Pet Insurance

[sandgrubber]

Hi guys, thought some might be interested in my story. When my old cat was about 8 years old, she either fell out of a tree or was hit by a car (the vets could never tell) but either way she broke her jaw badly. My mum took us to the vets immediately, and they explained that she could definitely be saved, but that it would cost us $3500. I begged my mother and she loaned me the money and I was paying her back for years afterward. Aside from that though, my cat never cost me anything above the usual initial vaccinations, flea treatment etc which insurance wouldn't cover anyway. I made a decision though after that incident that I never wanted to be in a position where I had to choose between the life of my pet and money. So I thought pet insurance was definitely for me.

But you read over the policies, and none are all inclusive. The last thing you would want was for your pet to need vet treatment, you've paid $1000's over the years to insurance companies and yet they won't help you. So I started saving $50/month for potential vet bills and put it in a high interest savings account. Today I have close to $5000 saved - and my dog is not even 2 years old. He made need it one day and if he does I'll be able to help him and I know I have the money for the treatment and whatever the treatment happens to be, my savings will cover it (unlike insurance with all their exclusions). But should he get to 13-15 years old (like his family) and never have needed anything serious, well I'll have a healthy savings account.

It's not for everyone, and it takes a while to accrue a decent balance, but I think in the longterm and with current pet insurance options being what they are it's worth considering.

+1

They're making $$$ of you, on the average. What you pay for includes expensive executive offices and high salaries.

If you keep a buffer, and mind your p's and q's with respect to risks, you should come out ahead. More-so if you have several pets.

[Mason_Gibbs]

My advice take Insurance if u have a young active lab. Mine has had 2 canine tooth abscesses from biting things too hard and xrays for a limp ( they showed nothing) spent $1500 the first 2 months that iv had him

[Talien]

Arty comes home in 2 weeks and I am thinking seriously about getting Pet Plan Insurance, but i am not sure how it works, do I have to pay first and then claim the money back from Pet Plan or will Pet Plan pay the Vet directly in the event that something goes wrong?

[megan_]

With all of them you pay upfront then claim. It is up to the vet to decide whether they don't make to pay upfront and just get the claim money from the insurance company.

[Talien]

ahh okies

[aussielover]

Arty comes home in 2 weeks and I am thinking seriously about getting Pet Plan Insurance, but i am not sure how it works, do I have to pay first and then claim the money back from Pet Plan or will Pet Plan pay the Vet directly in the event that something goes wrong?

Petplan can pay directly to the vet.

It is up to the vet whether they will accept this (as petplan can take a few weeks to pay up) or whether they will require upfront payment.

[Mason_Gibbs]

Arty comes home in 2 weeks and I am thinking seriously about getting Pet Plan Insurance, but i am not sure how it works, do I have to pay first and then claim the money back from Pet Plan or will Pet Plan pay the Vet directly in the event that something goes wrong?

Petplan can pay directly to the vet.

It is up to the vet whether they will accept this (as petplan can take a few weeks to pay up) or whether they will require upfront payment.

A few weeks lol..... I wait anywhere between 10-12 weeks ATM!! It kills my credit card as I get charged the interest obviously

[shelby-001]

Arty comes home in 2 weeks and I am thinking seriously about getting Pet Plan Insurance, but i am not sure how it works, do I have to pay first and then claim the money back from Pet Plan or will Pet Plan pay the Vet directly in the event that something goes wrong?

Petplan can pay directly to the vet.

It is up to the vet whether they will accept this (as petplan can take a few weeks to pay up) or whether they will require upfront payment.

A few weeks lol..... I wait anywhere between 10-12 weeks ATM!! It kills my credit card as I get charged the interest obviously

Really? The longest it took for ours was 3 weeks and that was with a delay due to a processing error. The second one took 5 days and the 3rd one took 8! All claims over $3500 so they also had to go through a second approval level.

[Mason_Gibbs]

Arty comes home in 2 weeks and I am thinking seriously about getting Pet Plan Insurance, but i am not sure how it works, do I have to pay first and then claim the money back from Pet Plan or will Pet Plan pay the Vet directly in the event that something goes wrong?

Petplan can pay directly to the vet.

It is up to the vet whether they will accept this (as petplan can take a few weeks to pay up) or whether they will require upfront payment.

A few weeks lol..... I wait anywhere between 10-12 weeks ATM!! It kills my credit card as I get charged the interest obviously

Really? The longest it took for ours was 3 weeks and that was with a delay due to a processing error. The second one took 5 days and the 3rd one took 8! All claims over $3500 so they also had to go through a second approval level.

Yup really!!!