Pet Insurance ....

[DMickey28]

I am getting a Newfoundland Puppy next week and considering Pet Insurance for her. I am just not sure though so I thought I'd ask here.

Anyone have Pet Insurance? What are your thoughts on it? I would only get the Accidental/Illness coverage not the wellness/routine coverage because it doesn't make sense financially with what it costs per month vs. what they pay out per year. It only comes up to about a $30/year savings.

I am just thinking with a Giant breed and potential problems it might be a good idea but I also know that as a pup she most likely won't encounter any major illnesses until she is older. I am looking at Embrace Insurance since it's one of the few that covers hereditary conditions.

 

[zakatak]

Hey there!

I have a 2 year old Newfie "Dudley" who is awesome!

I do have insurance for him, our new GSD dog and our kitties. The most incidents seem to happen during puppyhood / growing so I highly suggest having something in place. Our kitten went through 3 Obstruction Surgeries every 6 weeks beginning when he was 12 weeks old (he has PICA - eats anything furry/fuzzy and it gets stuck). Good for insurance!

Dudley had some intestinal issues for his first year. The insurance covered hundreds of dollars in tests and treatments! Again, good for insurance!

Also, Newfs can be prone to bloat (very $$$ to deal with), ACL injuries (very $$$ too) as well as any other issues (cherry eye, lameness, etc). Dudley even had one that didn't "drop" and had to have major surgery to find that sneaky one and remove it (as well as the other normal neuter!).

So, yeah. Can't go wrong really! Congrats on your puppy! Check out this site for some great advice and friendship: www.newf.net.

 

[DMickey28]

zakatak - Thanks! Which company do you have it through? How was your Newf to train? We are getting a little girl and I have read that they are fairly easy to train. She'll be 8 weeks old so I know we are good month+ away from her being old enough to control her bladder but after that ... ??? I am so excited ... We have the two kids and I think she is going to be an awesome dog for them to grow up with. We are getting her into puppy school as soon as her vax's are done! Can't have a 130lbs dog jumping up on guests!!!

 

[sunnyday123]

Yay Newfs!!!

They are awesome dogs-and defintely second the insurance. Remember the bigger the dog, the bigger the vet bill. We're up to two heartworm pills a month-they only go up to 100lbs, flea/tick med's are more because of the weight, etc, and they grow till about 18 months-2 years.

Like the op said, they are prone to bloat, tears, dysplasia, cherry eye, etc. They don't do well in heat At All-70 degrees and a bit of humidity is too much.

And you never know what they'll get into no matter the age, so don't assume she won't need anything simply because she's a puppy. They are (most of them ) very mouthy, and she could swallow something that doesn't make it through, and voila you've got your first surgery!

Oh, and it's a requirement of the above mentioned website to post pictures of your baby. Lots of them. Tons of good advice there!

 

[StacyMarie]

I am interested to know what company you use! Please tell!! dehydration

 

[PrincessBelle09]

I have a kitten wellness plan for my kitty. It was pretty necessary for us because she was an unplanned rescue. We found her and two sibling in the parking lot of out apartment complex. All three were very sickly and two, including Annabelle, were blind because of an infection that pierced their corneas before their eyes had opened. For us, the plan covered the cost of a hysterectomy as well as the vaccinations and all check-ups for $22 a month for a year. I am glad that I can take her in to the vet anytime for a check-up and know that I'll only have to pay if she needs meds. Because of her eye condition, this was definitely a lot more cost effective.

 

[DMickey28]

What companies do you guys have? I am looking into Embrace and have read a lot about VPI but it's varied. I don't think the wellness/routine coverage is worth it when you look at the max's per yr. vs what you pay in ... you only save like $30-40/year.

Oh ... www.bigdogsporch.com is a great forum too!

 

[PrincessBelle09]

I'm not if my mine actually qualifies as pet insurance, or just a health care plan, but I use the kitten plan at Banfield Pet Hospital. I've been very happy with it.

 

[Silent1CB]

Our previous 2 pets lived to old age and developed kidney disease requiring daily treatments at home. Did not have insurance. Even with those expenses, not huge, we opted NOT to get insurance for our 2 new pets. We just felt the expense really didn't outweigh what they would pay per year. We've been pet owners for 22 yrs of our adult life, plus growing up. Maybe we've just been lucky that none of our many pets have needed surgery other than spay/nueter.

As a former insurance agent, I'm a believer in insurance for catastrophic losses. And while I love our pets like they are our children and will do anything for them, we just decided we would take the risk and pay any vet bills on our own.

The brochure our vet gave us was from VPI Pet Insurance. My understanding is you can buy the insurance later at anytime if you change your mind.

We do receive a 20% military discount from our vet, so maybe that is why it didn't really seem to be beneficial to pay premiums for 2 pets.

I guess a determining factor may also be how capable you are of paying vet bills on your own should something happen. How much of the risk are you willing to shoulder yourself and are you able to?

 

[r1lissa]

I was wishing I had the insurance about a year ago when our ShihTzu had to have one of his eyes removed.
If your pet is a part of your family, and not just a disposable play thing, then I recommend getting the insurance. You never know what could happen to them- just like a person.

