Insuring your pets - is it worth it? | Page 1 | An abnormal love of cats | Guild Forums

Anlina
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Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 1:56 pm

When I adopted Violet we got a voucher for six weeks of free pet insurance, which I signed up for and then did not renew when it expired. I considered pet insurance, but was pretty disappointed at how little coverage is offered, and especially by the fact that all of the more affordable plans had a life-time limit. It just didn't make sense to me to pay out $10-20 a month for pet insurance over the next 15+ years if she'd only be covered for $500 or whatever amount for each type of coverage over her whole life.

I figured, if I put away the money I'd spend on the premium into a savings account, then by the time she's old enough for medical problems to be expected, I should have a fair bit put away and be able to handle whatever expenses may come. It doesn't help me much if she were to have an accident in the near future, but since I have money put away for other stuff, if I had a large vet bill tomorrow it wouldn't crush me financially.

I also opted not to go with the insurance, as she has a stubby tail and foot, and I don't know what, if any problems she might have in the future due to these or other birth defects I can't see. I'm almost certain congenital issues are not covered so it wouldn't help me anyway.

Do you guys have pet insurance, a savings account for vet bills or any other system for making sure you can pay for medical care? Pros/cons of your system? If you have pet insurance, has it been worth it (for covering expenses, or even just for the peace of mind.)

Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 2:49 pm

When Oreo was fixed, we got 6 weeks of free insurance. I didn't even read the pamphlet about it, honestly. She's still a young cat and she's a purely indoor cat, so I didn't think I'd have any problems with her for a while yet.

The boys aren't insured either.

I have no savings account set up for them, although that is a great idea. Money is very scarce right now, so we don't have the money to put away. Fortunately, I get a large student loan late February, so if anything was to happen, we'd have the money then.

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cardi

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Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 5:18 pm

i just relocated and started a new job, so my list of expenses is as long as my arm and pet insurance is at the bottom, unfortunately. but my car insurance policy now covers pets if they get into an auto accident. perhaps after i get all my other expenses out of the way, i will seriously consider getting a real pet insurance.

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 4:08 pm

We have seven cats, and to pay pet insurance for all of them would be insanely more expensive than any future problems we can foresee. Basically, on the seldom occasions when one of them has an issue my madre just takes them to the vet. Other than that, she just pays for the checkups and the necessary shots.

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Anlina
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Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 5:39 pm

Yeah, seven cats would cost a fortune to insure, even with group discounts. We only have four at my mum's but even that would be prohibitively expensive, and even now that they're all getting old, only one needs regular vet visits for health problems. The other three are generally pretty healthy and have only gone to the vet for stuff that most insurance plans wouldn't cover, like a weight assessment, wash and shave for Lili, and we're looking at K-laser treatments for Tiger's arthritis.

Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 3:52 pm

With my parents kittens, we considered it, but my mom did research and found that most of the plans find reasons to drop you once your cat gets to be 5 or 6.

As far as I can tell, pet insurance does not exist in Italy, but vet costs are much lower here (we pay less to go to a regular vet clinic than my parents do to get booster shots at petco) so that may be why.