# Thinking about canceling pet insurance.



## julie87 (Aug 19, 2012)

It's too expenssive paying $54 every month with $200 deductible with Petplan.The only reason I got it is to possible cover hip displasia. But I don't think my dog will need it anyway. She is 10 months old and jumping around link crazy seems perfectly healthy. I know things can happen in the future but so far I've been paying $600 in insurance fees all for nothing, I took Arexa to the vet but had to pay out of pocket for everything because it was all less than $200.... I just can't imagine paying $54 every month next 10 years if she doesn't even need it and I still have to pay out of pocket. I dont want any other insurance i already did my research. Any thoughts or advise? 


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## Cheyanna (Aug 18, 2012)

I got insurance with Vpi for $30 a month. I think about canceling it, but then I think that it is for emergencies. If Fiona got hit by a car or attacked by a dog, would I spend thousands of dollars to save her? Yes, but would I have it? It is like my health insurance. It is for comfort in case, God forbid, I get cancer or really hurt.


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## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

every time I cancelled I got hit with some accident and big bill. I figure it is like the car breaking down when you get your tax refund. Cosmic money karma I guess.....

I am keeping Beau's up at least until we do OFA x-rays at 2. He shows no signs of any back, hip or elbow problems but I want to be sure first.

But one broken canine sets you back several thousand dollars so......

FWIW, Cyra had SEVERE hipy dysplasia with arthritic remodeling and she showed no actual symptoms at ALL until she was three and started limping after she got cold and wet one day.


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## Bear GSD (Apr 12, 2012)

I purchased Petplan insurance almost exactly 2 months before Bear fractured his lower right canine. To go to the vet dentist cost $1300.00 in which they covered the 80 percent after my deductible. I pay $34.00 a month for my dog. Are the prices higher for you because you're in Canada?
It was totally worth it to me because there are too many unknowns and accidents.

BTW, Petplan was very easy to deal with as far as the claims goes and I received my check for $840.00 within 3 weeks.


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## AJT (Jun 20, 2012)

Even if it is multiple visits for the same condition you can still get reimbursed. 

I have PetPlan too and on the $200 deductible/80% reimbursement plan. It already paid itself back with the gastronitis that spanned over 2-3 days. I wasn't shy with going along with xrays, blood tests, etc that the insurance eventually covered a part of.

I would wait till she at least hits a year and probably two just like jocoyn plans to. After dealing with cancer with my other dog, I'm scared NOT to have insurance.


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## Shaolin (Jun 16, 2012)

I love my VPI plan. I pay 57$ a month, have a 100$ deductible, and I get a nearly free wellness visit twice a year. All vaccines are covered up to 80% and I get 50$ off on all heartworm and flea/tick meds twice a year. It pays for itself in spades when I use it. Nothing like having a 200$ vet bill and turn around and have a 150$ check in the mail a week later. I don't think I'll ever not have it.


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## julie87 (Aug 19, 2012)

Bear GSD said:


> I purchased Petplan insurance almost exactly 2 months before Bear fractured his lower right canine. To go to the vet dentist cost $1300.00 in which they covered the 80 percent after my deductible. I pay $34.00 a month for my dog. Are the prices higher for you because you're in Canada?
> It was totally worth it to me because there are too many unknowns and accidents.
> 
> BTW, Petplan was very easy to deal with as far as the claims goes and I received my check for $840.00 within 3 weeks.


I'm in California. And I have Petplan gold coverage, it's the most expressive one they have, I figured $20 is not gonna make much difference and the coverage is way better than regular plan... I don't knew what to do... It's not like I won't pay vet bills if Arexa need vet care it's just I feel like I'm wasting my money.. Because to go to the vet I never even exceeded $200 and for them to cover the claim it has to be over $200... So it's like you pay $700 a year and no coverage unless something crazy happens which is unlikely... And if it does ill just pay out of pocket... 


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## irickchad (Feb 6, 2013)

Just like any other insurance, you never know what it's truly worth until you have to use it. I pay about $200 a month for $100 deductible health insurance for my wife and I, and I often think about opting for a cheaper plan, but I know as soon as I would, something would happen.


