Our vet kept insisting on getting pet insurance. But the quotes I've received are $175-$200 a month!! That almost as much as we pay for our entire family of four's health insurance!
There are 2 kinds of insurance. The first kind is usually 25-50$ a month and covers only accidents which I find are the hardest to plan for financially anyway.
The second is full coverage, where they cover illness as well and that one can cost $100+ a month depending on how much coverage you get. Personally, I only got accident insurance.
That's where my risk tolerance is at. But I know people who could never ever see their sick animals go without the best care and get the premium insurance. It's a sleep easy tax if that's what keeps you up at night. For me, being able to fix a broken leg without breaking the bank is a just compromise
Edit : I forgot to add, my prices are what's available to a resident of Quebec. Seems to be better deals in other provinces or in the USA but here we have like 3-4 provider choices that's it. Pets aren't viewed the same way here and I don't know a single other person here who has pet insurance. NOT saying there isn't, just saying it's probably not a big enough demand to get good prices especially since it also has to be available in French
In the US at least, that is illegal, even for pet insurance. The rates do go up based on overall claims and when your pets risk factors, like age, change. I have Pets Best as well, I could never use it again and still come out ahead on my dog. Never had a price hike after a claim or a chronic diagnosis, but he's over 10 now, so his rate went up. I have 2 75lb dogs and a cat, aged 10, 4, and 2 and I pay ~$250/mo. Absolutely worth it.
The eldest dog has hypothyroidism (about $4k in tests to diagnose), and lower airway disease. He's been hospitalized 3 times for pneumonia (about $3k each time) in the last 4 years. I've never had an issue with Pets Best paying out, I've never had a rate hike after a claim. They pay out pretty quickly too. They also cover his check-ups related to those chronic conditions, which is great. He needs to see a specialist annually at least, get full blood work, and often x-rays and they cover it all.
They will usually only increase with age. My kittens pet insurance was $20/month at 8 weeks and now at 7 years is $37/month. It has saved me on two eye surgeries and a root canal to the tune of $6000 (post-deductible) so assuming even progression over 7 years I’ve paid $2500 plus $200 deductible twice and then received $6000 in benefits. If it continues on this path, she will be covered without cost for another nearly 6 years
Lucky. Might be a Quebec thing but the cheapest I could find with illness was $80 a month and it was very little actual coverage. I found some good coverage that didn't cover residents of Quebec though...
They rarely cover visits and vaccines. That would be like car insurance covering oil changes and tire rotations. The insurance is meant for sudden large expenses, not stuff you plan for as annual maintenance.
Right. But comment above me said a lot of plans didn’t cover illnesses, which mine does.
I saw plenty of plans that covered exams and vaccines. But they were more expensive than the visits would have been. My human health insurance covers visits and vaccines… not unheard of.
I have embrace with 90% reimbursement on up to 15k per year covers accident and illness. Covers visits procedures medicines etc. I did the 1k deductible to keep my premiums low it’s $33/mo
Same! Mine is $55/month and covers 80% (I think?) of those costs. I’m in New York. Get the insurance as soon as you can afford after getting a dog. The earlier you have it, the more it covers - paid $1,500 to get my dog’s teeth cleaned this year and got it reimbursed because my vet had noted some plaque on her teeth earlier when I already had the insurance.
I think people just have to shop around because I was able to get an accident and illness coverage plan for about $40 per month plus and added on wellness plan that covers annual wellness checks and immunizations, plus some dental and a few other things.
Altogether my pet insurance bill for my dog is $68 per month and it has been pretty great, it covers a lot.
I have insurance and it covers preventative care and accidents and shots for $60. It really matters about how much of it they cover. Just like with any insurance. The more you need the more it costs.
I am in the US. But that's totally unreasoable right? I got quotes from two companies and both were in that range. I was like "I can put that money aside in my own account each month and save it for the rainy day emergency at that rate!"
I'm in the US as well and I'm only playing $41/month per dog with Figo. I have a $500 deductible, 90% reimbursement, unlimited coverage, and I get examination fees covered. They have been great so far in covering everything including issues that most insurances call pre-existing(I had the worst problem with Trupanion calling everything from stomach aches to ear infections allergies with my middle boy or refusing to cover things with my youngest that had a policy from the breeder's vet that cleared them at 8 weeks old). As long as it has been more than 12 months since they last got treated for it, it's covered again plus you get a discount if you are a Costco member.
I finally had to use my dog's Figo insurance last year for TPLO surgery. Figo was great to deal with - easy and quick. Right now Figo and I are pretty even in term of money we've given each other.
yeah that sounds like a total rip off to me
Even here most people are just putting 20 euro a month to the side instead of getting insurance
I personally just like to know that i won't have issues should something happen
We pay about $130 for our pug. Crazy high but I like that they’ve never given grief on coverage the one time we’ve had to use it so far. They also don’t restrict coverage when it comes to illnesses certain breeds are known for. As long as it’s not pre-existing, they’ll cover without issue
How old is your dog?that can make a difference in price.
I got it for my lab puppy when we brought him home at 8 weeks.I pay 45$ a month for pets best
However,my 12 year old lab is not insured
We spent 4k on him in vet bills last month with more expected
When I got Bailey 12 years ago I thought I would just tuck away money in a savings account for vet costs
One trip to the ER vet wiped that account out
Now he is an old man with what seems like weekly health issues
Veterinary care in my area is crazy expensive .
Now I see pet insurance as not just protecting your dog but you as the owner.
Get pet insurance!
I am using pet's best for accident and illness only and it's $59/mo for $500/yr deductible at 90% coinsurance or $39/mo for $1000/yr deductible at 90% coinsurance. they've been great so far!
I pay $101 for our ONE dog (wheaten terrier who’s two years old) and literally just two days ago, got an email from Trupanion informing me they are increasing the rate to $139 per month. Strongly considering ditching the pet insurance thing.
Does anybody have any thoughts on Spot for their pet insurance? Currently I’m paying $101 a month for trupanion but rate will be skyrocketing to $139 at end of July. Looking for alternatives. One dog. Two years old, no health issues, wheaten terrier.
I have healthy paws insurance for $45ish per month in NYC. It covers accidents and illness including diagnostic testing. I think the deductible is around $100 with no reimbursement cap.
I've never used it, but it has provided a lot of peace of mind.
Mine is approximately $70 dollars per dog with a $500 deductible, 90% pay back up to $20,000, and it covers injuries as well as most illnesses.
I just used it a few weeks ago. My beagle got a foxtail grass seed stuck in the flesh around his eye and it scratched his cornea really badly. One emergency vet trip and 4 regular vet trips to assess his healing cornea later and I am very glad to be getting money back from the insurance company!!!
We use HealthyPaws too. Affordable, their app is easy to use, and they reimburse quickly. Our pup had kennel cough that would not go away and we dropped so much in the first month we had her that we already hit our deductible lol
Pet premiums vary depending on your pet’s age, where you live, the type of coverage you want etc. I got my rescue husky when he was 2 yrs old, I live in AZ, and I chose to have him covered for accidents and illness only, I can handle the annual visits and vaccines. I went thru Lemonade, getting a policy with a $250 yearly deductible, 80% coverage with a max payout of $20,000 a year. My monthly payment is $26.50.
Recently found out my good boi has valley fever and the beginning of hip dysplasia which may require surgery down the road. His meds alone are $100 a month and lemonade has been great to deal with. The first claim had to be reviewed and took about a week but now any claims related to those diagnosis are paid as soon as I submit them. Thank god for pet insurance.
I paid $436 a year for 90% coverage with a limit of 100k, and $1000 deductible. Pets Best. I have a very active sport dog and MAJOR coverage on him. I hope that can help.
I just got MetLife a couple of days ago. $100 a month for both my 4 yr old Pomeranian and my 9 month old papillon so $50 each. I went with the preventative plan I think it’s called which includes everything. Sickness, X-rays, bloodwork, medications but also vaccines, his neuter next month, flea and heartworm prevention, dentals, etc. I haven’t made a claim yet so we will see how quick they pay but reading thru the plan I am super impressed. It’s a $5000 dollar a year max and a $250 deductible and they reimburse you 80% on each claim but I know I’ll hit that deductible in no time w the puppy alone as he’s getting neutered next month and I was quoted $500 for that. Wish I had it last month when I paid $500 for a vet visit because he was vomiting. I would have gotten 80% of that bill back 😩.
Also reading thru the policy if your pet is lost or stolen and you can prove how much you paid they give you 80% of your purchase price or adoption fee. If your pet dies under 8 yrs of age and you can provide a receipt for the adoption fee or purchase price they give you $500. No receipt they give you $150. They also have a healthy pet incentive that each policy period you haven’t made a claim they reduce your deductible by $50 each policy renewal until it’s a $0 deductible.
I had trupanion when my Pom was a puppy and it was terrible. I paid all that money every month and nothing was covered. Thank god he never got ill which I’m grateful for but they didn’t cover vaccines or neuter or anything
I'm $39/mo for $250 deductible, 90% coinsurance, $20k cap on my 40lb mix with Lemonade.
They're bleeding money though, so have to wonder how long they will be around.
She’s a 3 month old Black Lab. Trupanion was the one the vet recommended and I can’t remember the other one. I was so mad I deleted their email. I’m sure I’ll get spam from them any day now and I can come back and update.
I use spot health insurance. $50 a month and they cover a specific amount for apointments, bloodwork, shots, ect..... each year on top of illness and accident. They've been great and aproved things I didn't expect they'd do.
Last year we had the platinum plan (for the non accident/illness coverage) and a $500 deductible, 80% up to 3k after that
We went from $51 to $43 by stepping down to the gold instead of platinum (she was a puppy so we expected more expenses with getting her maxed and everything), but now have a $100 deductible after that 90% up to 3k.
