Sunday, November 11, 2007

Pet Insurance: Do you really need it?

Most pet owners do not really consider pet insurance until the day they are faced with a hefty vet bill, at which time, it is too late. I have to admit, I am one of those people. Though we have not been faced with outrageous vet bills, pet insurance is one of those things I have just put on the back burner for some time now.

However, Max was feeling a bit under the weather yesterday and I started considering it more and more. I have done some research as to various plans and what is covered, and I would like to pass on that information to you.

VPI Pet Insurance
One insurance provider that I looked in to was VPI Pet Insurance. Both the Standard and Superior Coverage Plans require a $50 deductible per incident. Superior Plan offers the highest reimbursement payouts for eligible veterinary expenses such as accidental injuries, emergencies and illnesses, including cancer. Max's quote was $13 per month.

Standard Plan offers reimbursement payouts for eligible veterinary expenses such as accidental injuries, emergencies and illnesses. Max's quote was $22 per month.

The Pet WellCare Protection is an additional endorsement on top of your regular plan that covers basic health needs and routine care such as an annual check up, vaccinations, flea/heartworm treatment, and x-rays. Max's quotes were $12/month for $250/year coverage, and $22/month for $400/year coverage.

You can get a quote for your dog online. VPI scored only a 4.2 rating on Pet Insurance Review... so I continued to research.


Max says... Insure Me!!!

PetFirst Pet Insurance
Another insurance provider I found was PetFirst. They seemed to get great reviews. They offer both Core and Comprehensive coverage, with plans starting as low as $17 per month, which offers $4,500 in annual coverage, limited to $1,500 per injury. Core coverage includes accident and illness protection

The Comprehensive plan has a Preferred Plus plan at $49 monthly that covers up to $12,000 a year, limited to $3,500 per incident. Comprehensive coverage includes accident, illness and routine care protection.

PetFirst also offers a discount for households with multiple pets. You also save $10 off your first month by applying online. Filing a claim seems easy as it only requires you to fill out a form and send it and the receipts to PetFirst.

PetFirst also requires a $50 deducitble and pays up to 90% of your claim. There are six different policies ranging from $17 - $49 per month. PetFirst got a 9.2 rating at Pet Insurance Review. Sounds like PetFirst is the way to go.

To review many different dog insurance providers, visit Pet Insurance Review.

Do you have pet insurance?

32 comments:

i said...

Gee, I don't. Hmm...guess it's worth considering.

Frasier said...

Glad you did this,I get so confused and then forget it,I need to look into it too
Thanks

"ME N MY MILLION DOLLAR" said...

sound interesting,it's worth considering.

Asta said...

Hi Max
I hae pet insoowance..I'm the fiwstof my pawent's fouw doggies to get it..it helps I think..
I hope none of us get weal sick evew!!!
that's why I dwink pawtinis..to keep the gewms away,heheh
smoochie kisses
Asta

Unknown said...

You'd never know what affliction would hit your beloved pet... Even humans avail of coverage such as that of blue shield ca, your dog should too.

Amelia H said...

I enrolled my corgi Cooper with pet insurance earlier last year and I have had a great experience with it. I shopped around for a while until I made sure I was spending my money right and that it was worthwhile. I signed up with Trupanion pet insurance and they offer full coverage, they pay 90% of the vet bill, their premiums don't increase with the pets age, and they cover congenital and hereditary problems.

I only pay $24/mo and if something happens, he's covered for life. It has already paid for itself since he got really sick and needed surgery a few months ago and all his meds were paid for. I don't even want to think about what I would have done if I couldn't afford all that on my own. I got reembursed within a few days for it all and it was stress free.

Trupanion covers all diagnostic tests, surgeries/procedures, and medications 90%, and also emergency vet visits and specialists. I have found that some other pet insurance companies are more restrictive on how much they pay if you go to specialists.

If you are shopping around, I would definitely recommend avoiding routine coverage (regular exams, vaccines, etc), because you are just paying the costs through higher premiums thus not saving any money, but in most cases, losing money.

I believe that pet insurance is definitely a good idea, even more so for puppies and kittens. You never know when they will get into an accident, or get sick all of a sudden. Definitely worth the peace of mind.

A really great site I found for unbiased reviews while reading up on pet insurance is (www.petinsurancereview.com)

Source(s): http://www.trupanionpetinsurance.com

Dog Insurance Reviews said...

Yeah it definitely is worth considering and should you decide to get you pet an insurance you might wanna check out some pet isurance review sites...I personally read this one: Dog Insurance Reviews

susan said...

Wow....its really cute post!...i like it very much....your post is really useful to all the pet....Keep posting interesting maters here...Thanks...


cheap insurance quotes

Dog Food Reviews said...

well I'm not sure if I could afford it or not..I mean as an idea I am sure it's great...sam as with us humans..it's great to have health insurance..but some can't afford it...

sarah said...

Hi Max!