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## cassadee7 (Nov 26, 2009)

Wow, my Petplan is only about $250 a year. Granted it is a cheaper plan and I have never made a claim yet, but I figure of there is an accident, an illness, bloat, etc it is worth having it, and if not, it is worth $250 a year for my peace of mind.


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## AkariKuragi (Dec 19, 2011)

If you don't want to pay the pet insurance because you don't think it's worth it, but still want a safety net to fall back on in case of an emergency, maybe put away a certain amount of money each month in a saving's account and don't use that money unless you have a pet-related emergency. If you put away the amount you're paying now, you'd save up $700 a year to go towards vet stuff, and you wouldn't have to deal with any claims filing and stuff.


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## Mooch (May 23, 2012)

I'm in the same situation as you, I pay $59 a month and I'm considering cancelling it - this is th efirst year I've had it but with my dogs they knock me back on pre existing conditions all the time.
I sort of figure I'm probably better off putting the money in a high interest bank account every month and perhaps just keeping the "cheap" accident cover incase of snake bite 

So hard knowing what to do - if I was sure they'd pay out when needed I'd be a lot more confident with it.

On the other hand for my next puppy I'll get insurance STRAIGHT away - with Hex I waited too long and had to pay for his elbow surgery out of my own pocket! The next one will get insured as soon as it's old enough - even if it's just for that first year.


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## Cheerful1 (Sep 27, 2011)

Our Petplan premiums cost about $676 a year. Will keep it for as long as we can afford it. Joey's 7 and healthy, but who knows what will happen in the future. It's cheap (relatively) peace of mind.


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## Omar Little (Feb 24, 2013)

I still haven't decided if I'm going to get it for my future GSD or if I'm just going to set money aside, but I'm with Jocoyn, the second I would cancel it, something bad would happen.


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## martemchik (Nov 23, 2010)

Shaolin said:


> I love my VPI plan. I pay 57$ a month, have a 100$ deductible, and I get a nearly free wellness visit twice a year. All vaccines are covered up to 80% and I get 50$ off on all heartworm and flea/tick meds twice a year. It pays for itself in spades when I use it. Nothing like having a 200$ vet bill and turn around and have a 150$ check in the mail a week later. I don't think I'll ever not have it.


I'm not picking on you...but your math is off.

You pay about $700 in premiums and then the $100 deductible, plus 20% of vaccines. With heartworm and flea/tick you probably end up paying about $50 (after you're reimbursed).

My yearly vet visit is $150 (with all vaccines - I get lyme/lepto as well), I pay about $150 for heartworm and flea/tick for the year.

So although you feel good when you're only paying $50 after a vet visit (net of reimbursement), you're not really "winning" at the end of the year.

Pet insurance is just that...in case of emergencies. If you think the worst thing that will happen to your dog is that at 8 you'll have to replace a hip or two...you would've paid almost $5000 in premiums at that point. And that's on one dog...then if you don't have to replace anything, you've just gifted all that money to the insurance company.

I did my research on the insurance, after deductible/co-pay ect. IMO it wasn't worth it. It was better to put away $50 a month in a savings account and have that in case something happened. That way, at the end of my dog's 10+ year life, I have a lot of money saved up for anything that might be needed, or if its not needed, I have the money for the next dog.

These companies must make a killing on premiums...they don't pay out nearly as much as auto insurance/health insurance do.

My decision was to save for a rainy day...not gift more money to insurance companies.


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## kr16 (Apr 30, 2011)

Dont worry about math. Worry about being on VPI the greatest deceptive marketing you will find. VPI is not good and for anyone who thinks it is, read your policy. Than read it again, than look at the schedule of benefits that comes with your policy. Hopefully it makes sense to you to see how much they do not cover and how bad it is. 