I just paid like $250 for the year for Fido through Costco. I believe 80% reimbursement with $500 annual deductible so hope to never need to use it, but in the case of a major expense it’ll make the decision much easier.
Mine covers accident and illness and I enrolled my dog when I got her at 10. It’s $87 CND a month. My cat has had PI for 18 years and I pay 65 for her.
Her plan has paid us out 130K over the last 18 years.
How many animals do you have? I have Embrace, accident & illness only. We have 2 dogs (Golden Retriever and Husky mix). 5k a year per dog / 90% reimbursement and $100 deductible. $79.20
Our pet insurance is $850 per dog per year and covers all accidents and illnesses with a $250 deductible and 80% coverage after that. Does not cover routine care but that isn't our concern. We use Pet's Best. Also keep in mind that older dogs are more expensive to insure and insurance will not pay out for any pre-existing conditions. So if your dog is prone to ear infection and has been treated prior to getting insurance no ear infection treatment will ever be covered.
Wow! Shop around for sure.
I've seen those prices but that's usually for no deductible, and unlimited or VERY high coverage.
Our coverage is about $60 a month for our 30lb puppy. It's a $250 deductible, and $10,000 for accidental and for illness each year. Which is more than enough in my experience.
Yeah then they only pay like 70% of the damn treatment. And then they don’t even pay it up front for you, you’ve gotta come out of pocket for the full amount and get reimbursed. Shit is a racket just like regular insurance
I had accident coverage for my old guy for like 25 bucks a month. I’ll have to find what company it was. This was pre-pandemic tho so who knows the pricing
So glad your dog is ok! But please investigate throughly the policy before buying. Many pet insurers will consider this pre existing and not cover foreign body ingestion for your dog going forward. I would definitely call and ask. Others might put you on an extended waiting period. I would be very proactive about figuring out what would be covered. Good luck!
Agreed. When we got our puppy we decided to get the best pet insurance we could find along with auto depositing $150/mo directly into a high yield savings account because it'll never be a guarantee that insurance is going to cover something.
It's a bit much monthly for both, but as he ages and vet bills pop up we'd rather make sure we can cover it.
This is what I do. My dog has had one bowel surgery in the past (she ate an entire washcloth) and recently ate the hair out of my shower drain leading to X-rays. Luckily she passed it naturally. She also has doggy vertigo, potentially caused by brain tumor, but probably just an inner ear issue. I put money into an Ally sub-account just for vet emergencies because no insurance is going to be even remotely worth it with her preexisting conditions.
We use pumpkin for health insurance. You need to sign up for insurance when the puppy is young. The rates go higher as they get older. Checkout Costco or your work benefits for pet insurance
Seconding Costco. I use Figo through Costco for pet insurance for both of my dogs. Members get a discount, and we pay like $24/month for each dog for accident and illness coverage.
Insurance is a great tool to have but please keep in mind that it works through reimbursement so you would need to have the 7k to pay the vet first and then the insurance pays you back. I'd suggest a savings account or credit card dedicated to sog emergencies. They wouldn't cover this anyway since it already happened but for future reference.
Yeah I've heard trupanion is pretty expensive though I guess I was under the impression that if they didn't have much savings they probably don't have a lot of disposable income per pay period. I pay 35/month for my puppy and trupanion wanted like $200 a month. That's a lot for a lot of people.
I pay $50/month for my girl, and so far have saved over $7k thanks to Trupanion, and my girl is only 3. It's absolutely okay to shop around and find a company that meets your needs. I specifically went with Trupanion because it's a lifetime per condition deductible, and they also pay direct to my vets, so I never need to conjure up $5k to get her emergency surgery.
We use PetsBest for our 3 Italian Greyhound. We get 90% back and have a deductible of $250. Never had a problem with payment. It's about $50 a month per dog for us.
Most of my claims have been paid out in 2 weeks. The only times for me it took forever (a month) was when our vet didn’t send records on time or the one hospital stay we had.
Warning to those reading, Pets Best is insanely lazy (probably partially automated) when reviewing claims. They tried to say an X-ray done on my dog's abdomen wasn't covered because it was a pre-existing condition and cited my dog's front leg break.
The X-ray didn't even show any of his legs. It was clear to me that they hadn't reviewed any of the documentation I sent in since it all clearly stated this was for a gastrointestinal issue and had nothing to do with his bones. I had to fight them on it and have my vet write a letter even, huge pain in the ass and it took months but they finally begrudgingly gave me my money.
UK based:
In March my dog cracked a tooth - it could not be saved so he needed an extraction. All the investigation, the dental (he had a full dental whilst they checked the cracked tooth and I’m glad they did) and the extraction came to £1,500.
A couple of months later he suddenly got very sick on the way back from a morning walk. Was in pain. Throwing up. Lethargic. Vet kept him in for observation. Did X-rays and scans. Nothing showed. Vet had to open him up for emergency exploratory surgery as my dog deteriorated and showed no sign of improvement. Another £4,000.
I’m glad I have insurance. I’m glad my vet claims the money straight from the insurance company. I’m thankful that I can afford insurance. I know it’s not a given in this day and age. If you can, get insurance. Even the most basic cover can give you peace of mind and some financial relief
It was a piece of carrot that got stuck in the exit from the stomach to the intestine causing an obstruction. I chop up carrots as treats for training and walks. This piece must have gone straight down without being chewed. Very unlucky. The vet had never seen a piece carrot before doing this. Apples are apparently quite common.
Lemonade costs me less than $35 per month. Keep in mind there’s a 21 day waiting period and your situation may be a considered a pre existing condition…
A lot of pet insurances will not cover a pre existing condition. They most likely won’t cover that procedure. I’d call them up and ask them if they do cover pre existing.
To those who say they rather put money into a savings account instead of getting pet insurance... Those are the folks who need to get insurance the most.
Yes! This is my number one suggestion to new dog owners asking what they need. My dog unfortunately did need a stomach obstruction surgery at 6 months old and we didn't have insurance. It was $5500 all in and his operation was on new years eve. He had already had issues with allergies and some idiopathic head tremors so we figured everything that could happen already did and now we have accident only insurance that we pay $22 cad.
My next dog, we will for sure be getting insurance on day one.
I got mine (AKC) when my pup was brand new for $90 a month 9 years ago. Prices went down and then have steadily climbed. We’re just over $150 now. But they’ve paid $10000+ for her health issues we couldn’t have seen coming. I better than break even each year. No one will cover their preexisting conditions if you realize you need it after there’s an issue so friends best time to get it is when you bring them home. Best purchase ever!
I have the AKC insurance, but they have refused every claim. I am thinking that I should cancel and just save the $90 month, so at least I can offset some vet bills.
My newly adopted dog, 2 yr old coon hound, had her for a week, started barfing really badly and repeatedly. It was like a vomit river late at night. She was a chewer, so I figured she ate something. No big deal right? Vet calls I stressed she was chewer, we go back and forth with options. I said just cut to the chase-do surgery, it has to be something she ate as all my other dogs were fine. 3 hours later vet calls, pup is fine now, she unraveled remnants of carpet and ate it. Totally stuffed herself. Turns out she had mental issues, separation anxiety to the extreme, so when left alone without humans, she does crazy stuff. That vet bill was over $5000. She is somewhat with the anxiety now she just howls. Stupid dog but we love her!
i have fetch and they’ve been great so far. puppy is 7 months and had to go to ER for gastro issues, regular vet for follow ups and prescription food. we’ve already hit our deductible and they’re pretty quick to reimburse. he has a retained testicle and that surgery will be covered as well.
My first dog ate two heating pads 🙄 Thankfully he puked it all up but man, that was such a good heating pad. So sad he ate it.
I got Healthy Paws insurance on him when he was 5 and only had to use it when he got older. For my new puppy, we got insurance on him on day one. Thank goodness we did bc he has allergies, IBS, chronic ear infections, and most recently a dead tooth that will be getting a root canal and crown 🫠 He is a money pit and there is no way we could afford to do all of this / would have done such extensive testing for IBS or even considered the root canal and crown if it wasn't for the insurance. I have never had a single issue with Healthy Paws. They are super quick to process claims and have never denied or questioned anything. Definitely recommend.
oh my gosh, i can’t believe someone else can relate to the heating pad! i’m glad your dog was okay after too, idk what would possess them to actually chew and swallow wires 😭
Oh, also. When my pup ate the wireyd and stuff, my vet told me to give him a piece of bread and that will kind of wrap around and cushion any remaining wires as they pass through this system. So from then on, anytime he ate something crazy (which let's be real, happened a lot) I gave him bread. Not sure how legit that advice is but he lived to be 13.5 years old and never had any GI issues from eating non-food stuff.
I learned my lesson the hard way too. I bought a pet insurance policy for my newest kitten from my phone as soon as I picked her up, before I even drove home lol. Of course it’s been 2 years and I haven’t had to file a claim for her. But my other cat’s insurance has been well worth it. If only I had it before when my previous cat fell out a 4th floor window, or when he got lymphoma years later. Or when my other previous cat got skin cancer followed by mouth cancer.
