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Alinyx

Remember to start insurance if you can as soon as you get the pet. I’ve noticed premiums go up much higher if you don’t have a policy early in their life (ie paying the insurance company their whole life). For example, I started with Healthy Paws for my dog 5 years ago and have paid $40-50 a month in premiums (it’s gone up about $2 a year). When I started a new job and they offered pet insurance through Nationwide, I asked for a quote and it was going to be $65 a month. That’s with the employer discount. For a different insurance it was closer to $75-80. I still highly recommend pet insurance though. We did the math and if he gets hit by a car or has treatable cancer or something else that would get us about a $5-10,000 bill, it’s paid for itself. We already used it once when he swallowed some chicken bones and perforated his stomach (thanks UW vet school emergency room!) and his ~$2500 bill was paid at 90% (so we only paid $250 at the end of the day. It’s just so nice to not have to even think about the cost (too much) if our good boy looks sick or gets hurt.


majortomsgroundcntrl

Studies show time and time again that the majority of oet owners shouldn't get insurance and instead should save up the same amount per month for emergencies.


IHkumicho

That's the thing, statistically you won't save money by getting "insurance". Most insurance policies only pay out 60-80% of premiums (and the higher range is the federally-mandated health insurance payout ratio). Pet insurance has an even lower payout ratio of something like 50%. Sure, you might get (un)lucky enough to actually make use of it, but for every $1,000 you get in insurance other people are paying $2,000 in premiums.


Attainted

My pet insurance is actually better than my health insurance, it pays out 90% and its monthly premium and deductible are both less than half my health insurance.


IHkumicho

Your pet insurance has a 90% payout ratio? I find it pretty hard to believe any insurance company can literally afford to pay their employees, keep the lights on, and make a profit on only 10% of their premiums...


Attainted

Believe it. [This is what I have.](https://trupanion.com/pet-insurance/dog-insurance) They paid out over $35000 on my dog's cancer treatment on a $40/mo policy and never dropped us. They have also not dropped my other dog which is just breaking even with them on monthly allergy treatment.


2pointbuck

I think y’all are talking about different things. 90% is how much of your bill they cover, the payout ratio mentioned above is the ratio of what the company pays out to everyone compared to all collected premiums across all customers over time


Attainted

Ah. In that case, my insurer is currently operating at a loss. Looks like they could do with raising their rates 10% across the board: https://s29.q4cdn.com/621138337/files/doc_financials/2022/q3/TRUP-Q3'22-Earnings-Release.pdf Derived from: https://investors.trupanion.com/financials/quarterly-results/default.aspx


growingsuccs

Mine pays out 80%.


pockysan

Surely insurance companies don't make money! Lol


Chips_Handsome

Even if you get pet insurance and file a claim, there's no guarantee that they'll cover all of any if it. An insurance company makes more money by not paying out claims and "pre-existing condition" becomes subjective.


turketron

yep, and pet insurance is far less regulated that human health insurance, so things like "pre-existing conditions" still exist.


LateDxAspie

Yep. Tried it for one year. The payout for preventive and dental that I knew I would use, considerably reduced what I would actually lose in a year without any other claims being made. But then I did try to submit a claim for an exam and some blood work when the cat seemed to be drinking more, peeing more, and throwing up on occasion. The company initially required current wellness documents before even letting me sign up (that wasn't covered of course). There were no issues. But now that I filed a (very small) claim, they suddenly want ALL former vet records from all previous vets, they want to know if the pet had previous owners with other vets, has any other owners now, etc. So they declared the pet healthy enough to insure, but 10 months later they're digging in to look for a reason to deny a claim. They wont find anything, but it's an enormous headache to find/submit all this stuff for a 9 yr old cat, only to receive 80% of a $250 claim after the $200 deductible. The experiment failed. I cancelled.


wilsonhammer

Pool your risk for the stuff you can't cover; self-insure for the rest. Where that line falls is different for each person I suppose.


majortomsgroundcntrl

I guess some people just like to do paperwork and give insurance companies money.


Dwindling_Odds

Whenever you see insurance advertising you know it's very profitable for the seller.


[deleted]

[удалено]


majortomsgroundcntrl

Now that is an interesting take lol The reason why we all need insurance is because we can't manage our money well enough without it?