 

[walden]

Congratulations on your new puppy.

I've had VPI in the past. I think it is well worth it if you have a puppy/kitten and do the math. Most problems are likely to come up in the first year or close to the end.

My experience with VPI -- read the fine print carefully and make sure you keep up with well-visits and *scheduled maintenance.* I think if you miss or are late for an annual check-up they won't pay up for a medical problem, but that is from memory. We always kept up-to-date on vet visits anyway. That specific dog lived to 18 with very few heath problems until the last couple of years, but the cost kept going up with big jumps at 7, 10, and 15. I'm not sure what the current practice is at VPI as that was 6 years ago.

I don't have insurance on my current two dogs, both rescues. I kind of joke that they are uninsurable. At 7 and 12 respectively, and with pre-existing conditions when I adopted them (at 4 and 10) the premiums are out of sight. We have our own little "doggy medical emergency" savings account instead.

I'm going to have to check out Embrace Insurance. I haven't heard of it before. Thanks.

 

[DMickey28]

My 8 year old rescue is "uninsurable"! He doesn't have any pre-exsisting conditions that we know of but he was stray before and who knows.

 

[bicker]

It is a good idea to keep in mind the difference between a health care plan (typically offered by veterinarians or veterinarian groups) and underwritten insurance.

A health care plan typically includes routine check-ups and such, and overall could save you money, on average, assuming you were going to incur all the charges for all the services covered. Health care plans work because the veterinarians are factoring-in the extra business they'd get, by offering the plan, and by essentially locking folks into all those services.

Insurance, by comparison, typically covers "covered services" and is provided by a company that is basically in business to make money on the difference between how much it costs to provide needed (typically catastrophic) services and how much folks pay in premiums for the insurance. Therefore, on average, you'll end up paying more for insurance than you'd incur paying for services out-of-pocket.

One often overlooked additional (intangible) value insurance provides is peace-of-mind. In the case when something does go wrong - something that requires expensive services that you cannot afford to pay for yourself, as a surprise expense - the insurance will cover it. However, again, given the probabilities, over the long run, the average insured will end up losing out on the deal, financially. Therefore, you'd have to put a specific value on peace-of-mind, and have that justify the expense for insurance. Many folks do so.

 

[cherylp3]

I have embrace. Have not had any claims yet. They were rated well on http://www.petinsurancereview.com/ They are underwrited by Lloyds of London.

 

[LuvOrlando]

My MIL got it for her Golden because they get cancer so often and it was worth it. She also got it for her Chocolate Lab because they tend to have health issues too, WOW did it save her a bundle and even then that sweet dog has cost a fortune. I did not have it on my dogs because they aren't prone to troubles. So I guess if you choose a dog with known health problems it is in your best interests to get the insurance, if not then I'd say no. I had a friend with a Newf and the poor thing had hip trouble that was $$$ so if it covers what they are prone to I would totally do it.

 

[walden]

My 8 year old rescue is "uninsurable"! He doesn't have any pre-exsisting conditions that we know of but he was stray before and who knows.

It stinks, doesn't it? As you are the OP I'm going to go off-topic.

My 2 were never strays because they are retired racing greyhounds. Racing kennel - Rescue - home. My really sweet old guy was with a family for 5 years, but his owners lost their home to forclosure so he came to me to be fostered. No-one else wanted a 10 year old with really bad teeth, a mild seizure disorder, and a wonky rear-end. We loved him so we decided to keep him forever. The wonky rear turned out to be due to low thyroid issues. The dental and losing 5 teeth was expensive but the other meds are quite cheap. The other hound had a malignant tumor, but has been cancer-free for several years now.

For everyone: if you have a huge unexpected bill and don't have pet insurance ask your vet. I forget the name of it, but my vets have a line of credit you can apply for with very, very low interest rates. I haven't needed to get it yet because of our doggy savings account, but it is always worth asking.



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[zakatak]

We use VPI Pet Insurance and have been pretty happy with them. They will insure a dog up to 10 years old if in good health.

 

[ladycollector]

I have the small plan with VPI that will help out with emergencies for my chihuahua. It would cover a little more than half in case of an emergency. I pay $13 a month. When I finish college and start working I will up it to the premium plan.

I got it because I know there is no cost I would say no to to save my dog, he is a daredevil, and chihuahuas are known for breaking legs and such because of being so small.

Hope that helps!

 

[DMickey28]

Thanks ... I think I am going to go with the Embrace standard plan. It's about $45/month and covers 80% up to $10K per year with a $200 deductible. It is one of the few that covers hereditary diseases like hip dysplasia ... which Newfs are prone too. Since Giant breeds tend to have more health problems it's probably worth it in the long run.

I know that it's also taking a risk that I am going to pay more in insurance than I will in vet bills but paying $45 a month is a lot easier on my wallet than $10K at one time that I don't have for a vet bill.

I might look into the Banfield Wellness plan as well that covers routine costs but none of the insurance plans with Wellness benefits have seemed worth it to me. After the first year, "routine Maintance" is fairly min.

 

[si-am]

I wish we had gotten pet insurance for ours. Now that our male cat has a history of urinary tract blockages AND he has diabetes, he is now now insurable.