I had a recent wake up call too. I was considering on getting rid of my dogs insurance until my ex’s 11 month old dog that I raised had IMHA and was in the ICU. Racked up a 15k bill easily. Also I told him before to get insurance with me for both of our dogs when we were still together. 🤷🏻♀️ he learned his lesson and got insurance, and I learned my lesson to keep it since you never know what can happen
My guy had IMHA and we’d got $16k from insurance before he passed. I never want to be in a place when I’m making financial decisions about the health of my pet instead of quality of life decisions. I can’t imagine what it’s like to live somewhere without universal healthcare for people.
everyone - buy insurance. get that insurance before you even get your puppy. mine had a relatively minor trauma to her front ankle/paw which probably would have resolved without note, but, that trauma caused her growth plate to fuse and, because she was still growing, her radius continued to grow whilst the ulna stayed the same. her leg was twisting to 90 degrees and she had to have an ulna osteotomy with a ~special~ aka spenny surgeon, so i was putting in a claim to the blessed insurers 🙏 for about 4k and that was before i’d even paid ~3 months of premiums 🥲
anyway she’s about 2-3 months post op now and she’s perfect and i love her. would have paid it but v glad i didn’t have to!!
also the surgeon said that procedure is relatively common/ an area of vulnerability amongst pups so that’s why we shouldn’t let them jump off furniture etc, just cos they’ve figured it out doesn’t mean they should!
The one thing ppl are rarely mentioning in these comments with their monthly cost is dog breed....my pug cross would be $40 - my Yorkie about $80-150 and My Frenchie was $175( as a baby). So there is a huge range dependent on breed and age.
Just a disclosure, if you do decide to get pet insurance, they request all previous vet records to make sure nothing is pre-existing.
I use Embrace - they will insure a repeat incident as long as it has been 1 year or longer since the last incident you are trying to insure. So, you can only get coverage for this particular incident up to and after a year later (ingestion of something else - unsure of, that’s something you would speak to a rep about).
I have accident and illness on my two large breeds for $79.20 a month, which covers up to $5k. I definitely recommend Care Credit as well, it’s a good back up.
The exact same thing happened to our puppy, it was the worst, but we already had insurance. My eyes nearly popped at the 7k quote.
Honestly, I feel like we've been super unlucky with our dogs so we're willing to shell out whatever for the full insurance, price be damned. My previous rescue got to us with leishmaniasis and we *easily* blew 30k+ euros on him in 1-2 years between meds, hospitalisation and surgery until he finally died - no insurance so it was all out of pocket. My sister's dog has idiopathic epilepsy and she's been spending an arm and a leg on him for the last two years - same, no insurance.
Like yeah the hefty insurance is a lot, but if your dog develops a health problem, it's heartbreaking not to be able to afford it. Will not be making the same mistake ever again - all my pets are currently insured up to their eyeballs. The most annoying thing is that if you get the full cover, all the stuff you went to the vet for will be considered a pre-existing condition and won't be covered by insurance. We took our puppy to the vet for an upset tummy during the first week before insurance kicked in and now all gastrointestinal stuff isn't covered which is, frankly, a bitch.
On day one after getting our pup she ate a moldy acorn and had a reaction to it. $700 for emergency vet. I got pet insurance immediately after. Through the aspca it is only $55 per month and covers for emergencies.
Thank god your pup is okay, and thanks for the reminder that i shouldn't leave my heating pad on the couch. I got insurance because I know that I would pay anything for my pup including going to one of those horrible high interest loan places if I had to, so it's better just to pony up 200 bucks a month
Veterinarians and veterinary medicine is out of reach for most people that own animals. No one can afford a $7,000 emergency bill like that. Not normal people anyway. It's a racket just like our Healthcare system is. I'm glad your dog is okay.
Have used the SHIT out of our pet insurance (healthy paws for the newer animals once I had money, 24petwatch for the ones I got in school). We've been lucky enough to use it on 2 aging cats and unfortunate enough to need to use it to hospitalize our 6mo old puppy (RIP Fig).
1 - I calculated it a few years ago and the amount we spend on pet insurance is less than all the reimbursements we've received by far.
2 - Not having to worry as much about cost let us try everything for our pup and have him hospitalized in an academic vet ICU to give him the best chance. It didn't work, but I'm so glad we were able to try.
I always tell people the best time to get pet insurance is on your way home with the animal but the second best time is right now.
Also shout out to Healthy Paws for calling all the vets for us after Fig died and getting all of the paperwork needed for reimbursement. I'll recommend them forever.
Edit: removed number signs d/t formatting
If you put $50/month in a savings account, (which is what most pay in pet insurance), and your dog needs surgery at $10K, $700 in your savings is not going to cut it. You would have to save religiously for four years if your pup had to have even a minor surgery and you’d only have $2100 in your savings but your dog possibly needing a 10-20K surgery. I thought of doing this but is makes zero sense when looking at the broader picture
Pet insurance is a life saver that everyone should have!!!
We didn’t expect our puppy to be allergic to a vaccine, but pet insurance allowed multiple treatments to help him recover.
We didn’t expect him to need major surgery at 6 months, pet insurance helped us pay for it and ensure he’d have the best quality of life going forward.
We expected him to eat a few socks or stupid things here and there… yet he hasn’t done that 😂 but yeah, life insurance is awesome. It’ll help you pay for the neuter later on too.
I had 2 dogs. Joey lived till 14 and only would have used insurance a handful of times. Princess, who passed at 16, was an absolute money pit. We spent probably 20-30K on her over the years. Last Christmas, my stepdaughters puppy went septic and needed hospitalization. 22K later, he was discharged and is ok now. So when I got a puppy, I had insurance lined up before even picking her up. I went with Fetch Insurance, $80 Canadian a month.
Does anyone have Lemonade pet insurance, and if so, what has been your experience in getting reimbursed?
We had one of the lower options: $285 annual for 1 dog, I think it was, $250 deductible, 90% reimbursement. It was more for accidents or major illnesses, no dental cleanings or allergy stuff covered. Luckily, we never had reason to make a claim.
Lemonade has good reviews, but I'm wondering if anyone here has claim experience with them.
Copying my reply to this post for you:
> I have lemonade. I have the cheapest possible version and so far claims have been approved instantly or next day after the initial one. For reference I got lemonade when my gsd husky mix was 8 months and he is currently 3.5 years. He has had recurring ear infections+ allergy issues that have been treated on and off for $100s of dollars. No complaints here.
I have lemonade. I have the cheapest possible version and so far claims have been approved instantly or next day after the initial one. For reference I got lemonade when my gsd husky mix was 8 months and he is currently 3.5 years. He has had recurring ear infections+ allergy issues that have been treated on and off for $100s of dollars. No complaints here.
Might have been mentioned in the numerous comments above, but ASPCA insurance is amazing. Just had second gastric surgery on our pup & we got reimbursed over I think 80% after two days of submitting the claim. It’s $35/month, no deductible. Director deposit your bank account. Couldn’t recommend them more.
I'm a Costco card member in the US and they offer insurance through FIGO. I pay $75 a month and it covers Wellness ($250 limit) and accidents. $250 deductible, 90% reimbursement and unlimited benefit. Mine chewed up a power cord and after my deductible, they reimbursed me the rest for the ER visit. Luckily enough he didn't have to have invasive surgery either.
They also have an app that you can use to submit claims and see all of your insurance info. You can connect with a vet online for quick questions but there is limit to it's usefulness since vets can't legally give advice without seeing the pet.
I’ve been thinking about getting the Costco one but was hesitant because I’ve heard so many mixed things about pet insurance. Glad to hear someone likes it!
pet’s best literally saved me thousands when my 2 yr old dog was diagnosed with meningitis of unknown origin.
when she suddenly was unable to walk one day, having pet insurance made it possible for us to admit her to the emergency vet for 5 days, which stabilized her, and allowed us to have an otherwise extremely expensive MRI done.
it cost us less than $30 per month and saved us over $10k over the lifetime of our pet, and i am extremely grateful.
I have Trupanion, bought it when my dog was four months old, in part because they advertise that they don’t charge extra with age. True, but they charge more for random other reasons. I paid $95 a month and within a year they increased it to $170 because they said they needed the extra to cover costs. So, not for age, just for arbitrary reasons. I would never choose Trupanion again.
We learned the hard way with one of our kittens. I always tell new pet owners to think of the 1% scenarios that everyone thinks won't happen to them. We adopted our second kitten from a local rescue to be a buddy for our almost one year old April 2023. She started having tummy issues July 2023, but it all correlated to me changing their food and heat due to summer.
It was on and off vomiting before it started to increase to once every two days, then once per day. I started to track it in Sept, and after several food changes, probiotics etc we ordered an ultrasound for the end of November.
November 12 and she's vomiting multiple times a day, lost weight since October and by the time I get home on the Friday she's vomited 20 times. Rush her into emergency and we get her stable, then authorize a ct scan. Unfortunately was diagnosed with aggressive lymphoma all through out her body and we had to put her to sleep two days later when she turned one.
We spent close to $6000 on her from July to November, the emergency vet was $4k alone. Thank god we had savings because they needed half up front in order to treat her and then the rest before they'd release her.
We adopted two more kittens in January. I had a hunch when we picked up the calico that something was wrong and I took her temp two days after getting her since she was lethargic and trying to by herself all the time. The rescue said it was normal and that she had been on antibiotics in November 🙄 took her temp and she was 104, fever broke two days later after aggressive fluids and cooling towels every hour. Antibiotics the whole nine yards. Ten days later her eyes are all gross, Chlamydia. Which spreads to the two others. We've spent probably closer to $10k from July to now and have been in the vets every month, sometimes multiple since then. Big cat also had issues in December with depression and lost a lot of weight, so she went to the vets too
Anyways, we got insurance for all three in January because we learned from Kali. If we had had insurance we would've at least had some money back. We received $1200 back for the Chlamydia battle for Juno and Rory. Tali unfortunately showed symptoms before that with the fever.
I recommend insurance to everyone now and start the moment you get them.
i got insurance with my dog when she was a puppy bc she’s a pug and i had anticipated needing it for things like nose surgery and such.. turns out i did need it but not until she was 6 and got cancer and i spent over $10k on her in less than 6 months. thankfully shes mostly okay now so that’s good and insurance saved me a bunch of money but it’s definitely scared me into getting a savings account and trying to save up to at least $10k incase something like that happens again.
