School me on dog health insurance

[fishnut 2,358]

I'm an suppriseingly lacking in knowledge when it comes to health insurance for dogs. I do remember a past thread on the topic but I also want to hear from the new members here on the topic. Long story short I am personal friends with my vet and I get the family discount but I don't want to rely on his generous discount if I don't have to. One of my dogs has cancer and had surgery today to hopefully remove it, fingers crossed. So what company's should I be looking at and what ones should I be staying away from?

[Purple Patrick 638]

Aw man which pup? Sorry to hear that

 

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[fishnut 2,358]

Abby, the older silver dapple one, not too much of a supprize. She is 13 and was not spayed and she had a tumor on one of her mamory glands (usually cancer from hormone impulse which would not have happened if she was spayed) so today she got spayed, tumor removed and a bonus teeth cleaning and survived it all so far.

[PK90 3,573]

I have Pets Best.

 

More than paid for itself with 2 surgeries.

[bhunted 887]

Ya got to watch out for clauses that say pre-existing problems are not covered. That's what steers a lot of folks away from it.

 

 

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[Howard 538]

I've had many dogs and looked into many of these policies and my assessment is they generally don't pay.  The problem is most of them raise the premiums every year so you really don't know what you are going to be paying.  They also don't cover most routine stuff like checkups and vaccines.  Yea you are going to be out a bundle if the dog gets sick and needs big surgery later in life, but if you look at how much you pay for these things over the course of the years you are better off to just save the money yourself.

[T Bill 649]

I'll vote with Howard. Having spent many a summer on the family farm, one has a different outlook on things.  I'll leave it at that. 

[fishnut 2,358]

Thanks guys. That's kinda what I already thought about the various policies but I figured it could not hurt to ask the NJGF "collective" as I know many of us here are dog owners. I guess I'm already better off than most, my vet has in the past worked out payment plans that usually include me working on his small farm as partial payment.

[BullzeyeNJ 104]

I've had many dogs and looked into many of these policies and my assessment is they generally don't pay.  The problem is most of them raise the premiums every year so you really don't know what you are going to be paying.  They also don't cover most routine stuff like checkups and vaccines.  Yea you are going to be out a bundle if the dog gets sick and needs big surgery later in life, but if you look at how much you pay for these things over the course of the years you are better off to just save the money yourself.

 

^^^

This

 

 

Howard is spot on in his assessment. And that comes from somebody in the industry. In the case of an emergency you are better off using a service like CareCredit to pay for things then rely on what the insurance company 'might' give you a couple months down the road.

[mipafox 438]

It's on sale at Walmart. 5 cents.

[Tresvn 1]

We have never had it before but my wife got some information on a company Called National and decided to give it a shot. It starts in 2 weeks, we are going to give it a year and see how we make out.

She is a nut bag when it comes to her pets, if the dog sneezes she wants to make an appointment. I was actually at the vet on Monday, he walked into the office and said "you again?" So I think it may pay off.

 

Good luck with your dog.

 

 

 

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[Sevenshot 98]

I use Trupanion, but it is key to start your dog early for most insurances. Likely too late for your dog's age and preexisting conditions.

 

As far as whether insurances pay, there is always someone on the wrong side of every statistic. And honestly, insurance isn't something that I try to "win" on. I have it for cases like what you describe, and I don't have a generous surgeon-vet-friend for that case if it ever occurs.

 

Glad your pup is doing well post surgery.

[mipafox 438]

I had a cat with cancer and spent too much money trying to save it. But we love our pets and I at least wanted to give him a shot. Not drag it out to his deathbed.

 

Hope your dog bounces back. If he operated it sounds like it was treatable, but I guess you know the details. Fingers crossed...

[Vlad G 345]

I had my previous dog and my current one on obamacare for dogs. I mean insurance.

 

I never felt like they were a ripoff and they've always payed promptly for the things they covered, I was one satified customer until I noticed that they stopped billing me for no reason. They admitted they screwed up and they would  gladly start billing me again, after I payed them for the 6 months of payments they missed to automatically bill to my credit card AND suddenly anything that happened before the new policy would be considered a preexisting condition. I told them no thank you, please go away.

 

I think if you get it early in the dog's life and you make sure they don't forget to bill you, they are a decent medical savings plan for your dog. You are always going to lose some money on it, because it is insurance not a casino, but it makes is so much easier to absorb the financial shock of a major bill for your dog.

[Howard 538]

.......

 

I think if you get it early in the dog's life and you make sure they don't forget to bill you, they are a decent medical savings plan for your dog. You are always going to lose some money on it, because it is insurance not a casino, but it makes is so much easier to absorb the financial shock of a major bill for your dog.

That is what I mean, they are more a mandatory savings plan than needed insurance.  You are better off to just save the money yourself, especially if you have more than one pet.  They are sort like extended warranties - you have guaranteed cost and uncertain return.  If you have more than one pet, or even replace one when it passes on with another this is likely a losing bet.  You are always better off to save your own money for a rainy day rather than pay someone else to do it for you.