Pet medical Insurance

[muwarrior69]

Our family has owned dogs over the years and we have paid several thousands for surgeries. Our golden is now 13 and has a small growth and it would cost about 1500 to remove. He is in otherwise good health and at this time in his life we do not see the benefit of the surgery. With vet bills increasing (our last wellness visit cost us $450: blood work, heart worm, lyme disease test etc.) and when the time comes and we get a new pup is pet insurance worth it?

Would appreciate your experience if you have purchased insurance for your pet.

[cheebs09]

We have it for our puppy. We use Trupanion. It works out well in giving us some cost certainty. It doesn’t kick in until over $250, so only have used it once. But the one time we did, she had a bacterial infection and saved us a bunch of money.

[muwarrior69]

We have it for our puppy. We use Trupanion. It works out well in giving us some cost certainty. It doesn’t kick in until over $250, so only have used it once. But the one time we did, she had a bacterial infection and saved us a bunch of money.

Please no obligation to answer but what is the premium if I may ask?

[cheebs09]

Please no obligation to answer but what is the premium if I may ask?

My wife set it up, so this is a bit of a guess. I think I remember it being $20-$30 per month with a $250 deductible.

We like it because if anything serious were to happen, we don’t have to stress as much from a cost perspective. She’s a part of the family, so would do anything, but this makes it easier.

For the one issue we used it for, it more than paid for the premium of the last two years by a decent chunk.

[MUBurrow]

I looked pretty closely at these policies a couple years ago when my dog was a pup, and I passed mostly becuase all of the things I was worried about were excepted from coverage.  I have a large breed, and a lot of the hip and joint problems common to large breeds weren't covered, which made the whole exercise seem kind of futile.  (In retrospect, chronic ear infections have been the bane of my existence over the past year, so the insurance probably would have paid for itself last year and this year, but c'est la vie.)

I recall that the insurance for typically healthy breeds and athletic mixed breeds was a good hedge against ACL tears, etc., but if you have a breed with some known issues, you have to read the fine print carefully on what is excluded from coverage.

[Coleman]

It is funny how often I am seeing the question pop up on Facebook, Nextdoor, and now here. This is my experience, not necessarily an endorsement, but I am relatively happy with my veterinary insurance.

I have been with Nationwide Pet Insurance for 5+ years, since we adopted our dog from a shelter. I had kind of low expectations, to be honest, but it has actually worked out pretty well.

The premiums are based on the age of the pet. I think When the dog was 1, we paid like $60 a month. It goes up like $10 a year. The premium is now up to like $110 a month. I have debated dropping it with the rising premiums, but I haven't yet. As far as I can tell, use of insurance or medical history has no bearing on premium. It is purely based on age of pet. Here is how it works.

Nationwide covers 90% of EVERY vet bill after you pay the first $250 out of pocket (resets annually). And I mean every.... regular check-ups, vaccinations, teeth cleaning, major stuff, etc. You do have to front the bill (I throw it on a credit card...so I'm still earning rewards on it). You submit the claim (with receipts and records from vet) online and Nationwide mails you a check or sends a direct deposit for reimbursement. Total process usually takes 2-3 weeks.

Unbeknownst to us, our dog was infected with heartworm when we adopted her (it can take up to 6 months to show up on a blood test). So a year after we adopted her it showed up during her regular visit. Total heartworm treatment was like $4000 over 8 months. (It was a long haul). Nationwide ended up covering like $3500 of the cost. It was a huge help.  I was actually a bit nervous because they don't usually cover pre-existing conditions. But since she didn't have a prior positive test on her records they covered it.

That said, this is insurance, not an investment. I don't expect it to "pay for itself." While we came out ahead during the heartworm year, during more typical years we definitely pay more into premiums than they cover for vet bills. But I like it because it flattens out the expenses into basically one monthly premium, vs a huge multi-thousand dollar expense when something catastrophic happens. It is nice peace of mind when something bad happens you don't have to worry about the money.

They have never denied a claim of mine.

Let me know if you have any other questions. If you are interested in Nationwide, let me know. I think if I refer you we both get like a $50 gift card or something. No pressure though.

[Jay Bee]

All about the maxx aina

[muwarrior69]

It is funny how often I am seeing the question pop up on Facebook, Nextdoor, and now here. This is my experience, not necessarily an endorsement, but I am relatively happy with my veterinary insurance.

I have been with Nationwide Pet Insurance for 5+ years, since we adopted our dog from a shelter. I had kind of low expectations, to be honest, but it has actually worked out pretty well.

The premiums are based on the age of the pet. I think When the dog was 1, we paid like $60 a month. It goes up like $10 a year. The premium is now up to like $110 a month. I have debated dropping it with the rising premiums, but I haven't yet. As far as I can tell, use of insurance or medical history has no bearing on premium. It is purely based on age of pet. Here is how it works.

Nationwide covers 90% of EVERY vet bill after you pay the first $250 out of pocket (resets annually). And I mean every.... regular check-ups, vaccinations, teeth cleaning, major stuff, etc. You do have to front the bill (I throw it on a credit card...so I'm still earning rewards on it). You submit the claim (with receipts and records from vet) online and Nationwide mails you a check or sends a direct deposit for reimbursement. Total process usually takes 2-3 weeks.

Unbeknownst to us, our dog was infected with heartworm when we adopted her (it can take up to 6 months to show up on a blood test). So a year after we adopted her it showed up during her regular visit. Total heartworm treatment was like $4000 over 8 months. (It was a long haul). Nationwide ended up covering like $3500 of the cost. It was a huge help.  I was actually a bit nervous because they don't usually cover pre-existing conditions. But since she didn't have a prior positive test on her records they covered it.

That said, this is insurance, not an investment. I don't expect it to "pay for itself." While we came out ahead during the heartworm year, during more typical years we definitely pay more into premiums than they cover for vet bills. But I like it because it flattens out the expenses into basically one monthly premium, vs a huge multi-thousand dollar expense when something catastrophic happens. It is nice peace of mind when something bad happens you don't have to worry about the money.

They have never denied a claim of mine.

Let me know if you have any other questions. If you are interested in Nationwide, let me know. I think if I refer you we both get like a $50 gift card or something. No pressure though.

Appreciate the offer. Our Golden is still going strong at 13 so at this point will look into it when we get another pup/dog.

[Coleman]

Appreciate the offer. Our Golden is still going strong at 13 so at this point will look into it when we get another pup/dog.

Yeah probably not worth it for a dog that age. Premiums will be too high to justify, and perhaps too much pre-existing stuff that will most likely be excluded.

I think it is definitely worth thinking about for a younger dog

[GOO]

My thoughts are to be careful and make sure you know what is covered what isn’t and has been mentioned the maximums.  always remember, insurance companies are in business to make money. For the vast majority of us, we will pay more in then we get paid out. They don’t wanna pay out.  Okay, that’s stating the obvious. 

So, in my opinion pet insurance is for those who can’t afford a big unexpected financial hit. But in the short term can afford the monthly premium payout.  Insurance like this should be skipped if you can afford to pay cash for your pets care abs unexpected expenses within a reasonable preset limit.

This is not a catastrophic unexpected  expense like a house burning down.  The pet insurance is not going to pay 50k to save your dog. Look at the limits.

If you have the extra cash and could use it for your pet, then skip the insurance.  The insurance companies know a lot better than you how to make money off you and your pet.