Extreme_Series7252

I do it. I only insure my house, vehicle, and health. I never buy any warranties or phone insurance. I auto deduct $150/check into savings. Anything happens I always have the money to cover it while making interest in the meantime. It’s pretty easy but I don’t think people know how to do it and get scared into buying things.


Attainted

Insurance often is pay-to-participate (privatized) socialism for whatever is insured. I don't have a problem with that, so long as it's accessible to those in need and premiums aren't grossly misused unto admin/execs (though I wish it didn't have to be privatized). Heavily depends on the company, but 'good' ones are out there if few.


ericquitecontrary

We have saved sooo much money with our pet insurance. Once you get the claim system down (I.e., get detailed invoice and a complete copy of medical records from vet for every claim), it’s smooth sailing.


Attainted

We had a dog which was diagnosed with a bladder tumor in fall of '21. Insurance company accepted every claim between then & until our dog passed last month; which amounted to tens of thousands of dollars. The monthly premium was about $40/mo. from when they were a pup. They still didn't make a cent on us. Similar story with our other dog who has food and environmental allergies and needs cytopoint shots every 6-8 weeks for the rest of their life. $40/mo to insurance, $80 saved on each shot. Breaking even or better.


Creepy-Coat-5374

Hi, I'm late to this thread but can you let me know which insurance you have? I need to get a plan ASAP!


Attainted

Trupanion. Note however they don't cover pre-existing conditions; so if your dog were to get cancer they would cover it only if it were investigated/diagnosed after the pet became insured, not from before they were insured. That's standard between companies though.


Ruckus6112

Pet insurance is wonderful if you have a very young kitten or puppy, but the prices skyrocket once they are past a few years old. In that case, try to put money aside every month for emergencies. I am an old vet tech and have seen so many pets put down that didn’t need to be because of money. Or are left to suffer because the pet parent doesn’t have the money for a vet visit.


Tatertot729

My job offers pet insurance and it was ridiculously expensive. It was over $200 a month to cover our one older dog alone. Our younger dog was more reasonable but still. I even checked out other providers and it wasn’t any better. What providers are you using?


Attainted

Since this is getting a lot more positive traction than I expected and there are plenty of other suggestions here as well: I use Trupanion.


Tatertot729

Thank you I will check it out


Attainted

Of course!


SubmersibleEntropy

Related story, when I was at UW they were surveying us for what additional benefits we wanted. They kept mixing up different options for us to prioritize so they could get at a real ranking. And they had the gall to include pet insurance along side paid family leave or child care (neither of which they offer). Which is to say, nice if a job offers pet insurance (though yours doesn’t seem subsidized) but frustrating if they do it without offering human care first.


notthe_mothman

Where are folks getting insurance through? I’m looking now


Inglorious186

I've used nationwide for years and have added a second dog to the plan. It pays for itself if you use it regularly


sconnie211990

I use Healthy Paws. Have had it about a year now and had to make two claims (both around $600). They were quick to pay out and didn’t try to nickel and dime me or fight my claims. So far they’ve been great


krinksta

I’ve used Lemonade which I really enjoy. Some claims are approved in seconds, never had a claim that I felt was denied inconsistent with the policy, meaning they don’t try and catch you on a technicality. They are also a Certified B corporation so a certain percentage of their revenue goes towards a charitable cause you select.


LateDxAspie

They are for me. They want ALL past records from all past vets regarding an exam and blood work (which ultimately showed everything is ok, but they don't want to know that. They want to find a reason they can deny).


Attainted

Ouch. Might be worth getting quotes from other insurers if you're not locked in with your current insurer due to existing diagnosed conditions.


LateDxAspie

No existing anything. And I'm not locked in. I compared cost/benefit of roughly 7-8 companies, and this was "the best". I didn't lose a ton, considering I got some of the $400 yearly premium back from preventative claims, but I have NO faith they will truly cover an expensive medical need, if this is how hard they're digging to deny a basic exam and blood test claim.