Here it is the only thing that matters is what is in your policy and this is in it. Scroll down to all the $0's in what they cover dollar wise.


http://www.petinsurance.com/images/VSSimages/media/pdf/Major_Medical_Plan_Policy Pkt_NCC.pdf


http://www.petinsurance.com/plans-and-coverage/conditions-not-covered.aspx


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## kr16 (Apr 30, 2011)

I get that call all the time Im paying and got nothing out of it. I kindly ask them if they would like me to come over and hit them in the knee with a bat. 

That's the best thing someone could say, I pay and get nothing out of it when it comes to health insurance. This means someone is healthy.

Its for the god forbid not the 76 dollar doctor or vet visit. At some point your gonna have a huge bill.


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## julie87 (Aug 19, 2012)

Mooch said:


> I'm in the same situation as you, I pay $59 a month and I'm considering cancelling it - this is th efirst year I've had it but with my dogs they knock me back on pre existing conditions all the time.
> I sort of figure I'm probably better off putting the money in a high interest bank account every month and perhaps just keeping the "cheap" accident cover incase of snake bite
> 
> So hard knowing what to do - if I was sure they'd pay out when needed I'd be a lot more confident with it.
> ...


Yes most insurances don't cover preexisting conditions but Petplan does. It's the best insurance you can find, but expressive, I guess it's worth it for some people, maybe for much older dogs, not my 10 month old. The older the dog the higher the premiums though. I never had anything happen to any of my dogs in my whole lifetime... And that money I waste on insurance I could get her treats or toys or whatever else she needs, plus they won't cover anything unless it over $200 that's the main thing that makes me wanna cancel, because so far all the vet visits I paid out of pocket anyway... Decisions decisions...


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## Jag (Jul 27, 2012)

The major medical is the only thing that's really worth it. I cancelled VPI and went with another one.. not petplan, can't think of the name right now. Anyway, yes it's a monthly expense. I took the lowest deductible. When my last male got attacked by the neighbor's dog at the fence, I paid about $1000 that I really didn't have at the time. If something happens to Grim, I don't have to worry about if I can afford it. I didn't take the hip coverage, but I think I'm going to add it until he's Xrayed. Sure, I have to pay for the 'well visits', but my main concern is an accident or illness. I'm sure that if I cancelled it, he'd need it.


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## Heidigsd (Sep 4, 2004)

> That's the best thing someone could say, I pay and get nothing out of it when it comes to health insurance. This means someone is healthy.
> 
> Its for the god forbid not the 76 dollar doctor or vet visit. At some point your gonna have a huge bill.


:thumbup:

I would love to just pay the premiums and not having to use it. I really can tell you from both of my experiences that expensive health issues don't just show up when they get older. Nikki has been using Petplan regularly since she was nine weeks old and will continue for the rest of her life.

Michaela


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## martemchik (Nov 23, 2010)

Heidigsd said:


> :thumbup:
> 
> I would love to just pay the premiums and not having to use it. I really can tell you from both of my experiences that expensive health issues don't just show up when they get older. Nikki has been using Petplan regularly since she was nine weeks old and will continue for the rest of her life.
> 
> Michaela


Yeah I know...my dog had parvo when he was younger. I had to pay out of pocket...it was probably about 2 years worth of premiums (total). Hasn't had an issue since.

I'm with everyone else that its great not to have to use it, and its mostly for those major emergencies. But the fact remains that they are a very rare occurrence. Most dogs (unlike most people) go through life completely healthy without the need for huge medical expenses.

IF (large if) you are able to save the premiums monthly, you should be covered for 95% of things that can go on with your dog through out its life. Like the other poster said...if you read through what they cover, and how much of it they cover, it's usually very restrictive or limited to the amount anyways. Some of them are 80% covered...which is still a lot out of pocket if you're talking $5000+ type of procedures. Others will cover a lifetime MAXIMUM of $2000 or less for certain illnesses/diseases (which isn't enough to cover some of those things).

The list is so long and tedious, that its almost impossible to make an educated decision on if some coverage is necessary based on where you live, how you live, what you do with your dog, what breed of dog you have (predisposed to certain disorders), ect.

I'm not trying to push OP to cancel the policy, just to think about the math a little bit more, read into the policy some more, and realize what the benefit/cost of the whole thing is.