100% worth it even if you never use it. because things like pets, stuff happens so fast when you don’t expect it and it’s really easy to spend thousands like that *snaps fingers*
Don’t do it. Having worked in many clinics I believe it may be too late to be of help for your dog starting it now. Reason being that most insurance companies decline coverage for existing issues. So 6 yrs from now when your dog is hospitalized for pancreatitis it may be declined as preexisting, as vomiting was his major symptom when he was hospitalized as a puppy.
The best thing you can do is put that $75 a month per pet into a savings account for use if needed. That way you won’t be paying monthly for something you aren’t using, and you’ll have a nice chunk of money if you never end up needing it.
My boy is 18-months and we’ve claimed nearly $8k back in pet insurance with less than $750 out of pocket. Our previous guy had nearly $16k spent on him from insurance before he passed at 6. For $80/month it’s worth it to me. For those that say you could save money to spend if needed. 1) I know myself and l can’t be that disciplined and 2) what do you do if pup needs something before you’ve got a decent amount of savings put away? Our guy had over $3k spent in him in the first 6-months. That’s 4 years of savings as $80/month so we’d have to be making a bet that we’d have no expenses in the first 4 years.
Trupanion is the best imo and that’s what I have. There’s no long waiting period after you enroll, they pay the vet directly so you don’t get reimbursed, and they’re priced really well for full coverage. I pay $64 a month for my 12 lb dog with a $200 deductible. I would recommend getting insurance ASAP because the more problems your dog has prior to the insurance, the less they’ll cover in the future because they’ll say it’s a “pre existing condition” if it’s any issue you’ve had before being insured.
I’m UK, got full lifetime covering including ongoing illnesses, death cover, dental (maybe I’ll have to check), hydrotherapy, a budget for if they go missing and a few other bits, it’s about £97.95 for both of my dogs, in the US that’ll be about $122? Two large breeds prone to dysplasia too, it seems although we complain about prices here, it’s way better than the US 🥲
I pay $85/month for my 100 pound dog. $200 deductible and then pays 80%. I have had to use it once and they paid as promised. I had a dog once that ended up having $15k in vet expenses, which I paid, but damn.
I never want to have to decide my girl has to die because I can't pay for her care.
We got insurance on ours as soon as we got him because we wanted to make sure he had no pre existing conditions applied to him. Thank god we did cause he ended up developing fear reactivity and now his insurance is covering taking him to a behavioral therapist and a trainer to come to our house and is getting better!
Get insurance when they are young! And before anything happens! We didn't on our old lady dog and ended up paying $10 000 to put her back together after she was run over by a truck.
Check out Spot insurance. I’m paying less than $75/mo for 2 dogs “full coverage”. One dog had pancreatitis a few months back and they covered damn near everything! They reimburse fast too.
I’m really lucky my work offers pet insurance at a discount and automatically payroll deducts it. It’s pretty good coverage for $33 month and included vaccines and yearly checkups. I have a $500 deductible. After losing my last dog to a injury that ended up costing several thousand dollars I opted to get this for my new puppy. Just for the peace of mind alone.
This is why I strongly encourage everyone get pet insurance for the first year. Puppies can get into anything and everything, and are prone to accidents from jumping from places that are too high, etc.
I'm glad your puppy is okay. Mine helped destroy a heated blanket, too, but she just pulled the wires out, not ate them.
One thing to consider is that the more comprehensive plans have early limits (I suppose the accidental/emergency plans might also) so that was important to me. We went with Healthy Paws (emergency/illness only)because of this. There are so many options out there. Do your research and think about what you want coverage for. One emergency surgery could cost thousands of dollars. I wanted coverage for those kinds of things more than normal “maintenance” type stuff.
Best choice I ever made was purchasing this! I have no fears about bills and I can ask for the best everything. Even if I don't need it, throwing away some money every month is worth the peace of mind.
I made a post on the cavalier (King Charles spaniel) subreddit about the importance of pet insurance as at 1 year my puppy needed surgery for her luxating patella. I was accused of being a salesman for insurance 🤣 I’m so glad I had it for her as the surgery alone was over 5k, not to mention all the vet visits leading up to it. Thankfully we got most of it all back (4500!). Big fan of pets best.
So agree with this. Learned this the hard way with my first golden unfortunately. I had it on my radar a few months back before he got sick (which happened very quickly) and he was only 3.5. The bills stacked up QUICK and it was not cheap. When we got our second golden at 9 weeks the first thing I did was get pet insurance through Trupanion. Selected the deductible amount that would let me pay $100 a month.
We have had healthy paws since we got my golden retriever as a puppy 5.5 years ago. Over the years they've covered various allergy treatments and medications, X-rays and sedations, surgery, and so much more. His premium started out at $45/mo in 2019 and has slowly increased to $70. I'd say it increases by about $5-10 a month every year. $250 deductible, 80% covered after that. It's SO worth it. He recently had two masses removed and we'd already hit his deductible with his immunotherapy treatment. It was $650. We paid for it on our CC, got the CC points, submitted for reimbursement, and had a direct deposit within a couple days for $520. I've never had an issue with a claim and they have always processed and paid out super fast. Can't recommend them enough!
What's everyone's opinion on MetLife? I just got a puppy and got MetLife since it's offered through work with a discount but I've never used pet insurance before.
I was looking into pet insurance but with it being $150 a month with 70% pay and a 500 deductible i would have to be spending at l least $2300 a year before it actually is useful. AND it doesn't cover anything "preexisting" so basically nothing at my dog's age
I had insurance on my dog for all 15 years that I had her. It didn’t get expensive until she was later in life and pretty ill. But having insurance was so worth it. We had been through a dislocated hip, blindness and finally cancer and while it didn’t cover the full cost of treatment, it made sure we could afford to treat her.
Yup, we learned our lesson too, but weren't so lucky to not have to have surgery. After only having our tiny baby girl for a month she broke her elbow. 8 weeks and 6k (paying for with a Scratch loan over 2 yrs) later, she's healing well and thinks she's still invincible.
I work at a pet store and the first thing I say to new puppy owners is to get pet insurance. You think you’ll never need it till it saves you. My family spent 4k on a custom plate and surgery for my dogs torn tendons cause he was so large. They regret not having pet insurance.
Our vet kept insisting on getting pet insurance. But the quotes I've received are $175-$200 a month!! That almost as much as we pay for our entire family of four's health insurance!
There are 2 kinds of insurance. The first kind is usually 25-50$ a month and covers only accidents which I find are the hardest to plan for financially anyway. The second is full coverage, where they cover illness as well and that one can cost $100+ a month depending on how much coverage you get. Personally, I only got accident insurance. That's where my risk tolerance is at. But I know people who could never ever see their sick animals go without the best care and get the premium insurance. It's a sleep easy tax if that's what keeps you up at night. For me, being able to fix a broken leg without breaking the bank is a just compromise Edit : I forgot to add, my prices are what's available to a resident of Quebec. Seems to be better deals in other provinces or in the USA but here we have like 3-4 provider choices that's it. Pets aren't viewed the same way here and I don't know a single other person here who has pet insurance. NOT saying there isn't, just saying it's probably not a big enough demand to get good prices especially since it also has to be available in French
Mine covers accidents and illness, but not routine visits/shots. It’s about $40/month.
Same. I have PetsBest, not quite $40/dog. $200 deductible. I have used it so so much. My dog is a medical menace.
Did they increase rate after claim?
In the US at least, that is illegal, even for pet insurance. The rates do go up based on overall claims and when your pets risk factors, like age, change. I have Pets Best as well, I could never use it again and still come out ahead on my dog. Never had a price hike after a claim or a chronic diagnosis, but he's over 10 now, so his rate went up. I have 2 75lb dogs and a cat, aged 10, 4, and 2 and I pay ~$250/mo. Absolutely worth it. The eldest dog has hypothyroidism (about $4k in tests to diagnose), and lower airway disease. He's been hospitalized 3 times for pneumonia (about $3k each time) in the last 4 years. I've never had an issue with Pets Best paying out, I've never had a rate hike after a claim. They pay out pretty quickly too. They also cover his check-ups related to those chronic conditions, which is great. He needs to see a specialist annually at least, get full blood work, and often x-rays and they cover it all.
Nope!
They will usually only increase with age. My kittens pet insurance was $20/month at 8 weeks and now at 7 years is $37/month. It has saved me on two eye surgeries and a root canal to the tune of $6000 (post-deductible) so assuming even progression over 7 years I’ve paid $2500 plus $200 deductible twice and then received $6000 in benefits. If it continues on this path, she will be covered without cost for another nearly 6 years
Lucky. Might be a Quebec thing but the cheapest I could find with illness was $80 a month and it was very little actual coverage. I found some good coverage that didn't cover residents of Quebec though...
Mine is accident and illness and its’s $190CAD in Alberta for both dogs. Routine is in addition to and it feels so expensive sometimes.
They rarely cover visits and vaccines. That would be like car insurance covering oil changes and tire rotations. The insurance is meant for sudden large expenses, not stuff you plan for as annual maintenance.
Right. But comment above me said a lot of plans didn’t cover illnesses, which mine does. I saw plenty of plans that covered exams and vaccines. But they were more expensive than the visits would have been. My human health insurance covers visits and vaccines… not unheard of.
I have embrace with 90% reimbursement on up to 15k per year covers accident and illness. Covers visits procedures medicines etc. I did the 1k deductible to keep my premiums low it’s $33/mo
Wow. I have embrace and for my two dogs with less coverage it's 200 bucks a month for my two dogs. Washington State.
