# Insurance recommendations



## Cplant89 (Dec 24, 2012)

Wondering what insurance everyone has and what are the pros/cons of that insurance?

I mainly want it for her hips, does the insurance cover surgery or just the meds?


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## Mary Beth (Apr 17, 2010)

I have VPI but it doesn't cover hd. It does pay fast and has a wellness benefit. Since you want the hip coverage, you'll need to look elsewhere. Good luck!


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## kr16 (Apr 30, 2011)

use the search button up top, I did a whole break down of them all. I broke them all down by the actual contracts.

Get rid of VPI before you may need it one day.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

i have Petplan. hips are covered.


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## Cplant89 (Dec 24, 2012)

What were you searching?


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## Bear GSD (Apr 12, 2012)

I have PetPlan also and have been very happy. Type in Pet Insurance in the search bar at the top of tab. It will bring up numerous threads on the topic.


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## Anubis_Star (Jul 25, 2012)

Im on the fence about pet insurance. Ive seen it pay very well for some, recently a woman who's 4 year old dog had surgery for foreign body obstruction, 4,000 $ covered. 

On the other hand most decent pet insurance plans that cover anything worth covering cost 100 $+ a month, that I've seen at least. That's over 1200 $ a year, I think the average I've seen is about 125$ a month. 1500 $ a yr, 18,000 $ over the lifetime of a 12 year old pet. Plus they dont reimburse your vet, with most plans you still have to come up with the money up front and the insurance company sends you a check. Doesnt do a lot of good if you don't have 4000 $ sitting around to cover the initial cost of surgery.

I think in the long run its just better to put that 125 $ a month into a savings account. Sure you MAY use it, or you may have a healthy pet that doesnt require it. And you save yourself THOUSANDS of dollars in the long run.

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## Bear GSD (Apr 12, 2012)

Anubis, I pay $35.00 a month with $200.00 deductible covering 80% of cost. I opted for the lowest plan they offer, I think it's the bronze plan? I think they cover pretty much everything.
I've already submitted a claim with them for a fractured canine and I had no problems with the claim at all.
You could put away $ in a savings account, but in my opinion it would take you several years of saving just to cover just 1 very expensive procedure.


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## Courtney (Feb 12, 2010)

I have the exact same plan as Bear GSD w/ Pet Plan. I have thought about do I really need it, but have not canceled and had it since we brought him home at 8 weeks.

I didn't get it for hips, although I know it's covered. I'm not worried about that. I am worried about accidents when crap hits the fan unexpectedly. 8k that that resets every year.


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## Heidigsd (Sep 4, 2004)

I have PetPlan for Nikki and would *NEVER *own another dog without it. In the first year our vet bills added up to almost $10,000 (parvo, demodex, allergies, EPI, septic abdomen)

Insurance is not meant to be a savings account, I don't know why people can't get that through their heads 

You can put up some money every month but unless you can put up a lot it won't do you much good during an emergency which can add up quickly, chronic conditions also cost a small fortune over the dogs lifetime. With my first GSD (which lived to be 14) I spent about $40,000 just in medical bills.

We are very happy with PetPlan and I have to file regular claims and never had an issue. Usually once I submit a claim I have a check within two weeks. Our premium started out around $34 per month and now three years later it's $50. I have to Gold Plan/$200 deductible/100% reimbursement.

Here are some of the threads on insurance, hope that helps 


Welcome to the official home of the German Shepherd Dog, a dog respected and admired throughout the world for its versatility, loyalty and intelligence. - Search Results for health insurance

Michaela


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## Courtney (Feb 12, 2010)

Actually, I'm sure my resident location plays a part in the cost. But I'm only charged around $78.00 every three months for the bronze plan.


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## kr16 (Apr 30, 2011)

here, easy answer is pet plan, im getting a new plan today just got a new pup. Truepanion is way to expensive for a dog not fixed

http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/basic-care/159747-health-insurance-opinions.html


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## Anubis_Star (Jul 25, 2012)

I'm just quoting norms in my area that pay out decently seem to be about 100$ a month. If you can get it way cheaper great. But I'm also trying to be realistic and inform the OP, even if you have insurance you still need the money up front to pay the vet clinic. So does no good to have insurance if your dog needs a 5000$ emergency surgery and you don't have the money. That's why sometimes I think instead of putting 100$ into insurance every month it may be wiser to put 100$ away in a savings account. That way if you never use it, great, money saved. If you DO use it, then you have the money up front. 

