There’s an interesting discussion thread going on over at the Bargaineering forums on pet insurance, with the predictable arguments on both sides. I’ve got a dog with some problematic allergy issues, the diagnosis and treatment of which have been costly. It’s too late now but the discussion made me wonder if I would have been wise to get some pet insurance when we got the dog.
I’ve been doing some research and was surprised by the large number of policies available out there. Google “pet insurance” and you’ll see what I mean. I clicked on a few to see what they offered and, perhaps more importantly, what they excluded. One of the big ones, Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI), has a whole list of breed specific maladies which are excluded from coverage. Additionally, they exclude all hereditary and congenital issues. So, if you purchase pet insurance as soon as you bring your little German Shepherd puppy home and he later develops hip problems, as many German Shepherds do, that would not be covered. He would also not be covered for calcinosis circumscripta, degenerative myelopathy, dermatomyositis, exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, lupoid onychopathy, nodular dermatofibrosis or pannus (superficial keratitis), which are evidently all German Shepherd issues.
It looks to me like a mutt might end up with better coverage than a pure bred dog. I find that distinction interesting because I’m assuming that the expense of the dog might be a consideration when making a decision about pet insurance. You might be more apt to purchase pet insurance for your expensive pure bred dog, which would end up having less coverage based on the breed specific list of exclusions, than the mixed-breed dog for which you didn’t get coverage since he was free from the pound. As a point of clarity, mixed-breed dogs also have hereditary and congenital exclusions.
I also checked out the ASPCA’s pet insurance. They have very similar exclusionary policies. Neither company covers elective procedures like tail and/or ear docking or dew claw removal. VIP calls these “cosmetic procedures” while the ASPCA classes them “inhumane procedures”. Pre-existing conditions are uniformly excluded, which rules us out! A lot of wellness procedures are also not covered, which surprised me.
They all seem to offer several different levels of coverage, just like human health insurance policies do, including major medical and injury plans and various riders that can be added to the policies for an additional charge.
In the personal finance blog world one commonly suggested solution to the pet insurance dilemma is to start your own contingency savings account for unexpected pet expenses. Clearly the ASPCA pet insurance people have come across this thinking and have the following to say:
“You could put money into a savings account to help pay your veterinary bills, but this has its drawbacks. For instance, you have to be disciplined enough to stick to your savings plan. You also have to guess how much you should save, since you can’t predict how much it will cost if your pet gets hurt or sick. Your pet could also need care before you have a chance to save enough money to cover your veterinary expenses.”
I’m not sure how seriously I take that demur. Clearly paying your pet insurance premium also takes discipline and, like most insurances, whether or not you’ll need that insurance is pretty much of a crap shoot. At least they took a stab at it.
After my research I suspect the left behind pug’s issues would not have been covered, his continuing care certainly would not be covered and, in addition to the cost of that care, I would be saddled with insurance premiums so I’m glad I don’t have pet insurance. On the other hand, if he gets hit by a car (heaven forbid) and survives, I might change my tune. Therein lies the rub with insurance. It’s a waste of money until you need it!
How do you feel about pet insurance? Do you have it? Do you wish you’d had it before something happened to your pet? Have you ever considered it?
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7 comments:
I don't have pet insurance. I prefer to have a contingency fund built up for vet visits. Of course you never know how much you need, but I've been lucky thus far and my current amount ($1K) has been more than sufficient. Partially, I think, because my cats are indoor only.
Regardless, another drawback with insurance is that like any other policy is that you pay up front and they reimburse you for (most) of the cost. If I know I have a vet appointment, I can simply transfer 'x' amount to my chequing a couple of days in advance and it's taken care of without the wait.
With so many exclusions, I find it's just not for me.
i think it's a ripoff. if you don't have the discipline to save your own money, then it is time to develop that discipline.
I agree with Carrie - don't get a pet if you can't afford some unexpected medical expenses. Actually, this would go for having kids too.
Insurance won't really help if you adopt more pets than you can really afford.
Every time I looked into it -- and several opportunities came up -- I came to the same conclusion Carrie has: r-i-p-o-f-f!
Maybe something new has come up, but I haven't found one that covers the inevitable ailments that dogs fall victim to as they age. By and large, they won't cover aging dogs--and that's when the critter is racking up the serious vet bills. They won't cover anything they can call by the most extravagant stretch of the imagination, a "pre-existing condition."
From what I could tell, about all they would cover is traumatic injury from accidents. Since my dog was a homebody and never was walked without a leash, the likelihood that she would be hit by a car was exactly zero.
However, she did suffer from pannus, arthritis, hip dysplasia, hypothyroidism, possible pancreatic insufficiency, and, toward the end, possibly degenerative myelopathy. None of those, not a one, was covered by doggy health insurance.
Start saving now. Forking money over to an insurance company that won't cover an aged dogs ailments ain't saving.
Hmmm,this is sounding alot like human insurance :) Nope don't have it for my baby boy and thankfully he is the first dog (my first mutt too I might add, hmmm) who has NO health issues. But, still there are so many excluded things that I'm not sure why you would buy it. It sounds like accidents are really the only thing that are covered and those just don't happen that often. Pet care IS expensive though. I'm all for saving up a contingency fund, makes the most sense to me.
Well, I guess I'm the anomaly. I have VPI pet insurance. We've had it for about 3 years... ever since we spent $7,000 on one of our dogs. He was never diagnosed. They finally operated after he bloated up like a balloon. They found his liver was completely diseased. We told them not to wake him up. We never got to say good-bye. Bitter... YES, but not because of the money!
I'm not fond of insurance. I think it's like betting against yourself... or in this case against your pet. It somewhat like a necessary evil. Although pet insurance is not really a necessity.
But I digress... since we've had pet insurance, it has paid off. Our premium per dog is around $150 a year & the payouts we've received per dog have exceeded that. Contrary to what other posters have said, they cover more than just accidents & they cover older pets. When our 12-year-old greyhound developed osteocarcoma last summer, insurance paid quite a bit of the cost for her diagnosis & euthanasia.
So for us insurance seems to work. I don't think it's for everybody. Most importantly, I agree with other posters that if you can't afford a pet, don't have one! It's a big commitment. Pets are not disposable.
I have Trupanion pet insurance and enrolled my dog with them earlier last year. I’ve had a really good experience thus far and after reading up on them, hearing a lot about them, and comparing policies between companies, I decided to go with them.
What I like about Trupanion is that you can pick your own deductible, they pay 90% of your vet bill, they are vet approved, their premiums don’t increase with pets age (i’ve noticed most other companies increase premiums every year, but not trupanion), and they cover hereditary and congenital disorders.
Worth checking them out.
They also have comparison charts on their site so you can compare rates and policies with all the pet insurance companies in the US. I found that really helpful when I was shopping around.
Source: http://www.trupanionpetinsurance.com
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