Good thing you made an article about this one, it's really interesting for all dog lover's out there. And hey! I just found out this site while I'm searching about dog insurance , It would also be and added guide to dog lover's.

zeeshan ali said...

I found your blog very informative about insurance policies and plans.

zeeshan ali said...

I found your blog very informative about insurance policies and plans.

online pet insurance said...

By having an insurance policy in effect which covers your pets you are able to eliminate some of the medical costs and simply pay a small deductible in addition to a reasonable premium.

Unknown said...

Most pet owners do not really consider pet insurance until the day they are faced with a hefty vet bill, at which time, it is too late. I have to admit, I am one of those people. Though we have not been faced with outrageous vet bills, pet insurance is one of those things I have just put on the back burner for some time now...
more on Argos Pet Insurance

petdoginsurance said...

This is truly a great read for me!! I love the quality information and news your blog provides.I have you bookmarked to show this to my brother!
Thanks for sharing !

petdoginsurance said...

Thanks you very much for this useful information. Please keep on blogging. I am looking forward to read your next great article.
Thanks for sharing!

Admin said...

Hhahaha cool. I like the way you write about that. Thats quite nice when we're compare the importance of insurance between human and pets! :D

commercial liability insurance said...

I also in the same opinion and as I don't feel having such kind of policy. In this expensive economy one is not having enough funds to insure their family then how come it is possible to insure pets.

Bill Leeds said...

Unfortunately, this situation is very common among pet owners and emphasizes why pet insurance should be considered long before its needed.

Alvin said...

Pets are very important pet owners. They serve as guard, best friend they are even considered as family members. Thus, ensuring their health is very important. I do believe that pet insurance is worth the cost. It's similar to the issue of health insurance for humans. You never know for sure if you're going to use it a lot but if you do then you're going to really get your money's worth. If you're a quality pet owner who takes your animals in for care regularly and it sounds like you are then pet insurance can defray those costs. . Thank you for posting about this… it’s an issue I’ve been debating with myself for ages, it seems! So far, I haven’t purchased it, but I do revisit the issue every now and then…
pet products

Pet Insurance said...

Pet Insurance is worth. I am using this policy very effectively.

Anonymous said...

I had the AKC insurance for my pups for a couple years. Then it came time to utilize the plan for illness. We had the Wellness Plan, for dental cleaning and annual shots it was OK for reimbursement after the deductible. The customer service was pretty weak and the claim processing was disorganized at best. They would misplace the claims repeatedly. Then I needed to use the "illness" portion for one of my beloved pets — it was terrible — the entire AKC company from the employee who answers the phone, to the claim processor, to the actual “quality” of the policy. Much to my heartbreak the doctors could not save my precious boy. The AKC even denied euthanasia. Here I thought I had diagonostics, hospitalization, illness. The AKC has many areas that allow them not to pay the claims, they don’t cover arthritis, diabeties, heriditiary, genetic conditions. They have annual maximums and per incident maximum as well. I have cancelled with them and now with a reputable provider who does cover all of what I indicated the AKC does not for LESS money then I paid with the AKC Wellness Plan. From my experience I would never recommend the AKC insurance. For me the AKC coverage was a huge mistake. In the end when you need the insurance — clearly the AKC is not there as my experience was and I incurred thousands of dollars of expense not to mention the enourmous premium I paid to the AKC. Read all the fine print inclusive for the many exclusion. Many providers do not have the limitations the AKC does and anyone has to have better customer service and organization then they did. I am now with a wonderful provider who -- so good insurance is available -- you just need to read the fine print. I am glad since my pup has dysplasia, I don't know what I would have done since treatment is expensive. Just READ the fine print and do your homework.

Deepak Bisht said...

This is really very amazing that people are looking forward for pet insurance.

Anonymous said...

Good one.thanks for sharing.
Generic Viagra

www.muebles-en-huesca.com said...

This will not work as a matter of fact, that is what I believe.

petdoginsurance said...

Awesome Article, Really very informative posting which provide lots of informative in all the regards.thanks for the wonderful posting.
Dog sitter San Antonio

cat insurance said...

The most important thing which can help you select the right pet insurance provider is to read all the feedback from previous pet owners. You can find lots of this type of information on the net.

Pet Insurance said...

If you really love and care about your pets then you must go for pet insurance but only from some reliable pet insurance company.

Jen L. said...

This is really interesting information. We invite you to read our articles about oral health topics such as http://www.dentalinsurance.org/tabsContent/Oral_Cancer_What_You_Should_Know.aspx.

Unknown said...

Pet First is terrible. Dont go there!! What kind of dog is max? so cute!

Unknown said...

i have really enjoyed reading this article and i will be returning to find out more in the future about dog insurance

Unknown said...

I actually enjoyed reading through this posting. Thanks and best of luck, Click here for best pet insurance for dogs

it's really nice and meanful. it's really cool blog. Linking is very useful thing.you have really helped lots of people who visit blog and provide them usefull information.