That's why I said I'm on the fence about it. It's like a gamble. It's paid out great for some clients and it's been a waste of money for other clients.


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## Anubis_Star (Jul 25, 2012)

Heidigsd said:


> Insurance is not meant to be a savings account, I don't know why people can't get that through their heads


Maybe you didn't read my explanation as to WHY I feel sometimes a savings plan is a better long term payout, IF you're paying potentially 10,000$-20,000$ into something over the life of a pet. I don't know why reading explanations is so hard


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## Anubis_Star (Jul 25, 2012)

Bear GSD said:


> You could put away $ in a savings account, but in my opinion it would take you several years of saving just to cover just 1 very expensive procedure.


This is very true. But what happens if you need an expensive procedure and you don't have the money up front to cover it? In my time I've only seen 1 insurance claim actually reimbursed directly to the clinic. I remember a gentleman calling around one time, his older lab needed an MRI and his insurance would reimburse him in 9-10 days but he didn't have the money to pay up front. No clinic would do the procedure without payment up front. Crappy situation. That insurance wasn't doing him a lot of good, a nice little savings account by then would of though 

I'm not trying to say insurance is HORRIBLE, don't do it. I'm just trying to give the realistic flip side of the coin that a lot of people don't think about - mainly still having to pay the clinic up front


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## KristiM (Oct 18, 2011)

Anubis_Star said:


> This is very true. But what happens if you need an expensive procedure and you don't have the money up front to cover it? In my time I've only seen 1 insurance claim actually reimbursed directly to the clinic. I remember a gentleman calling around one time, his older lab needed an MRI and his insurance would reimburse him in 9-10 days but he didn't have the money to pay up front. No clinic would do the procedure without payment up front. Crappy situation. That insurance wasn't doing him a lot of good, a nice little savings account by then would of though
> 
> I'm not trying to say insurance is HORRIBLE, don't do it. I'm just trying to give the realistic flip side of the coin that a lot of people don't think about - mainly still having to pay the clinic up front


I had an MRI done on my dog about 2 months ago and was able to get a pre authorization. My insurance covered 80% minus the $100 deductible, I had to come up with $600 of the $2500 cost. The rest was covered up front. (Only problem is I have a lower end plan, only $2500 per injury/illness which these days is apparently only enough to diagnose a serious problem)

For my one dog its been a waste of money so far, my other dog I have been paying $35 a month for a little over a year and insurance has paid out around $3500. I use PC pet insurance.


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## Heidigsd (Sep 4, 2004)

> Maybe you didn't read my explanation as to WHY I feel sometimes a savings plan is a better long term payout, IF you're paying potentially 10,000$-20,000$ into something over the life of a pet. I don't know why reading explanations is so hard


I did read it


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## Heidigsd (Sep 4, 2004)

To me insurance is worth it even if you don't need it because it gives you piece of mind. If you can put up a huge amount every month and can cover the rest if you have an emergency...great! But if you don't you may find yourself making a very difficult decision one day 

When Nikki had to have emergency surgery she had to stay in the hospital for four days for a total of around $4,100. I received a check from PetPlan before my credit card bill was due.

I don't have to rely on my credit card but that would be an option to have a credit card for emergencies along with insurance. Not too long ago I was at the vet with our bird and a young men was in there very upset. I don't know if he had a dog or cat but he didn't have any money. The receptionist told him that nobody is going to see his pet for free  I walked in on the end of the conversation so I don't know the whole story but I felt horrible for him and the pet.


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## Neko (Dec 13, 2012)

This + This = Great! =)

Discount on services that are lower than insurance co-pay. Even our nail trip is discounted. I love this combo and it's affordable.


