Our annual premium was about $450 a year with two fairly young dogs (2 and 5)
Pet insurance
- Thread starter cyfan21
- Start date
Like casinos or online sports books, pet insurance companies don’t exist because they lose money. Therefore, on average, it is not a good investment. However, it can help protect you from a catastrophic loss (e.g. the previously mentioned cancer treatment). Evaluate your risk tolerance and cash flow and plan accordingly.
Pet insurance is so worth it. We have a dog and a cat and have used Pets Best insurance for quite a few years.
Happened with our dog. Was on Nationwide from like age 1-5 then it like legit tripled from $80 to over $200 with really no reason. So we went to Pets Best.
really depends on companies and what plan you choose. some do and some don't under wellness plans.
Nope. Just a bigger breed. But we are saving like $100 a month now with Pets Best. And they give like 90% back after deductible. Dog had some infection in his feet and a big non cancerous tumor in between toe pads and that surgery was a biittttch. Expensive of course but due to his size he had to get his bandages changed every two days for three weeks which was like $50 a pop. All costs ended up like $2100 and we were reimbursed $1850 or something like that.
I'm a veterinarian (no longer in clinical practice), and pet insurance has me very concerned about the future of the profession. The only thing insurance is going to lead to is increased prices for care and medications. There is a reason that Banfield and VCA are buying up small animal clinics. I'd only recommend it for people that have a ton of money tied up in training or genetics that they plan on breeding.
Most people would be money ahead by just setting aside their monthly premium in a savings account. The example above is $1800 a year; that amount would cover the echo/meds and would have enough left over for heartworm prevention, flea and tick, vaccinations, and (at a good rural mixed animal clinic) at least one emergency abdominal surgery. I practiced not long ago and we went after things dogs would eat for $450-500 bucks. If you get to them quickly those surgeries are not complicated at all; we also set up payment plans for people that needed them.
$3000+ estimates should be for major orthopedic surgeries or trauma repair that have loads of after care. I suppose some cancer treatments could get that high, but there is debate within the profession about whether we should be putting animals through those treatments when many times the only goal is extending life without attempting to cure.
Shop around; the shiny new clinic just down the road might be convenient but might not be the best value. A short drive could save a lot of money and get the same/better standard of care.
I really wish payment plans were more common or the information was relayed that they're available.
I have heard Nationwide Pet insurance is pretty good. Might want to check a few different places just like you would do with Auto insurance.
Have you been involved field trial and/or hunting dog competitions before, either personally or with a friend? Field trial is very different from "actual" hunting, hunting dog not quite so much but still emphasizes some activities that maybe wouldn't be important to you as a hunter.
Thanks for that perspective. I have a good cushion of regular savings and it’s more the idea of how the premium has gone up by 2.5x in 4 years that seems wild to me. He’s a pretty chill pup and like you said, running the numbers it seems to make more sense to save the premium amount and use a payment plan if I ever need to, which I know my vet offers.
Small animal veterinarian here in private practice. I agree with previous doctor's opinion that a "pet care" savings account would be a great idea for most folks and will most likely over time cover the unexpected. There are going to be people that benefit with the insurance option but that is not the norm in my opinion. Insurance companies are in it for one reason: TO TURN A NICE PROFIT.....Also, I might add to please research your breed as a few of the current popular breeds are very prone to hereditary issues..
I have not. It’s always something I’ve been interested in and have looking to try it as a hobby
My dog was in keto-acidosis and they quoted me $5,000-$6,000 to treat him with no guarantee he would even get better. Needless to say we couldn't afford it.
I’m guessing you have a lab also based on your picture.
If you take insurance at your practice, is there any companies that you would recommend or ones that you would stay away from.
Also, in your opinion, what would you recommend as a safe amount for an emergency fund?
Curious if anyone here has ever tried feeding their dogs a fresh cooked simple diet their entire life? I'm wondering if it's a money saver to do that instead of pet insurance.
It is a lot of time but I don't have kids so I can make it work so far. Our hope is that it extends their life and lowers medical bills. So far it definitely eliminated itching/allergies from the first six months when they were constnatly itchy, eye goobers, running nose eating regular dry and wet dog foods of which we tried several.
Our base is usually quinoa/rice grains, some squash, table spoon of bone meal, table spoon of vitamin/joint health compound, mix in some veg that are dog safe like carrots/broccoli sometimes. Then we add about half protein rotating between ground beef, roast chicken and cod/salmon whichever we can find better deals on. No seasoning on any meat. For snacks I make batches of dried sweet potatoes and give them chicken organs/necks or for training tiny pieces of bacon (only takes a spec). They probably eat healthier than I do.
The time is a pain, no lie, and if I was taking care of young kids or had my old 2-3 hour commute I couldn't do it. It costs a lot more than kibble but really not much more than the higher end wet dog food which we were already buying trying to keep their allergies in check unsuccessfully...which is why we said we might as well try making their food.
I've had the two dogs (husky german shepherd mix) about two years now and they are very healthy and I'm on the fence over pet insurance myself and probably going to quote the companies people mentioned here.
It is a lot of time but I don't have kids so I can make it work so far. Our hope is that it extends their life and lowers medical bills. So far it definitely eliminated itching/allergies from the first six months when they were constnatly itchy, eye goobers, running nose eating regular dry and wet dog foods of which we tried several.
Our base is usually quinoa/rice grains, some squash, table spoon of bone meal, table spoon of vitamin/joint health compound, mix in some veg that are dog safe like carrots/broccoli sometimes. Then we add about half protein rotating between ground beef, roast chicken and cod/salmon whichever we can find better deals on. No seasoning on any meat. For snacks I make batches of dried sweet potatoes and give them chicken organs/necks or for training tiny pieces of bacon (only takes a spec). They probably eat healthier than I do.
The time is a pain, no lie, and if I was taking care of young kids or had my old 2-3 hour commute I couldn't do it. It costs a lot more than kibble but really not much more than the higher end wet dog food which we were already buying trying to keep their allergies in check unsuccessfully...which is why we said we might as well try making their food.
I've had the two dogs (husky german shepherd mix) about two years now and they are very healthy and I'm on the fence over pet insurance myself and probably going to quote the companies people mentioned here.