There are also other options...a carecredit credit card is amazing. If you go to a vet that accepts it, you get 6, 12, or even 18 months of interest free financing for anything you charge on it. So if its a cash flow issue...you can finance that $200 vet visit for 6 months and pay $30 a month for it (same thing for larger expenditures).


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## kr16 (Apr 30, 2011)

I will gladly explain anyone's human or dog health insurance if they ask. For me its simple I know the language and read these contracts all day long. 

If anyone has a dog on VPI and has no pre existing conditions get off it, its not worth it. I did a work up in this forum on most of these companies.

To the person that was concerned about a dog getting hit by a car, VPI probably wouldn't cover much of the expense, its a false security. They cover up to 715 for the fracture but do not cover any of the preliminary xrays and MRI's


Truepanion is the other good one but be careful you need to add lost of riders and it gets expensive.

As far as any companies know what exactly you have, that's the biggest thing.


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## julie87 (Aug 19, 2012)

The insurance company really thought it through, think about it their high deductible. They figure that most common vet visit doesn't exceed $100 anyway so for them to cover something it would have to be something really bad wrong with the dog. You pay insurance once a month $54. My vet charges $39 for an exam and of course if dog needs more you halve to pay. I took her to the vet total 3 times, once when she swallowed rocks which cost me $60, just for exam(at a different vet) the rocks came out by themselves, all 16 of them!! It's a miracle  second time she had giargia, cost me $39 for exam, $40 for the test and like $16 for the meds so total $97, third time when she had her spay which was $120 (which insurance doesn't cover anyway) $20 for pain relieving meds, and to get her puppy teeth extracted because they were getting in the way of her adult teeth $80. Total out of pocket expense $350. Insurance I paid for 9 months of coverage $550. Amount the payed for the dog $0. So I think I'm gonna cancel it and get it when she is older... 


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## kr16 (Apr 30, 2011)

If your dog developed something from the point of cancellation, its now a pre existing condition and the coverage will exclude that or maybe you cant get coverage. I personally will never have a dog without petplan again.


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## AJT (Jun 20, 2012)

julie87 said:


> The insurance company really thought it through, think about it their high deductible. They figure that most common vet visit doesn't exceed $100 anyway so for them to cover something it would have to be something really bad wrong with the dog. You pay insurance once a month $54. My vet charges $39 for an exam and of course if dog needs more you halve to pay. I took her to the vet total 3 times, once when she swallowed rocks which cost me $60, just for exam(at a different vet) the rocks came out by themselves, all 16 of them!! It's a miracle  second time she had giargia, cost me $39 for exam, $40 for the test and like $16 for the meds so total $97, third time when she had her spay which was $120 (which insurance doesn't cover anyway) $20 for pain relieving meds, and to get her puppy teeth extracted because they were getting in the way of her adult teeth $80. Total out of pocket expense $350. Insurance I paid for 9 months of coverage $550. Amount the payed for the dog $0. So I think I'm gonna cancel it and get it when she is older...
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Man, i need to live where you are. The vets in my area easily charge more than that. Our spay prices here for large dogs is $600. The e-vet visit is easily $200 when I walk through the door and when I walked out last time it was over $400.


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## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

A lot depends on what you do with the dogs....Basically if you walk into the dog ER or Dog dentist you are not going to leave around here for less than 2K. A teammate wracked up $6K pm a dog who ate a bottle of aspirin. I do think saving for the long run makes the most sense. Insurance companies are in business to make money. I do figure it makes sense to get the plans like Pet Plan that cover genetic diseases and get through the first year of life then budget for accidents down the road with a slush fund


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## kr16 (Apr 30, 2011)

jocoyn said:


> a slush fund



You have to be involved with a team sport of some sort to use that term. I spend half my year collecting that for travel ice hockey teams.

If someone owns a dog and doesn't have thousands to spare insurance is a good idea. The last thing anyone wants is to put their dog down because a thousand or more dollar surgery is something they cant afford. Or even have to think about it. I go to the vet now and never worry except for my dogs well being. Xrays, Mri's, whatever do it, I get it back.