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## kr16 (Apr 30, 2011)

Anubis_Star said:


> I'm just quoting norms in my area that pay out decently seem to be about 100$ a month. If you can get it way cheaper great. But I'm also trying to be realistic and inform the OP, even if you have insurance you still need the money up front to pay the vet clinic. So does no good to have insurance if your dog needs a 5000$ emergency surgery and you don't have the money. That's why sometimes I think instead of putting 100$ into insurance every month it may be wiser to put 100$ away in a savings account. That way if you never use it, great, money saved. If you DO use it, then you have the money up front.
> 
> That's why I said I'm on the fence about it. It's like a gamble. It's paid out great for some clients and it's been a waste of money for other clients.


What plan is $100 a month? Truepanion would be if you add the breeder rider. I pay $40 for petplan bronze plan and a $100 deductible, my boy is 2 and not fixed.

My new pup is $35 for the silver plan

The reality of any insurance is you (let me do the woman thing here) DONT want to get anything out of it. That is good news, you or your pet are healthy. I have had $3000 in bills this year that were paid. 

Another question to ask yourself. If your dogs just not right and you can tell. If you go to the vet and they want to take xrays, blood and other procedures, will you do it when they tell you the bill is $1000+ and it may show nothing? I do the procedures, could care less what the price is.

The other problem is with any insurance human or pet. They are written so the non insurance savvy person gets fooled. Cigna which is a great human health insurance company is famous for this.

VPI is scam IMO, people do not know about there menu or schedule of what they will pay for every condition. Sometimes it is $0. ASPCA, and others are pretty bad as well. Only a few are worthy, Petplan, Truepanion, Healthy Paws 

In any insurance you never want a grey area of a unknown. Whatever you may get, read the policy that is a contract. Nothing else matters.


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## kr16 (Apr 30, 2011)

Heidigsd said:


> To me insurance is worth it even if you don't need it because it gives you piece of mind. If you can put up a huge amount every month and can cover the rest if you have an emergency...great! But if you don't you may find yourself making a very difficult decision one day
> 
> When Nikki had to have emergency surgery she had to stay in the hospital for four days for a total of around $4,100. I received a check from PetPlan before my credit card bill was due.
> 
> I don't have to rely on my credit card but that would be an option to have a credit card for emergencies along with insurance. Not too long ago I was at the vet with our bird and a young men was in there very upset. I don't know if he had a dog or cat but he didn't have any money. The receptionist told him that nobody is going to see his pet for free  I walked in on the end of the conversation so I don't know the whole story but I felt horrible for him and the pet.


I have a separate credit card I use just for my pets and pay it off as soon as I get my check back. It usually takes a few weeks to get paid.


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## Bear GSD (Apr 12, 2012)

Anubis_Star said:


> This is very true. But what happens if you need an expensive procedure and you don't have the money up front to cover it? In my time I've only seen 1 insurance claim actually reimbursed directly to the clinic. I remember a gentleman calling around one time, his older lab needed an MRI and his insurance would reimburse him in 9-10 days but he didn't have the money to pay up front. No clinic would do the procedure without payment up front. Crappy situation. That insurance wasn't doing him a lot of good, a nice little savings account by then would of though
> 
> I'm not trying to say insurance is HORRIBLE, don't do it. I'm just trying to give the realistic flip side of the coin that a lot of people don't think about - mainly still having to pay the clinic up front


I think the idea of having a separate credit card for pet vet bills is awesome. You're right most clinics expect to get paid up front which is what the credit card would be for. The plan I use paid out me claim within 2 weeks, which would be more than enough time to pay the credit card bill when you get it.

I also believe as someone else mentioned that if you were on the fence about getting tests or procedures done because of the cost, IMO you would be more likely to have it done if you had insurance.

We're in the same state, get a quote from PetPlan, I'll bet it wouldn't be more than $35.00 a month for Berlin.


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## Anubis_Star (Jul 25, 2012)

Bear GSD said:


> I think the idea of having a separate credit card for pet vet bills is awesome. You're right most clinics expect to get paid up front which is what the credit card would be for. The plan I use paid out me claim within 2 weeks, which would be more than enough time to pay the credit card bill when you get it.
> 
> I also believe as someone else mentioned that if you were on the fence about getting tests or procedures done because of the cost, IMO you would be more likely to have it done if you had insurance.
> 
> We're in the same state, get a quote from PetPlan, I'll bet it wouldn't be more than $35.00 a month for Berlin.