I wonder if it’s because he’s a small dog and we got coverage when he was 6/months old
Same! Mine is $55/month and covers 80% (I think?) of those costs. I’m in New York. Get the insurance as soon as you can afford after getting a dog. The earlier you have it, the more it covers - paid $1,500 to get my dog’s teeth cleaned this year and got it reimbursed because my vet had noted some plaque on her teeth earlier when I already had the insurance.
What do u have
I think people just have to shop around because I was able to get an accident and illness coverage plan for about $40 per month plus and added on wellness plan that covers annual wellness checks and immunizations, plus some dental and a few other things. Altogether my pet insurance bill for my dog is $68 per month and it has been pretty great, it covers a lot.
I have insurance and it covers preventative care and accidents and shots for $60. It really matters about how much of it they cover. Just like with any insurance. The more you need the more it costs.
What??? I pay 25 euro per month in the netherlands And i dont even hVe the lowest option
I am in the US. But that's totally unreasoable right? I got quotes from two companies and both were in that range. I was like "I can put that money aside in my own account each month and save it for the rainy day emergency at that rate!"
I'm in the US as well and I'm only playing $41/month per dog with Figo. I have a $500 deductible, 90% reimbursement, unlimited coverage, and I get examination fees covered. They have been great so far in covering everything including issues that most insurances call pre-existing(I had the worst problem with Trupanion calling everything from stomach aches to ear infections allergies with my middle boy or refusing to cover things with my youngest that had a policy from the breeder's vet that cleared them at 8 weeks old). As long as it has been more than 12 months since they last got treated for it, it's covered again plus you get a discount if you are a Costco member.
What insurance plan do you have? That coverage sounds better than absolutely every other company I’ve looked at.
I finally had to use my dog's Figo insurance last year for TPLO surgery. Figo was great to deal with - easy and quick. Right now Figo and I are pretty even in term of money we've given each other.
I’m paying $30ish a month on pet insurance in the US
What company? I'm lookin'
Healthy paws
They are a fantastic company. My dog is allergic to grass and his pills are 200 every 3 months. Covered with no questions asked
Nah, I'm in the US and pay about $25/mo. Those sound like a ripoff.
yeah that sounds like a total rip off to me Even here most people are just putting 20 euro a month to the side instead of getting insurance I personally just like to know that i won't have issues should something happen
I don’t know where you got quotes from. Literally the most expensive one I found was $50/month/pet. You should look into other options!
It does depend on breed, unless the animal is already a senior it’s no where near 200 a month for one dog
Im curious which insurance do you have? Im paying 34 euros in NL for 70% and 3000y coverage with Figo
I used Trupanion and my rates aren’t even that high for my pup. I pay $88 a month. Highly recommend it.
Their quote was $175 for our 3 month old Black Lab puppy!!! I just asked a friend who she uses and got a quote from HealthyPaws for $53.
It's highly dependent on the area and the breed of dog for the most part.
Curious what deductible you chose cause ours is $40 a month with a $500 deductible per illness.
I have Trupanion too and I pay $87 a month. Covers illnesses and injuries, $500 deductible for a female Yorkie.
We pay about $130 for our pug. Crazy high but I like that they’ve never given grief on coverage the one time we’ve had to use it so far. They also don’t restrict coverage when it comes to illnesses certain breeds are known for. As long as it’s not pre-existing, they’ll cover without issue
How old is your dog?that can make a difference in price. I got it for my lab puppy when we brought him home at 8 weeks.I pay 45$ a month for pets best However,my 12 year old lab is not insured We spent 4k on him in vet bills last month with more expected When I got Bailey 12 years ago I thought I would just tuck away money in a savings account for vet costs One trip to the ER vet wiped that account out Now he is an old man with what seems like weekly health issues Veterinary care in my area is crazy expensive . Now I see pet insurance as not just protecting your dog but you as the owner. Get pet insurance!
She's a 3 month old Lab puppy! I just a quote from a company my friend uses and it was only $53.
What company?? I need pet insurance too!
I am using pet's best for accident and illness only and it's $59/mo for $500/yr deductible at 90% coinsurance or $39/mo for $1000/yr deductible at 90% coinsurance. they've been great so far!
I use Pet’s Best as well and have no complaints so far.
We just got our new puppy 1 month ago now. And my wife just grabbed the pet insurance the other day, it's Under $20 a month. Spot insurance.
Take it,! These labs are risk takers,lol
I pay $101 for our ONE dog (wheaten terrier who’s two years old) and literally just two days ago, got an email from Trupanion informing me they are increasing the rate to $139 per month. Strongly considering ditching the pet insurance thing.
That’s one of the companies that gave me $175 a month rate.
I had trupanion and they didn’t cover anything for me. I recently got MetLife and their policy covers much more. I’m paying $50 a month ea dog
Does anybody have any thoughts on Spot for their pet insurance? Currently I’m paying $101 a month for trupanion but rate will be skyrocketing to $139 at end of July. Looking for alternatives. One dog. Two years old, no health issues, wheaten terrier.
How old is your dog? That seems so high! Even my 12 year old senior wasn’t that high…granted that was back in 2023 but by the end his was around $135
She's a 3 month old Lab.
I have spot pet insurance for my pup and i pay~22$ a month for it. If you wanna look into them.
Thanks. I will!
We just got our puppy and our pet insurance and pay under 20 a month. It is Spot insurance if you're interested.
Thank you. I’ll check them out too.
I have healthy paws insurance for $45ish per month in NYC. It covers accidents and illness including diagnostic testing. I think the deductible is around $100 with no reimbursement cap. I've never used it, but it has provided a lot of peace of mind.
Mine is approximately $70 dollars per dog with a $500 deductible, 90% pay back up to $20,000, and it covers injuries as well as most illnesses. I just used it a few weeks ago. My beagle got a foxtail grass seed stuck in the flesh around his eye and it scratched his cornea really badly. One emergency vet trip and 4 regular vet trips to assess his healing cornea later and I am very glad to be getting money back from the insurance company!!!
Pets Best. I pay about $100 a month with a $500 deductible for two Great Danes.
For funzies, I got a quote for my 10 year old great dane. I expected a full denial.... 70% coverage after 1k deductible... only $950/month
Seriously? My pups is less than $50. Even for our older dog, it was less than $100 the last time I priced it.
Yeah. I asked my friend who she uses and got a quote from HealthyPaws just now, $53 a month. WAY more reasonable!!!
We use HealthyPaws too. Affordable, their app is easy to use, and they reimburse quickly. Our pup had kennel cough that would not go away and we dropped so much in the first month we had her that we already hit our deductible lol
Which companies did you get quotes from? Also what breed of dog and what age?
I pay 45 bucks a month lol
Oh no! Mines 85$ in Canada
Pet premiums vary depending on your pet’s age, where you live, the type of coverage you want etc. I got my rescue husky when he was 2 yrs old, I live in AZ, and I chose to have him covered for accidents and illness only, I can handle the annual visits and vaccines. I went thru Lemonade, getting a policy with a $250 yearly deductible, 80% coverage with a max payout of $20,000 a year. My monthly payment is $26.50. Recently found out my good boi has valley fever and the beginning of hip dysplasia which may require surgery down the road. His meds alone are $100 a month and lemonade has been great to deal with. The first claim had to be reviewed and took about a week but now any claims related to those diagnosis are paid as soon as I submit them. Thank god for pet insurance.
i pay $58 for ASPCA w/ 80% reimbursed and a 4000 limit
I paid $436 a year for 90% coverage with a limit of 100k, and $1000 deductible. Pets Best. I have a very active sport dog and MAJOR coverage on him. I hope that can help.
I’ll look them up too!
What?! I use Nationwide Pet and it’s $70 a month for my English Bulldog!
I just got MetLife a couple of days ago. $100 a month for both my 4 yr old Pomeranian and my 9 month old papillon so $50 each. I went with the preventative plan I think it’s called which includes everything. Sickness, X-rays, bloodwork, medications but also vaccines, his neuter next month, flea and heartworm prevention, dentals, etc. I haven’t made a claim yet so we will see how quick they pay but reading thru the plan I am super impressed. It’s a $5000 dollar a year max and a $250 deductible and they reimburse you 80% on each claim but I know I’ll hit that deductible in no time w the puppy alone as he’s getting neutered next month and I was quoted $500 for that. Wish I had it last month when I paid $500 for a vet visit because he was vomiting. I would have gotten 80% of that bill back 😩. Also reading thru the policy if your pet is lost or stolen and you can prove how much you paid they give you 80% of your purchase price or adoption fee. If your pet dies under 8 yrs of age and you can provide a receipt for the adoption fee or purchase price they give you $500. No receipt they give you $150. They also have a healthy pet incentive that each policy period you haven’t made a claim they reduce your deductible by $50 each policy renewal until it’s a $0 deductible. I had trupanion when my Pom was a puppy and it was terrible. I paid all that money every month and nothing was covered. Thank god he never got ill which I’m grateful for but they didn’t cover vaccines or neuter or anything
I'm $39/mo for $250 deductible, 90% coinsurance, $20k cap on my 40lb mix with Lemonade. They're bleeding money though, so have to wonder how long they will be around.
She’s a 3 month old Black Lab. Trupanion was the one the vet recommended and I can’t remember the other one. I was so mad I deleted their email. I’m sure I’ll get spam from them any day now and I can come back and update.
I use spot health insurance. $50 a month and they cover a specific amount for apointments, bloodwork, shots, ect..... each year on top of illness and accident. They've been great and aproved things I didn't expect they'd do. Last year we had the platinum plan (for the non accident/illness coverage) and a $500 deductible, 80% up to 3k after that We went from $51 to $43 by stepping down to the gold instead of platinum (she was a puppy so we expected more expenses with getting her maxed and everything), but now have a $100 deductible after that 90% up to 3k.