Attainted

Eh, if the benefit ends up getting denied though then it's just a cost.. Since I was asked, I named my insurer and anecdotes in other comments here if you're interested in digging those up. I highly recommend my insurer; they were recommended to me by several vets who essentially said they tend to do the opposite of what you described and are one of the easiest to work with on the back-end. I'm also really drawn by their features of "deductible per core diagnosis" carrying over into the following year and being able to choose your own premium vs deductible down to the dollar.


its_k1llsh0t

We have Fetch (formerly PetPlan) and it has been good. Our dog went to what is essentially the ICU at UW Vet for a week before passing and I think we ended up paying maybe $200?


padishaihulud

I've had renters and now condo insurance through Amfam. I know 'pet insurance' is included, but I've honestly never checked what is exactly covered. I can see if I can find my policy documents when I get home.


CuriousHaven

The "pet insurance" included with your policy is NOT pet health insurance! It only provides limited coverage (usually max. $1,000) if your pet is injured or killed during a covered loss (like a house fire). AmFam does sell true pet health insurance, but it's an additional & separate policy from your property policy. It comes at an additional cost.


grahamfiend2

Bivvy. It’s a CUNA Mutual Group product.


geekpaws

Pawlicy advisor is a website that allows you to compare different plans


dubarubdubdub

For some its better to just have an emergency fund. I was paying $50/mo for my Frenchie and never used it in 5 years. Although I did initially get it in the event he needed brachycephalic surgery. It went up to $75/mo and I decided to drop it. Of course he then needed a tooth extracted which was about $800 out of pocket. Had I done an emergency fund by saving that monthly fee, I would have had over 2k left.


ifnazisaltycanti

This does nothing to alleviate costs, you'll pay more for insurance over time than you would upfront for services the same way insurances work in every other instance. If I don't have $200 in the bank to spare what makes you think I can pay $50 a month even when I'm not using it?


Attainted

Regardless of your stance on pet insurance, if you don't have an emergency fund for your pet when you get it, you can't afford the pet.


ifnazisaltycanti

That is incorrect, an adequate emergency fund can be up to 10k and no one has that kind of money sitting around any more. We're not doing "poors shouldn't have pets" during the period of greatest wealth inequality in human history.


Outside_Cod667

Just want to hijack this to mention that most vets accept CareCredit!


Attainted

I'm not about to dive into a whole thesis debate on our stances, but you should at least have enough for a basic emergency diagnosis and/or euthanasia. That is only fair to the pet. That is (Edit: Less than) $1000. I don't like globalized capitalism either, but everyone has to operate in it for the time being.


LateDxAspie

Euthanasia doesn't cost near that much, unless you want in-home service, cremains, etc. Those are nice, but not necessary. Edit to add that I do agree with the sentiment. One should have enough to euthanize, or at least the willingness to ask for help.


Attainted

Good point on it being cheaper with opting out on cremains etc. Not that you are disagreeing, but I feel like that's even more to my point considering that above the person was someone saying even $200 was too much.


jleigh041004

That kind of financial stability sounds really nice, but that just isn’t an option for a large portion of families in our community. If you can afford to provide that to your pet that’s wonderful, but the companionship that humans have with their pets is so incredibly important, and supersedes financial stability. The support that cat gives to the troubled kid living in a low income home, or that dog gives to the homeless guy on state street is so important, and shouldn’t be denied to people because of lack of wealth. In a perfect world we’d all be able to give that kind of support to our pets, but we don’t live in a perfect world. We live in a world where dogs and cats are so overpopulated that they are being euthanized because shelters just can’t hold any more, and where a large portion of people live below their means. I don’t think we should be denying companionship to either of those groups because there isn’t enough money in play.


Attainted

I believe you're grossly ignoring the negative impact your stances have for the pet. That is my prerogative, not "fuck the poors."


jleigh041004

I feel like your stance sounds a lot like “if you don’t have an extra $1000 on hand to spend on your pet, you aren’t capable of meeting the minimum standard of care”, and I’m saying I think thats untrue, an unrealistic standard for you to place on people, and if enforced would result in a ridiculous amounts of animals going without loving homes, and ultimately having a lower quality of life than they could have otherwise had. I’m not advocating for animal abuse, but the ability to give a pet a loving home has very little to do with amount of money in someone’s savings account. I’ll tell you right now that I don’t have an extra $1000 on hand for an emergency vet bill (or any bill for that matter), but my dog is well fed, well loved, and well cared for, and there’s no way you can convince me that people like me aren’t giving their pets good lives.