Haha pet insurance is kind of pointless for me I get basically free care. Free lab work and xrays, plus my job gives me a 3000 $ pet stipend every year. Ive already had surgery on one cat this year (removed a lymph node) and paid nothing.

But credit card is great. I recommend care credit to EVERYONE, just to have in case of emergency.

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## David Taggart (Nov 25, 2012)

You should avoid paying insurances wherever you could. Insurance companies are designed for making money, not loosing them, that is just feeding uncle Larry when you don't need him and unlikely you would ever need him. But, if you're tuned this way, open another bank account for your dog and start placing money there.


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## Heidigsd (Sep 4, 2004)

I decided to add up Nikki's EOB's for each year to see how much PetPlan has reimbursed us so far. Nikki needs treatment the rest of her life for her EPI/IBD/Atopy/B12 Deficiency. Maybe this will help people decide if insurance is worth it or not for them 


1st year (Jan 2010) - I paid *$387* in premiums
PetPlan paid *$8517*

2nd year 2011 - I paid *$439* 
PetPlan paid *$8703*

3rd year 2012 - I paid *$488* 
PetPlan paid *$9347*

4th year 2013 - I will pay *$602* 
PetPlan has paid *$3644* so far

This is just the cost for her health issues and not her food which costs approx. $400 per month.


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## jameels (Sep 12, 2021)

kr16 said:


> here, easy answer is pet plan, im getting a new plan today just got a new pup. Truepanion is way to expensive for a dog not fixed
> 
> Health insurance opinions


Thanks, I am going to see them for my pet coverage, Recently my friend gifted my new pup and it's necessary to have insurance to be on the safe side


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## kr16 (Apr 30, 2011)

jameels said:


> Thanks, I am going to see them for my pet coverage, Recently my friend gifted my new pup and it's necessary to have insurance to be on the safe side



Look at Healthy Paws. Petplan has become pretty pricey and the renewals are expensive every year


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## bchevs (Oct 15, 2020)

I think whether or not pet insurance is worth it really depends on your situation. If you already have money in the bank (personally I would want minimum of $5000) and you are good at managing your money then you may be in a position to keep a separate account just for the animals and just add to it every paycheck. Otherwise, I would go with pet insurance personally. 

I looked into it recently and decided not to go with it because:
1) Whiskey already has a pre-existing condition, so nothing related to that would be covered and I could see him having issues stemming from it in the future so I need to save up some money for him either way.
2) I have 2 dogs and 2 cats. It was too expensive to insure all of them, so I would prefer to put that money away so it can be used for whoever needs vet care. 
3) When I added up the costs, I would have paid over $11,000 into pet insurance over the course of my pup's life. That's a tough pill for me to swallow lol

BUT. I seriously considered it because: 
1) I have friends who swear by their insurance (Trupanion). I have paid quite a bit of money out of pocket this year for both my pups while all of a friend's bills were covered. 
2) Vet bills add up FAST. Whiskey was perfectly healthy until he had his spinal clot. If he had needed surgery I was looking at upwards of $12000, which they wanted up front (be sure you have a credit card that can cover something like this!!). We got lucky and he didn't need the surgery, but I was still around $3000 in the hole, not including all his rehab afterwards. 
3) Vet bills add up FAST!! After swimming Nova got an eye infection and Whiskey got an ear infection. So there's two exam fees, cost of the tests they did and the cost of the medication for each of them. It was probably around $300 just for two very common infections. 

I think if I didn't have four animals and one with a pre-existing condition I would have gotten the insurance.

Another thing to keep in mind is that not all insurances are equal. Check maximum payouts, copays, deductibles, conditions that may not be covered, etc. I found after looking at these a lot of insurances weren't worth it IMO. Trupanion was the best I found, but I'm in Canada so there may be better options if you live elsewhere.


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