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Pet health insurance

Does anyone have any experience with this? Is it worth it? What are the pros & cons? Any words of wisdom to share? Thanks!

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I'd talk to your new, house-calling vet about it - better yet, pop by their office for some pamphlets. I bet that the office staff would know more about the details than the vet anyway.
Good luck.
I worked at an animal hospital for several years and have met only one person who actually made out and she had a chihuahua and German Shepard. The Shepard use to pick the little guy up and throw him around. He always got injured and needed surgery. If you just have one cat, I wouldn't do it. I see that you are worried about diabetes, pet insurance doesn't cover the insulin. If you find a policy that does, please let me know.
That I can handle.
Yeah, I'm trying to figure out a good way to do the math on which will be less expensive. I have two cats, 9 & 10 years old, so it's not like I'll be paying into it the whole time they're young and healthy. But I know they can get more sickly later in life. I actually noticed on the pet insurance website last night that once your pet hits 10 they won't take them as a new client, and that the premiums go up every year. I could fudge a little and say Nacho's 9, but if I wait much longer I may not be able to pull this off.
Anyway, regarding the cost of vet care without insurance, I've already paid $270 for one visit for one cat just this week - and that didn't include shots, microchip, teeth cleaning, etc. And now the vet wants to do more tests... So I can see how I could easily pay more than that per year. I'm impressed that you were able to keep your vet bills so low with 4 pets! My cats got out a few years ago and I ended up paying over $2000 in vet bills just for one of them for that one incident.
Thanks SO much for the tip about insulin coverage!! That's just the kind of thing I don't want to neglect to think of when trying to make this decision. The policy I looked into said it covered diabetes, but I didn't think to check whether that actually included the insulin.
No way!! Where do you work??
I've gone to the same vet for many, many years and discussed it with him several times but not for a long time. He's told me some of the pros and cons. In the past if I've had a major expense he's just let me pay out the bill since he knows me. But I still wonder sometimes if having insurance would make a difference if one of my dogs developed something like cancer again.
I work in clinical cancer research for a pharmaceutical company (Boehringer Ingelheim).
So do you think it's worthwhile then? (I don't know what "Cherry Eye" is. :oops: )
P.S. Love the name/avatar/signature!
Yeah, see, that's what I worry about. It's usually later in life that these things happen. And it's just so tragic to have to make medical decisions based on finances - for people or animals. :(
Peoples' inability to be disciplined leads them to rely way too much on insurance for everything.
You all do realize that insurance companies make a profit, right?
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
I may consider in the future.
8/08 - Ed solo in DC, 6/09 Ed in B'more,
10/10 - Brad in B'more
From what I read, your pet can't be accepted as a new patient once it hits 10 years old. But I think if you got in before then they'll keep you - they just raise your premiums each year. Of course I'd need to confirm that (and find out what the premiums are).
So how do they know what your pet has and hasn't been treated for before?
What pet insurance company did you have?
Thanks for all the info!
Our whole situation was one big debacle...took us four years to determine what our dog was allergic to, so I sent in the pile of receipts for treatment and presciption food and they refused to reimburse..so after a pile of angry letters and phone calls, we got reimbursed for about 1/4 of what we paid for treatment, two years of premiums refunded, and agreement that I would never again get pet insurance... and I think you can't insure dogs over the age seven...I don't know what it is for cats...
Anyway, because she had a history of gastroenteritis, that would be an exclusion, meaning they'd never cover that.
Things with pet insurance might be different now, but with today's economy, it's a big waste of money (in my opinion)...better off saving that money in an account (the premiums you'd pay) and using it when the time comes.
aw poor doggie! I hope your dog feels better. how would that insurer know if you did get it again? did they mean just for that particular pet?
8/08 - Ed solo in DC, 6/09 Ed in B'more,
10/10 - Brad in B'more
The dog in question is now dearly departed...three years ago tomorrow. It turned out that she was allergic to Lamb & Rice foom (particularly the rice), which was the recommended treatment of her skin condition (food allergy). She was fine once we switched her to the fish & potatoes food...(fish n' chips, we called it). Anyway, she was 16 when she died of myasthenia gravis...and we gladly paid whatever it cost to keep her free of pain...
Our two current dogs are not insured, although one of them is clumsy and injurs himself usually requiring surgery. Insurance would have covered all of that because there is no exclusion criteria for doofusness... Our other dog, after nine years, she's only been to the vet to be spayed and regular checkups...It's luck of the draw...
Obviously it's scb's choice...but our vet does not recommend it. Save the money or buy nice treats or toys to keep the pet happy while it's healthy....
2. follow Dr. Dodds vaccination protocol http://www.wellpet.org/vaccines/dodds-schedule.htm.
3. Don't put poisonous chemicals on your pets http://thewholedog.org/wholedognews/?p=323
4. Save all the money you would pay for premiums, for emergency's.
*May the Peace of the Wilderness be with YOU*
He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.
— Unknown
"To is a preposition.
Come is a verb"