bought everything they suggested and agreed to every test they wanted to run. After several months of this I started doing exactly what you suggest. Do independent research and educate yourself, no one is looking our for our dogs best interest more than we are!

After my banfield nightmare was over, I got coverage with healthy paws and have been more than happy with the coverage. I was just looking at my statement for the year and they've paid out over $3000 back to me. Every single claim I submitted, I got money back.

But echoing what others have said, pet health insurance is truly only worth it if you get it right when you get your pup, and he/she has no 'pre-existing conditions'.

Agreed! I have Trupanion, and they've been pretty great and responsive to me. I'm happy with them, and I do have peace of mind in case something crazy happens. IMO, they're pretty up-front about pre-existing conditions. They key is to get the insurance right away (like day one!), and don't mention any concerns to the vet until AFTER the insurance kicks in. If you do this, you're golden. If, before the insurance kicks-in, the vet brings up some health concern, I'd probably ask them to not add it to the pup's records. (I don't even know if that's allowed--but, I'd try it.)

 

[bengardradar]

We have Trupanion for Radar, they were fantastic this summer with his issues and are great each month when I send in the receipt for his allergy meds. I really wish though I would have double checked, I could have added coverage for behavior modification and they would have paid 90% of his 5 week training visit -- I didn't even think about it till after he got back oh well