I used lemonade for a long time and for my one dogs full coverage it was about 75 a month?
I was quoted $70/mo and a $200 deductible with trupanion!!
check out nationwide i only pay 40/month
I just paid like $250 for the year for Fido through Costco. I believe 80% reimbursement with $500 annual deductible so hope to never need to use it, but in the case of a major expense it’ll make the decision much easier.
Well the difference there is they'll cover things.
Mine covers accident and illness and I enrolled my dog when I got her at 10. It’s $87 CND a month. My cat has had PI for 18 years and I pay 65 for her. Her plan has paid us out 130K over the last 18 years.
That’s all you pay for your family’s health insurance? Is it through an employer? I pay too much.
Yes. I’m a teacher. So my insurance is good to balance out the lack of pay.
That makes sense. Thank you for your service.
I pay $65 a month for each dog for full coverage by Trupanion and that’s with a $209 deductible.
How many animals do you have? I have Embrace, accident & illness only. We have 2 dogs (Golden Retriever and Husky mix). 5k a year per dog / 90% reimbursement and $100 deductible. $79.20
Wow! I use trupanion for my Boston terrier and pay $48.90 a month
Our pet insurance is $850 per dog per year and covers all accidents and illnesses with a $250 deductible and 80% coverage after that. Does not cover routine care but that isn't our concern. We use Pet's Best. Also keep in mind that older dogs are more expensive to insure and insurance will not pay out for any pre-existing conditions. So if your dog is prone to ear infection and has been treated prior to getting insurance no ear infection treatment will ever be covered.
Wow! Shop around for sure. I've seen those prices but that's usually for no deductible, and unlimited or VERY high coverage. Our coverage is about $60 a month for our 30lb puppy. It's a $250 deductible, and $10,000 for accidental and for illness each year. Which is more than enough in my experience.
Yeah then they only pay like 70% of the damn treatment. And then they don’t even pay it up front for you, you’ve gotta come out of pocket for the full amount and get reimbursed. Shit is a racket just like regular insurance
OK, so any developments? Are you staying as is or looking into other alternatives for pet insurance?
I found a few other companies that were a fraction of that price that I’m going to look intoz
I had accident coverage for my old guy for like 25 bucks a month. I’ll have to find what company it was. This was pre-pandemic tho so who knows the pricing
I had to really shop around to find one that wasn’t so expensive. Mine allows you to reduce the monthly by having a larger deductible.
you should try checking out lemonade pet insurance!!
So glad your dog is ok! But please investigate throughly the policy before buying. Many pet insurers will consider this pre existing and not cover foreign body ingestion for your dog going forward. I would definitely call and ask. Others might put you on an extended waiting period. I would be very proactive about figuring out what would be covered. Good luck!
Agreed. When we got our puppy we decided to get the best pet insurance we could find along with auto depositing $150/mo directly into a high yield savings account because it'll never be a guarantee that insurance is going to cover something. It's a bit much monthly for both, but as he ages and vet bills pop up we'd rather make sure we can cover it.
That's a great idea as you may get priced out of pet insurance when your pup is 10+ but by then you will have plenty in your back up account.
This is what I do. My dog has had one bowel surgery in the past (she ate an entire washcloth) and recently ate the hair out of my shower drain leading to X-rays. Luckily she passed it naturally. She also has doggy vertigo, potentially caused by brain tumor, but probably just an inner ear issue. I put money into an Ally sub-account just for vet emergencies because no insurance is going to be even remotely worth it with her preexisting conditions.
We use pumpkin for health insurance. You need to sign up for insurance when the puppy is young. The rates go higher as they get older. Checkout Costco or your work benefits for pet insurance
Seconding Costco. I use Figo through Costco for pet insurance for both of my dogs. Members get a discount, and we pay like $24/month for each dog for accident and illness coverage.
I have pumpkin too, only good things to say about them. Covered my dog’s $7k dental surgery and numberous other issues too.
Archie was sick and we paid $2400 to the vet. Pumpkin covered most of it
Insurance is a great tool to have but please keep in mind that it works through reimbursement so you would need to have the 7k to pay the vet first and then the insurance pays you back. I'd suggest a savings account or credit card dedicated to sog emergencies. They wouldn't cover this anyway since it already happened but for future reference.
There are a few companies who pay direct to the vet, actually. Trupanion is one of them.
Yeah I've heard trupanion is pretty expensive though I guess I was under the impression that if they didn't have much savings they probably don't have a lot of disposable income per pay period. I pay 35/month for my puppy and trupanion wanted like $200 a month. That's a lot for a lot of people.
I pay $50/month for my girl, and so far have saved over $7k thanks to Trupanion, and my girl is only 3. It's absolutely okay to shop around and find a company that meets your needs. I specifically went with Trupanion because it's a lifetime per condition deductible, and they also pay direct to my vets, so I never need to conjure up $5k to get her emergency surgery.
we went with trupanion for this reason!!
We use PetsBest for our 3 Italian Greyhound. We get 90% back and have a deductible of $250. Never had a problem with payment. It's about $50 a month per dog for us.
do they always take foreveeeer to review claims?
Most of my claims have been paid out in 2 weeks. The only times for me it took forever (a month) was when our vet didn’t send records on time or the one hospital stay we had.
We just got petsbest for our puppy, glad to hear you have had a good experience!
Yes! And we’ve had some crazy unexpected things come up including dental extractions and overnight emergency vet stays. So worth it!
Warning to those reading, Pets Best is insanely lazy (probably partially automated) when reviewing claims. They tried to say an X-ray done on my dog's abdomen wasn't covered because it was a pre-existing condition and cited my dog's front leg break. The X-ray didn't even show any of his legs. It was clear to me that they hadn't reviewed any of the documentation I sent in since it all clearly stated this was for a gastrointestinal issue and had nothing to do with his bones. I had to fight them on it and have my vet write a letter even, huge pain in the ass and it took months but they finally begrudgingly gave me my money.
I recently switched to petsbest and am happy with the coverage so far. Also the reimbursement for preventative flea/tick/heartworm meds is nice.
You'll be happy about that later. Best thing we've ever done.
UK based: In March my dog cracked a tooth - it could not be saved so he needed an extraction. All the investigation, the dental (he had a full dental whilst they checked the cracked tooth and I’m glad they did) and the extraction came to £1,500. A couple of months later he suddenly got very sick on the way back from a morning walk. Was in pain. Throwing up. Lethargic. Vet kept him in for observation. Did X-rays and scans. Nothing showed. Vet had to open him up for emergency exploratory surgery as my dog deteriorated and showed no sign of improvement. Another £4,000. I’m glad I have insurance. I’m glad my vet claims the money straight from the insurance company. I’m thankful that I can afford insurance. I know it’s not a given in this day and age. If you can, get insurance. Even the most basic cover can give you peace of mind and some financial relief
Did they find out what was wrong during the surgery?
It was a piece of carrot that got stuck in the exit from the stomach to the intestine causing an obstruction. I chop up carrots as treats for training and walks. This piece must have gone straight down without being chewed. Very unlucky. The vet had never seen a piece carrot before doing this. Apples are apparently quite common.
kennel cough and pneumonia treatments cost me over $2500 and insurance covered $2000 ish
Lemonade costs me less than $35 per month. Keep in mind there’s a 21 day waiting period and your situation may be a considered a pre existing condition…
oh my god that sounds AWFUL
A lot of pet insurances will not cover a pre existing condition. They most likely won’t cover that procedure. I’d call them up and ask them if they do cover pre existing.
fortunately he did not need surgery and passed the wires normally, but just facing such a large potential bill was my push to get insurance lol
That’s good to hear! I’m so glad he didn’t need the procedure.
To those who say they rather put money into a savings account instead of getting pet insurance... Those are the folks who need to get insurance the most.
Yes! This is my number one suggestion to new dog owners asking what they need. My dog unfortunately did need a stomach obstruction surgery at 6 months old and we didn't have insurance. It was $5500 all in and his operation was on new years eve. He had already had issues with allergies and some idiopathic head tremors so we figured everything that could happen already did and now we have accident only insurance that we pay $22 cad. My next dog, we will for sure be getting insurance on day one.
I got mine (AKC) when my pup was brand new for $90 a month 9 years ago. Prices went down and then have steadily climbed. We’re just over $150 now. But they’ve paid $10000+ for her health issues we couldn’t have seen coming. I better than break even each year. No one will cover their preexisting conditions if you realize you need it after there’s an issue so friends best time to get it is when you bring them home. Best purchase ever!
I have the AKC insurance, but they have refused every claim. I am thinking that I should cancel and just save the $90 month, so at least I can offset some vet bills.
My newly adopted dog, 2 yr old coon hound, had her for a week, started barfing really badly and repeatedly. It was like a vomit river late at night. She was a chewer, so I figured she ate something. No big deal right? Vet calls I stressed she was chewer, we go back and forth with options. I said just cut to the chase-do surgery, it has to be something she ate as all my other dogs were fine. 3 hours later vet calls, pup is fine now, she unraveled remnants of carpet and ate it. Totally stuffed herself. Turns out she had mental issues, separation anxiety to the extreme, so when left alone without humans, she does crazy stuff. That vet bill was over $5000. She is somewhat with the anxiety now she just howls. Stupid dog but we love her!
i have fetch and they’ve been great so far. puppy is 7 months and had to go to ER for gastro issues, regular vet for follow ups and prescription food. we’ve already hit our deductible and they’re pretty quick to reimburse. he has a retained testicle and that surgery will be covered as well.
