Why do people not listen??

[Norman]

I have a friend who's cat got run over £750 ($1300)vet bills for surgery and rehab. Dog had nick in the ear that bled and bled and bled £100 ($170) later and now an allergic reaction to a flea bite where the dog tried to chew his hind leg off scratching - huge hole! -and needed cream and tablets and a shot £150 ($260). From day one we mentioned Pet insurance. We use Tesco pet insurance for our black lab bitch (19 months). £8 ($14) a month covers everything except annual boosters and spaying and neutering. She moans about how much the vet bills are (pays them without question) when all of it is covered under the insurance. We have told her 3/4 times that with a cat and a dog it is worth the peace of mind to know the cost is covered or at least partly covered. She just wont listen - why are people so stubborn!!

[Jennicat]

I don't understand why more people don't take preventative measures, in addition to pet insurance.

[Pippin]

Wow, I need to look into pet insurance! I have heard about it but never really researched it. Your friend sounds like she should definately consider it.

[eviloxygen]

Yes! This is a good topic, anyone else on here i would love to hear about insurance. It is not something my dogs have, but maybe would think about once there are enough options.

I look forward to any info that can be supplied. :)

[Punkygirl0101]

Can you tell me about the insurance? We could DEFINATLY use the help... We have SO MANY vet bills considering how much pets we have. Next week we are taking ALL 25 of the cats in to get tested for Feline aids, and leukemia.. and also we have some males who are not neutered yet. We are trying to get all the pets needs taken care of before we add an addition onto the house.

[danigirl1031]

I seen a study on the news about 2 years back, good old on a Fox News Consumers Report, that if you look into what it actually covers and how much it covers...they said it was actually smarter to take the 30 bucks a month, and put it away, for as often as your animals go to the vet for illnesses, you can put it into an account with a decent yield, and just save it up until that day comes.

Maybe the insurance has gotten better for animals, (because heaven knows, its getting worse and more expensive for humans, but thats another story), so if anybody has it, could they maybe list links to the different places you bought it from, because like Pippin, I would consider it if it actually proves worth while, where before, it really didnt!!!

[eviloxygen]

Dani, i heard the same thing, thats why i have never looked into it. My husband and i are currently financially capable of taking care of whatever comes up, and i did not see a need for it. If that were to ever turn i would think more in-depth. I would like to hear what people have insurance wise, and costs, benifits, if they like it, how it works.

Anyone have insurance?? Norman would you care to elaborate on yours??

Thanks!

[asta7775]

You can google pet plan insurance and pet care. We offer it to our clients but not many are interested. It seems that you have to pay out quite a bit a month in order to get good coverage. I think it's a personal choice, some like it some don't. I am not sure what plans there are in other countries but in Canada those are the most popular. The basic coverage is only for routine stuff and I think more people would get it if it had better coverage for the unplanned. I have never bothered with it ( but then working in a clinic everything is at cost. I am not in a clinic now and for me I wouldn't bother. I just make sure there is enough on my credit card to cover whatever may happen. It is also easy to set up an account at the bank where a certain amount of money a month goes into automatically and just only use it for emergencies. I do that as well as I am a paranoid mom and with my luck if the money isn't there something will happen. I think though if you have a lot of pets it would be good to get to help cover the cost of routine bills and then you could still have an account or credit card that is just for emergencies. Also with these two companies you still have to come up with the money first, then fill out the paper work, send it in and then they reimburse you. So if you don't have the money when you go to the vet the insurance company won't help you.

[Norman]

We pay £8 a month and it covers everything (bar s/n and boosters). We looked into it cos Charlie was having upset tummies once a month regularly costing £100 a time - we pay the first £50 of claim in excess and the insurance covers rest. It would have covered the £3000 cataract op we thought she needed at one point (but she is just short sighted). It is simply peace of mind that whatever she needs doing won't wait for us to save up or find the money from somewhere. Google pet insurance and pet plans as they do alter a lot - worth comparing to get best price and cover you can. It does of course vary depending on med history of the animal.

It is a personal choice but for the small amount we pay a month we think it is worth it. We are insured by one of the large supermarket chains (Tesco) that now offer all sorts of services.

[animalmagic]

It looks like pet insurance is more common/widely available in the UK- as a lot of the other members weren't aware of it?

It's well promoted and advertised in England- and I think it's something a lot of pet owners do. We are also insured by Tesco, Norman.

A lot of insurance companies that offer home/car insurance will also offer pet insurance. Cat and dog insurance is most common, but it's also available for rabbits etc too.

[Jennicat]

I was going to suggest that too, animalmagic. It's very uncommon here in the US, and I've heard some questionable stories about a couple of the companies that offer it, unfortunately. :\

[animalmagic]

I thought that might be the case. That's a shame, as if you can find a reliable company it's generally worthwhile! I wonder why it's not such a hit in the US. Interesting.

[eviloxygen]

Yes, i think that is the case! If the US had reliable coverage and good plans i would have most likely already gone with it. Maybe in due time it'll improve in the US until then we shall go insuranceless!

[Norman]

I'm actually surprised it isn't wider spread in the US.

[mallyrk]

Pet insurance isn't very common in the US... altough in the past couple years, ive been hearing about it more and more. But IMO, it's cheaper just to set back so much a month... most insurances don't cover vaccinations.. etc.

[eviloxygen]

When searching for pet insurance you can opt for plans that cover vaccs and spay neuter as well as flea and heartworm med.

This is the one site and insurance that i have found so far to be legit and possibly good.

Anyone have any info on this company?

http://www.petinsurance.com/

As being the largest ect ect you never know what kind of sketchyness could be going on :)

[Jennicat]

I have heard that that insurance company will do absolutely everything in the world to avoid reimbursing for a bill, and this was from someone that worked for them briefly (at least, so they claimed), so I've always been really wary of them.

[eviloxygen]

Yea, see i was afraid of something like that. I really do wish a good company would emerge in the US but i'm not banking on it, not for awhile at least.

Doing a search in google, trying to locate any info really shows how perdominate it is overseas or in canada. Not to many companies who work with the US.

[anarashka]

I have heard that that insurance company will do absolutely everything in the world to avoid reimbursing for a bill, and this was from someone that worked for them briefly (at least, so they claimed), so I've always been really wary of them.

People insurance is the same way. With my plan now, if anyone needs any psychiatric or mental help, they have to literally be unable to function as a human being to be eligible for the 100% coverage. Everything else? Out of pocket expense. And shrinks are not cheap. Neither are most of my vet visits for that matter...

[eviloxygen]

Correct but look how long people insurance has been around. It is obvious who to go with and who to aviod at this point due to it.

I have no problem with my insurance because my job provides an amazing company.

I believe once pet insurance has been around a bit longer it will become more appernt which to avoid and which to go with.

[Jennicat]

Guess it depends on which insurance company you've got. ;) Boyfriend is manager of a medical office and most are pretty good at paying whatever is covered. That's all about which plan you sign up for. Psychiatric coverage, especially in NC where we are, is also pretty hard to find for a decent price.

However, with this insurance, I heard that even things that should be covered by the plan are routinely dodged.

[anarashka]

Yeah it does tend to be a royal pain in the rear. When I started with the company I am with (over 1 year now) I was never sent an insurance card. Apparently they misspelled my name and couldn't send one to me. So then last august they decided that they needed to change our coverage and raise prices. I work at an internet company, all 200+ employees are on the computer 8-10 hours a day, 5 days a week, but they refuse to cover eye care for us. It would cost them too much money. I FINALLY got an insurance and prescription card in the mail about 2 weeks ago. Yay, I can go to the doctor's now. <./sarc>