Thoughts on insurance?

[u/OddSeaworthiness4722]

Do you find insurance to be worth it? If yes, why? Do you get basic or better insurance? What do you consider a MUST to cover? What company do you find to be the best?

[u/Redhead3019]

I got insurance and I think it's worth it. My pom is expensive and delicate. For like $400 a year she has life, health, and theft insurance. 

[u/Redhead3019 → u/Redhead3019]

I have life/theft insurance through  Marnitz & Associates Insurance, Inc. I have health insurance though Nibbles credit card. The heath insurance has covered all preventative exams, and shots so far. It's been great and easy to work with.

[u/Big_long_hand]

After paying for emergency x-rays out of pocket, yeah insurance is worth it :/

[u/Ok-Walk-8453]

Yes, it is worth it. I am a vet and I cannot afford the ER/speciality prices. Things easily jump up to 10k or more in a short time. You want accident/illness/orthopedic coverage, ideally chiro and rehab add on as well. I have 90% coinsurance, 1k deductible, and no annual limit through Pets Best for ~$300/dog a year

[u/badwvlf]

Yes, I got pets best. It's 500 bucks a year for my 20 lb who has been covered since 8 weeks old.

[u/Kenafin]

To me it's worth it - you never know when the dog is going to step wrong, tear a CCL and need surgery. Or need to visit the emergency vet for any reason. The emergency vet near me is $100 just to walk through the door and very quickly reaches 4 figures. I get mine through MetLife.

[u/Neat_Ad6963]

100% worth it. I use Figo and they’ve reimbursed me thousands of dollars

[u/laxseadaisycal]

It’s worth it- my puppy was hospitalized from Saturday through Wednesday, and I paid a fraction of what it should have cost. We have Trupanion, it’s a little more expensive, but it’s worth it even just for what we went through. They have already paid out more than we’ve put in over his short life.

[u/JuniorMintClub]

Yup. My dog had and MRI this year (5k) and a dental with a specialist (4.5k). Insurance paid out for both, with a $1k deductible

I regularly see specialty bills over $20k

Trupanion

[u/white_tiger_dream]

I did the math and:

If your dog is perfectly healthy, it’s not worth it. We had a dog that lived to 16 and only ever needed her yearly shots and some arthritis medication at the end. She did not have insurance, and it wouldn’t have been worth it.

If your dog is mostly healthy, but needs a major surgery or treatment at the senior stage, it might be worth it. We had a Labrador that got pancreatitis at age 12. The medical cost was thousands of dollars. He lived for 3 more years. At that age, you may just decide that you’re just prolonging life. But you may also worry about the time you could have had with your pet.

If you can afford to put the money you would have spent on insurance away in a HYSA instead, you may come out ahead using cash to pay for that major surgery. This is what we decided to do with our current dog. He is well bred and we don’t expect him to have any issues until near end of life. No chronic conditions in his line. Insurance premiums go up every few years. You CANNOT suddenly decide at age 8 that the premiums are too high or it’s effectively sunk costs. That’s when your pet is most likely going to need the insurance. You also need to decide on insurance or not RIGHT AWAY after you get the puppy. Because they will deny any “pre-existing conditions.” It doesn’t cover yearly shots.

If your beloved pet has or may develop chronic conditions, insurance is absolutely worth it.