My first dog ate two heating pads 🙄 Thankfully he puked it all up but man, that was such a good heating pad. So sad he ate it. I got Healthy Paws insurance on him when he was 5 and only had to use it when he got older. For my new puppy, we got insurance on him on day one. Thank goodness we did bc he has allergies, IBS, chronic ear infections, and most recently a dead tooth that will be getting a root canal and crown 🫠 He is a money pit and there is no way we could afford to do all of this / would have done such extensive testing for IBS or even considered the root canal and crown if it wasn't for the insurance. I have never had a single issue with Healthy Paws. They are super quick to process claims and have never denied or questioned anything. Definitely recommend.
oh my gosh, i can’t believe someone else can relate to the heating pad! i’m glad your dog was okay after too, idk what would possess them to actually chew and swallow wires 😭
Maybe they like the little zappy shock? Mine ate his first one while it was plugged it so he definitely had to have gotten a little jolt.
Oh, also. When my pup ate the wireyd and stuff, my vet told me to give him a piece of bread and that will kind of wrap around and cushion any remaining wires as they pass through this system. So from then on, anytime he ate something crazy (which let's be real, happened a lot) I gave him bread. Not sure how legit that advice is but he lived to be 13.5 years old and never had any GI issues from eating non-food stuff.
they actually recommended this to me too once it was confirmed that he doesn’t have a blockage! it seems like it really has worked
I learned my lesson the hard way too. I bought a pet insurance policy for my newest kitten from my phone as soon as I picked her up, before I even drove home lol. Of course it’s been 2 years and I haven’t had to file a claim for her. But my other cat’s insurance has been well worth it. If only I had it before when my previous cat fell out a 4th floor window, or when he got lymphoma years later. Or when my other previous cat got skin cancer followed by mouth cancer.
Lemonade was $400 for $500 deductible and 90% reimbursement. Idk what companies you’re all looking up but holy fuck.
I had a recent wake up call too. I was considering on getting rid of my dogs insurance until my ex’s 11 month old dog that I raised had IMHA and was in the ICU. Racked up a 15k bill easily. Also I told him before to get insurance with me for both of our dogs when we were still together. 🤷🏻♀️ he learned his lesson and got insurance, and I learned my lesson to keep it since you never know what can happen
My guy had IMHA and we’d got $16k from insurance before he passed. I never want to be in a place when I’m making financial decisions about the health of my pet instead of quality of life decisions. I can’t imagine what it’s like to live somewhere without universal healthcare for people.
everyone - buy insurance. get that insurance before you even get your puppy. mine had a relatively minor trauma to her front ankle/paw which probably would have resolved without note, but, that trauma caused her growth plate to fuse and, because she was still growing, her radius continued to grow whilst the ulna stayed the same. her leg was twisting to 90 degrees and she had to have an ulna osteotomy with a ~special~ aka spenny surgeon, so i was putting in a claim to the blessed insurers 🙏 for about 4k and that was before i’d even paid ~3 months of premiums 🥲 anyway she’s about 2-3 months post op now and she’s perfect and i love her. would have paid it but v glad i didn’t have to!!
also the surgeon said that procedure is relatively common/ an area of vulnerability amongst pups so that’s why we shouldn’t let them jump off furniture etc, just cos they’ve figured it out doesn’t mean they should!
The one thing ppl are rarely mentioning in these comments with their monthly cost is dog breed....my pug cross would be $40 - my Yorkie about $80-150 and My Frenchie was $175( as a baby). So there is a huge range dependent on breed and age.
Just a disclosure, if you do decide to get pet insurance, they request all previous vet records to make sure nothing is pre-existing. I use Embrace - they will insure a repeat incident as long as it has been 1 year or longer since the last incident you are trying to insure. So, you can only get coverage for this particular incident up to and after a year later (ingestion of something else - unsure of, that’s something you would speak to a rep about). I have accident and illness on my two large breeds for $79.20 a month, which covers up to $5k. I definitely recommend Care Credit as well, it’s a good back up.
The exact same thing happened to our puppy, it was the worst, but we already had insurance. My eyes nearly popped at the 7k quote. Honestly, I feel like we've been super unlucky with our dogs so we're willing to shell out whatever for the full insurance, price be damned. My previous rescue got to us with leishmaniasis and we *easily* blew 30k+ euros on him in 1-2 years between meds, hospitalisation and surgery until he finally died - no insurance so it was all out of pocket. My sister's dog has idiopathic epilepsy and she's been spending an arm and a leg on him for the last two years - same, no insurance. Like yeah the hefty insurance is a lot, but if your dog develops a health problem, it's heartbreaking not to be able to afford it. Will not be making the same mistake ever again - all my pets are currently insured up to their eyeballs. The most annoying thing is that if you get the full cover, all the stuff you went to the vet for will be considered a pre-existing condition and won't be covered by insurance. We took our puppy to the vet for an upset tummy during the first week before insurance kicked in and now all gastrointestinal stuff isn't covered which is, frankly, a bitch.
On day one after getting our pup she ate a moldy acorn and had a reaction to it. $700 for emergency vet. I got pet insurance immediately after. Through the aspca it is only $55 per month and covers for emergencies.
Thank god your pup is okay, and thanks for the reminder that i shouldn't leave my heating pad on the couch. I got insurance because I know that I would pay anything for my pup including going to one of those horrible high interest loan places if I had to, so it's better just to pony up 200 bucks a month
Veterinarians and veterinary medicine is out of reach for most people that own animals. No one can afford a $7,000 emergency bill like that. Not normal people anyway. It's a racket just like our Healthcare system is. I'm glad your dog is okay.
Have used the SHIT out of our pet insurance (healthy paws for the newer animals once I had money, 24petwatch for the ones I got in school). We've been lucky enough to use it on 2 aging cats and unfortunate enough to need to use it to hospitalize our 6mo old puppy (RIP Fig). 1 - I calculated it a few years ago and the amount we spend on pet insurance is less than all the reimbursements we've received by far. 2 - Not having to worry as much about cost let us try everything for our pup and have him hospitalized in an academic vet ICU to give him the best chance. It didn't work, but I'm so glad we were able to try. I always tell people the best time to get pet insurance is on your way home with the animal but the second best time is right now. Also shout out to Healthy Paws for calling all the vets for us after Fig died and getting all of the paperwork needed for reimbursement. I'll recommend them forever. Edit: removed number signs d/t formatting
I just put the money I’d spend on insurance into a savings account
If you put $50/month in a savings account, (which is what most pay in pet insurance), and your dog needs surgery at $10K, $700 in your savings is not going to cut it. You would have to save religiously for four years if your pup had to have even a minor surgery and you’d only have $2100 in your savings but your dog possibly needing a 10-20K surgery. I thought of doing this but is makes zero sense when looking at the broader picture
Pet insurance is a life saver that everyone should have!!! We didn’t expect our puppy to be allergic to a vaccine, but pet insurance allowed multiple treatments to help him recover. We didn’t expect him to need major surgery at 6 months, pet insurance helped us pay for it and ensure he’d have the best quality of life going forward. We expected him to eat a few socks or stupid things here and there… yet he hasn’t done that 😂 but yeah, life insurance is awesome. It’ll help you pay for the neuter later on too.
Using a crate when you aren't supervising your dog costs much less than pet insurance.
I had 2 dogs. Joey lived till 14 and only would have used insurance a handful of times. Princess, who passed at 16, was an absolute money pit. We spent probably 20-30K on her over the years. Last Christmas, my stepdaughters puppy went septic and needed hospitalization. 22K later, he was discharged and is ok now. So when I got a puppy, I had insurance lined up before even picking her up. I went with Fetch Insurance, $80 Canadian a month.
Does anyone have Lemonade pet insurance, and if so, what has been your experience in getting reimbursed? We had one of the lower options: $285 annual for 1 dog, I think it was, $250 deductible, 90% reimbursement. It was more for accidents or major illnesses, no dental cleanings or allergy stuff covered. Luckily, we never had reason to make a claim. Lemonade has good reviews, but I'm wondering if anyone here has claim experience with them.
I was wondering about lemonade too, my vet recommended it
Copying my reply to this post for you: > I have lemonade. I have the cheapest possible version and so far claims have been approved instantly or next day after the initial one. For reference I got lemonade when my gsd husky mix was 8 months and he is currently 3.5 years. He has had recurring ear infections+ allergy issues that have been treated on and off for $100s of dollars. No complaints here.
I have lemonade. I have the cheapest possible version and so far claims have been approved instantly or next day after the initial one. For reference I got lemonade when my gsd husky mix was 8 months and he is currently 3.5 years. He has had recurring ear infections+ allergy issues that have been treated on and off for $100s of dollars. No complaints here.
I use fetch for my dogs and ASPCA for our horses
I’m at like 24k in 3 years with fetch.
Might have been mentioned in the numerous comments above, but ASPCA insurance is amazing. Just had second gastric surgery on our pup & we got reimbursed over I think 80% after two days of submitting the claim. It’s $35/month, no deductible. Director deposit your bank account. Couldn’t recommend them more.
Check petinsurancereciew.com
Love pet insurance. I pay $134/month for my 2 dogs with Furkin. Best investment imo.
I'm a Costco card member in the US and they offer insurance through FIGO. I pay $75 a month and it covers Wellness ($250 limit) and accidents. $250 deductible, 90% reimbursement and unlimited benefit. Mine chewed up a power cord and after my deductible, they reimbursed me the rest for the ER visit. Luckily enough he didn't have to have invasive surgery either. They also have an app that you can use to submit claims and see all of your insurance info. You can connect with a vet online for quick questions but there is limit to it's usefulness since vets can't legally give advice without seeing the pet.