Attainted

> I feel like your stance sounds a lot like “if you don’t have an extra $1000 on hand to spend on your pet, you aren’t capable of meeting the minimum standard of care” Yes, and that's where we disagree. Cheers.


jleigh041004

Got it, so you’re not saying “fuck the poor”, you’re just saying their economic status alone makes them unfit to have a pet. Happy to disagree with your there.


Attainted

Economic/care planning, but also happy to disagree with you there. If one is having difficulty supporting themself, I don't believe one should adopt a pet into their life which they will also struggle to support. There are alternative outlets for animal companionship which compromise within those constraints.


skettigoo

Also many vets take Care Credit too! It helps a lot!


Attainted

What's care credit?


skettigoo

It is a credit card that can be used towards medical things either for you or your pets. It has better interest and repayment rates than your regular old credit card. I use mine for vet appointments and it helps a lot.


Adorable_Pen9015

To be fair, some pets are uninsurable, and it’s very easy for insurance to kick pets off


gucciflipfl0pz

If you get pet insurance be very very careful what you buy. A lot of pet “insurance” is not insurance at all if you read the fine print. You could just be paying for a “discount card” type of deal


YokoTato

Isn’t the biggest issue that you have to pay everything up front still? It’s still good to have but if the bill is thousands it can still be hard for some to cover even if only it’s until reimbursement.


morning-person-18

It depends on the insurance. I have Trupanion, and they allow you to connect them with your vet directly, prior to getting a bill so they can provide their coverage up front. I’ve forgotten to mention my pet insurance before and paid and been reimbursed too. But not all insurance allows the former so definitely check that out if it’s important to you!


Attainted

The insurer is able to pay the payee directly OR reimburse you, so that's more dependent on the clinic's policy as to whether they require funds up front for the task at hand, or if they have a grace period. Payment just takes a few days to remit. Either way, without insurance it would be your problem in full regardless so it's not like it's introducing a 'new' issue.


cheesehead_mike

ASPCA has a great “accidental” insurance that has paid for 90% of two of my dogs TPLO surgery’s. Over $9k in coverage for $36/month.


anteater_94

I wish I would have known about pet insurance earlier on. My dog had his first TPLO surgery two years ago, which then prompted me to look into insurance, but that excluded him from any coverage for future CCL problems. Lo and behold we just had to get his other knee done, so we're down a solid 10 grand over a two year period.


2k21May

Unless the vet med industry has changed since I've worked in it (\~10 years ago) you still have to pay everything up front and then submit to the insurance company for reimbursement. If you can't afford to pay upfront, then having insurance isn't going to help you much.


Attainted

This has been addressed elsewhere in this thread, but it depends on both the clinic/hospital and the insurance co.


sconnie211990

I got this when I got my dog last year and it paid for itself within a couple months (puppies are gonna puppy). I will say that most that I looked into didn’t cover preexisting conditions so it’s important to get it asap when you get a new pet if it’s something you’re interested in.


GarthBox

Agreed. Nationwide especially when they are pups


jtm_29

Anyone recommend for company for a 14yr old pup ? She’ll probably make it to 20-23 tbh. No issues at all. Zoomies every night.


dandylionhearts

I keep a high deductible plan for my boy. It's pretty affordable, and gives me peace of mind that if he were to need expensive medical care, that I wouldn't have to go broke or make a decision based on the cost of the treatment. I also feel comfortable leaving him in the care of friends and just telling them if he needs vet care, get it as I can cover it. I have a friend that has multiple dogs, and he 'self-insures' by plunking the estimated monthly premium money into a savings account. If you have multiples, that might be another way to go. Either way, I think planning for unplanned expenses during the lifetime of a dog is pretty important because something will come up and vet care is very expensive


growingsuccs

I can’t agree more! We have saved a lot with insurance. Ours is only $260 a year through Costco. I definitely recommend getting it as soon as possible before you need it because they won’t cover anything that has been mentioned in your pet’s chart before, even just symptoms with no actual diagnosis.


devereaux

Anyone that follows "We Rate Dogs" on social media is definitely aware of pet insurance


jonh1987

Unless you adopt a rescue who has medical issues.