Separate accounts sound great if someone really can do that. I have thought of that as well in the past.


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## Heidigsd (Sep 4, 2004)

I guess the people who have/had sick dogs in the past look at insurance differently than people who are used to mostly healthy dogs. I didn't have insurance with Heidi and I can tell you that she cost me a small fortune over 14 years. I don't regret a penny of it but it was tough. 

I do whatever it takes for my dogs and totally agree with kr16 that there is no better feeling when your dog needs expensive tests or long term care to know that you will get reimbursed. 

Insurance is just that insurance, it's not a savings account and yeah it sucks when you pay in all these years and feel like you get nothing in return. But in my view you do get something back "piece of mind". If you can afford to put up $500 a month to be ready for a real emergency than great but putting up $50 a month or so isn't going to help you much when you are looking at a few thousand dollars in vet bills and it adds up quick.

I would rather have it and not need it than to not have it and wish I had it. But it's an individual decision


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## Bear GSD (Apr 12, 2012)

Heidigsd said:


> I guess the people who have/had sick dogs in the past look at insurance differently than people who are used to mostly healthy dogs. I didn't have insurance with Heidi and I can tell you that she cost me a small fortune over 14 years. I don't regret a penny of it but it was tough.
> 
> I do whatever it takes for my dogs and totally agree with kr16 that there is no better feeling when your dog needs expensive tests or long term care to know that you will get reimbursed.
> 
> ...


Totally agree :thumbup:


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## Bear GSD (Apr 12, 2012)

Julie87, maybe you should do a little social experiment. Lower your Petplan to a Bronze plan, it should cut your monthly cost to about $35.00? a month and then put what ever you were think about or the same amount of money away every month and in 2 years see where you come out ahead.

I am lucky enough to be able to afford care for my dog without insurance, but knowing my dogs activity level (frisbee etc...) and the fact that I live in a high snake population area. I wanted the insurance as a piece of mind and so that I never have to question whether or not I should do a test or other procedure because I was worried about the expense.


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## GSD07 (Feb 23, 2007)

I did have a dog with major injury and no insurance, never again. When we got a second dog we got petplan so it would be no pre-existing conditions. My pup is now over 5 yo, and we got reimbursed over $1K during his first year, and now 4 healthy years later we had to go to a vet again, and just one (!) visit to a specialist cost us $2300, just the diagnostics without treatment, and there will be follow up visits ahead of us. If condition doesn't resolve we will proceed with advanced diagnostics if required without a second thought. We just moved, took time to find a job, and it would be hard to provide our dog with high quality care without being able to rely on insurance. I have the petplan on annual autorenew so I really don't think about it much until I need it


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## grace23 (Jan 26, 2012)

Check out Pet Assure! Great discount program with no hassles of filing claims & waiting to be reimbursed. It can also be used with pet insurance. No worries about type of pet, age or any pre-existing conditions.


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## GSD246 (Jan 17, 2012)

I canceled mines about a month after switching to raw. My pup was slowly slipping between my fingers for about 4 months despite the fact that I was spending close to 300-500 a month on vet bills. We ran all kinds of test, more than once. When one vet ran out of ideas I went to a different one. All of these test amounted in nothing but negative results. I was hoping we'd find something wrong so we could at least fix the problem. My pet insurance company must have hated me. 

Finally I gave up and tried raw. I noticed insurance companies didn't approve of going against your vet wishes and would deny my claim if I did so. So I canceled my insurance. We've been back to the vet for a semi annual check up and that is it. Thinking of readding it now before I get her hips checked out. I don't think there is going to be a problem but I can't be sure. We have no preexisting conditions despite all the test I subjected my dog to so at least that one thing I don't have to worry about. Needless to say, I don't want to push my luck. 

Beyond that putting a larger gsd into agility(she loves it) is pushing my luck even further. I think I might keep it this time. My biggest fear if what would happen if she slipped off the dog walk. We aren't even doing any real jumping or weaving until I get the results back and my dog builds a stronger core with more rare end awareness.


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