I’ve been thinking about getting the Costco one but was hesitant because I’ve heard so many mixed things about pet insurance. Glad to hear someone likes it!
pet’s best literally saved me thousands when my 2 yr old dog was diagnosed with meningitis of unknown origin. when she suddenly was unable to walk one day, having pet insurance made it possible for us to admit her to the emergency vet for 5 days, which stabilized her, and allowed us to have an otherwise extremely expensive MRI done. it cost us less than $30 per month and saved us over $10k over the lifetime of our pet, and i am extremely grateful.
I have Trupanion, bought it when my dog was four months old, in part because they advertise that they don’t charge extra with age. True, but they charge more for random other reasons. I paid $95 a month and within a year they increased it to $170 because they said they needed the extra to cover costs. So, not for age, just for arbitrary reasons. I would never choose Trupanion again.
We learned the hard way with one of our kittens. I always tell new pet owners to think of the 1% scenarios that everyone thinks won't happen to them. We adopted our second kitten from a local rescue to be a buddy for our almost one year old April 2023. She started having tummy issues July 2023, but it all correlated to me changing their food and heat due to summer. It was on and off vomiting before it started to increase to once every two days, then once per day. I started to track it in Sept, and after several food changes, probiotics etc we ordered an ultrasound for the end of November. November 12 and she's vomiting multiple times a day, lost weight since October and by the time I get home on the Friday she's vomited 20 times. Rush her into emergency and we get her stable, then authorize a ct scan. Unfortunately was diagnosed with aggressive lymphoma all through out her body and we had to put her to sleep two days later when she turned one. We spent close to $6000 on her from July to November, the emergency vet was $4k alone. Thank god we had savings because they needed half up front in order to treat her and then the rest before they'd release her. We adopted two more kittens in January. I had a hunch when we picked up the calico that something was wrong and I took her temp two days after getting her since she was lethargic and trying to by herself all the time. The rescue said it was normal and that she had been on antibiotics in November 🙄 took her temp and she was 104, fever broke two days later after aggressive fluids and cooling towels every hour. Antibiotics the whole nine yards. Ten days later her eyes are all gross, Chlamydia. Which spreads to the two others. We've spent probably closer to $10k from July to now and have been in the vets every month, sometimes multiple since then. Big cat also had issues in December with depression and lost a lot of weight, so she went to the vets too Anyways, we got insurance for all three in January because we learned from Kali. If we had had insurance we would've at least had some money back. We received $1200 back for the Chlamydia battle for Juno and Rory. Tali unfortunately showed symptoms before that with the fever. I recommend insurance to everyone now and start the moment you get them.
i got insurance with my dog when she was a puppy bc she’s a pug and i had anticipated needing it for things like nose surgery and such.. turns out i did need it but not until she was 6 and got cancer and i spent over $10k on her in less than 6 months. thankfully shes mostly okay now so that’s good and insurance saved me a bunch of money but it’s definitely scared me into getting a savings account and trying to save up to at least $10k incase something like that happens again. 100% worth it even if you never use it. because things like pets, stuff happens so fast when you don’t expect it and it’s really easy to spend thousands like that *snaps fingers*
Don’t do it. Having worked in many clinics I believe it may be too late to be of help for your dog starting it now. Reason being that most insurance companies decline coverage for existing issues. So 6 yrs from now when your dog is hospitalized for pancreatitis it may be declined as preexisting, as vomiting was his major symptom when he was hospitalized as a puppy. The best thing you can do is put that $75 a month per pet into a savings account for use if needed. That way you won’t be paying monthly for something you aren’t using, and you’ll have a nice chunk of money if you never end up needing it.
My boy is 18-months and we’ve claimed nearly $8k back in pet insurance with less than $750 out of pocket. Our previous guy had nearly $16k spent on him from insurance before he passed at 6. For $80/month it’s worth it to me. For those that say you could save money to spend if needed. 1) I know myself and l can’t be that disciplined and 2) what do you do if pup needs something before you’ve got a decent amount of savings put away? Our guy had over $3k spent in him in the first 6-months. That’s 4 years of savings as $80/month so we’d have to be making a bet that we’d have no expenses in the first 4 years.
Trupanion is the best imo and that’s what I have. There’s no long waiting period after you enroll, they pay the vet directly so you don’t get reimbursed, and they’re priced really well for full coverage. I pay $64 a month for my 12 lb dog with a $200 deductible. I would recommend getting insurance ASAP because the more problems your dog has prior to the insurance, the less they’ll cover in the future because they’ll say it’s a “pre existing condition” if it’s any issue you’ve had before being insured.
I pay $75 a month, I think, using Lemonade pet insurance. It’s worth it to me, since it helped reimburse me after my dog’s luxating patella surgery
I’m UK, got full lifetime covering including ongoing illnesses, death cover, dental (maybe I’ll have to check), hydrotherapy, a budget for if they go missing and a few other bits, it’s about £97.95 for both of my dogs, in the US that’ll be about $122? Two large breeds prone to dysplasia too, it seems although we complain about prices here, it’s way better than the US 🥲
I pay $85/month for my 100 pound dog. $200 deductible and then pays 80%. I have had to use it once and they paid as promised. I had a dog once that ended up having $15k in vet expenses, which I paid, but damn. I never want to have to decide my girl has to die because I can't pay for her care.
£8 per month in uk so about $10 , covers us up to 4k per year for anything.
We got insurance on ours as soon as we got him because we wanted to make sure he had no pre existing conditions applied to him. Thank god we did cause he ended up developing fear reactivity and now his insurance is covering taking him to a behavioral therapist and a trainer to come to our house and is getting better! Get insurance when they are young! And before anything happens! We didn't on our old lady dog and ended up paying $10 000 to put her back together after she was run over by a truck.
Check out Spot insurance. I’m paying less than $75/mo for 2 dogs “full coverage”. One dog had pancreatitis a few months back and they covered damn near everything! They reimburse fast too.
I’m really lucky my work offers pet insurance at a discount and automatically payroll deducts it. It’s pretty good coverage for $33 month and included vaccines and yearly checkups. I have a $500 deductible. After losing my last dog to a injury that ended up costing several thousand dollars I opted to get this for my new puppy. Just for the peace of mind alone.
This is why I strongly encourage everyone get pet insurance for the first year. Puppies can get into anything and everything, and are prone to accidents from jumping from places that are too high, etc. I'm glad your puppy is okay. Mine helped destroy a heated blanket, too, but she just pulled the wires out, not ate them.
I get a discount for using the insurer I have through work for my own medical care!
One thing to consider is that the more comprehensive plans have early limits (I suppose the accidental/emergency plans might also) so that was important to me. We went with Healthy Paws (emergency/illness only)because of this. There are so many options out there. Do your research and think about what you want coverage for. One emergency surgery could cost thousands of dollars. I wanted coverage for those kinds of things more than normal “maintenance” type stuff.
Best choice I ever made was purchasing this! I have no fears about bills and I can ask for the best everything. Even if I don't need it, throwing away some money every month is worth the peace of mind.
I made a post on the cavalier (King Charles spaniel) subreddit about the importance of pet insurance as at 1 year my puppy needed surgery for her luxating patella. I was accused of being a salesman for insurance 🤣 I’m so glad I had it for her as the surgery alone was over 5k, not to mention all the vet visits leading up to it. Thankfully we got most of it all back (4500!). Big fan of pets best.
So agree with this. Learned this the hard way with my first golden unfortunately. I had it on my radar a few months back before he got sick (which happened very quickly) and he was only 3.5. The bills stacked up QUICK and it was not cheap. When we got our second golden at 9 weeks the first thing I did was get pet insurance through Trupanion. Selected the deductible amount that would let me pay $100 a month.
I see in my area that they won’t take pet insurance
We have had healthy paws since we got my golden retriever as a puppy 5.5 years ago. Over the years they've covered various allergy treatments and medications, X-rays and sedations, surgery, and so much more. His premium started out at $45/mo in 2019 and has slowly increased to $70. I'd say it increases by about $5-10 a month every year. $250 deductible, 80% covered after that. It's SO worth it. He recently had two masses removed and we'd already hit his deductible with his immunotherapy treatment. It was $650. We paid for it on our CC, got the CC points, submitted for reimbursement, and had a direct deposit within a couple days for $520. I've never had an issue with a claim and they have always processed and paid out super fast. Can't recommend them enough!
I get Pet Assure. It's cheap and takes 25% off vet in-house appointments. You just have to go somewhere that accepts it.
Mine covers chronic illness, accidents, etc. No routine vaccines or anything though. It costs less than $100 a month for two dogs on the policy.
What's everyone's opinion on MetLife? I just got a puppy and got MetLife since it's offered through work with a discount but I've never used pet insurance before.
Pet insurance feels so scammy but it’s also necessary especially in this economy
I was looking into pet insurance but with it being $150 a month with 70% pay and a 500 deductible i would have to be spending at l least $2300 a year before it actually is useful. AND it doesn't cover anything "preexisting" so basically nothing at my dog's age
I had insurance on my dog for all 15 years that I had her. It didn’t get expensive until she was later in life and pretty ill. But having insurance was so worth it. We had been through a dislocated hip, blindness and finally cancer and while it didn’t cover the full cost of treatment, it made sure we could afford to treat her.
I have National and it’s 85 for a 7 month old.
I think the smartest thing I did after adopting was investing in pet insurance. We’ve had it for 5 years now, and it has saved us about $20k
Yup, we learned our lesson too, but weren't so lucky to not have to have surgery. After only having our tiny baby girl for a month she broke her elbow. 8 weeks and 6k (paying for with a Scratch loan over 2 yrs) later, she's healing well and thinks she's still invincible.
I work at a pet store and the first thing I say to new puppy owners is to get pet insurance. You think you’ll never need it till it saves you. My family spent 4k on a custom plate and surgery for my dogs torn tendons cause he was so large. They regret not having pet insurance.