Pet insurance

autopilot

Hi,

So some of you may remember back in January when we got our kitten Harry (pic below as a reminder) and he spent his first night with us at the Vet with a swollen tummy and dehydration. That one night + meds cost us over $700.

Luckily I was able to shuffle some balances on my credit cards to cover it, but it is a struggle for some, especially in a case like where you have an elderly cat with cancer or smoething who it obviously in a lot of pain. Sometimes car is available, but at a couple of thousand dollars, many have to face the awful decision to put them down because they can't afford the care.

When we were paying for Harry's meds, a brochure for pet insurance caught my eye. Our three boys are all indoor cats, so I didn't follow up at the time, but' it's always been gnawing at me. I don't have a lot of disposible income right now and what little I have I am trying to use to pay off my credit card debt before I want to get into home ownership.

I checked out the various offerings again recently. The cheapest I was able to find for our three was about $30/month. Some want extra initial deposits, and a lot have different levels of coverage, so with some of those companies it's like comparing apples and oranges.

I decided instead to add another ING savings account and put $20/month (which Peter will match) aside as a pet insurance fund. The money is available immediately, is separate from my various other savings goals, and should it not be needed, I get all my "premiums" back.

I know there are other pet owners on the board and I was curious as to how many of you have/have thought about pet insurance.

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Cameo

Putting your money away into another savings account instead of paying someone else is a very smart way of doing it. Hopefully your pet lives a long life and years from now your 'pet insurance" has become a nice little nest egg.

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Melonie

Hey autopilot -

We've had seven cats and one dog in 30 years. I added up the cost-to-date about 2 years ago and it came to almost $3000.00.

Mind you, this money was spent from 1975 through 2003 (the year I added up all the receipts we'ed filed away). So the $3000.00 figure is for 28 years and 8 animals. Now this figure includes non-covered items like rabies shots, so it is artificially high. Take off a grand for stuff like that and you end up with $2,000.00.

Our animals only got rabies shots when they had to go to the vet for another issue (vet's demand). We never saw the point in rabies shots for our cats because they never got outside.

It's a crap-shoot, like all insurance.

If you have really healthy animals and don't let them outside, you may only need the vet for non-life-threatening issues like rabies shots, etc.

Mel

martman

We looked at insurance and chose your option, seperate pet bank account. It would be pretty bad luck for the insurance to be a better deal especially with all the deductables.
By the way we have three cats, one with AIDS and a AIDS related disease (uvitis).

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autopilot

Thanks for the responses.

Yes, I see insurance in our case as not paramount, but in the 10% chance that we will need it (and those chances will liekly rise as the boys get older), it'll be nice to have.

And the nice thing is that we would be able to use the funds for routine stuff also, whereas insurance doesn't normally cover shots.

I'm trying to be smarter about money (joined my company's pension plan this year, want to pay off all credit card debt and purchase a house before I turn 30, etc) so any advice is helpful.

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Rob777

I think it is a good idea. I have never had it, but I wish I had. One of my dogs tore the cartilage in her knee. A $1000 operation would have helped her a lot, but I couldn't afford it. A couple of weeks later the other knee had the same problem. Now 2 knees, for a total of $2000. The other option is letting it heal on its own, which is taking months. Seeing her struggling to get up stairs or stand is hard to watch.

I am not the kind of person who would do anything to keep my pet alive at any cost. If her life would be miserable I would just as soon put her down than see her suffer. The hard part is her injury is not life threatening and not really painful at all. So in this case surgery would have been a great option.

I am now in a situation where I might be able to afford pet insurance and any future pets would have it for sure.

Some people might think the idea is ridiculous. Some view pets as unnecessary and useless. My wife has a couple of family members that keep telling us to have the dogs put to sleep because they are an inconvenience.

autopilot

Yeah, the deductibles seem ridiculous plus what is up with "co-insurance" where they only cover part of the cost? And reimbursement after you pay upfront? Hello, I need the insurance because I don't have the funds to begin with!

I'm sorry. This is communicated by contact with other infected animals I presume? i.e. seen in outdoor cats? One of many reasons I feel more comfortable with my guys inside.

How is the separate account working out for you?

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Melonie

Pets are a part of our life and a part of our family. Our lives our richer thanks to them, and our stress levels lower too. I have to go hug my cats now, 'cause I'm gettin' stressed-out on another thread!

:')

Mel

autopilot

Rob, I agree that euthanasia is a humane option, for both pets and people, although more accepted in society for pets. I think insurance would make it easier to avoid a heartbreaking decision like choosing between care that would cure the pet that would have many years left otherwise, and putting them to sleep simply because the owner cannot afford treatment.

I pity people who do not understand the wonderful experience of pet ownership. They are worth any inconvenience.

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Dr.G.

I agree with Melonie when she writes that "Pets are a part of our life and a part of our family. Our lives our richer thanks to them, and our stress levels lower too."

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