curious about pet insurance

Hi Benedict,

I don't know how this compares with our policies here in the US.  Others may have more familiarity with pet insurance here.  I personally have a separate savings account that I deposit $25 a month into as my pet insurance. 

I looked into some different pet insurance policies when I got my pup, but found that in the fine print there were so many exclusions I found it risky to get enrolled.  The policies I looked at excluded coverage for "breed specific ailments," such as a GSD or Great Dane requiring hip surgery, toy dogs requiring luxating patella surgery.  It was if they went through the AKC breed book, where with each breed it lists their potential health problems, and used that to design their exclusions lists.  This may not be true of all policies. 

I live in Canada.  Trust me on this, your pet insurance policy - at equivalent of US 22 - heck at US 150 - provides far more coverage than policies available in Canada.  It is my understanding that most people with pets in the UK have pet insurance as a matter of course - just as they do for their families.  There is more competition for pet insurance dollars in Canada now than there was say 15 years ago when we were really limited to "gold" plans that had so many exclusions, deductibles, administrtion fees, yearly maximums, lifetime maximums that you could well end up paying $6,000 in premiums, having surgery costing in excess of $6,000 and maybe get back $800 Cdn.  I know - happened to us - twice.  Then we started a savings again - but it is luck of the draw - depending on how old your dog is before illness or accident.  There are several plans available.  We were not going to insure our Eskimo (we had mini Dachshunds before with worst case back/neck disc disease) but a new plan came into effect in Canada which provides lifetime coverage per dog up to $15,000 a year - excludes hip dysplasia - so I am really hoping that as a small standard this won't happen.  Cost is $35 a month - they pay 90% of claims - but not for the initial examination.  You can check it out on [linkhttp://www.vetinsurance.com]www.vetinsurance.com[/link].  If my dog broke his leg, cost would be about $2,500 - they would pay 90% of that.  Other plans might pay $1,000 for the year.  If you google pet insurance plans available in Canada you will get a list and then start checking the fine print.  My dog is now 26 months - so far so good - didn't insure him until 16 months as I was afraid of the dysplasia factor after my Dachshund experience, but after watching those long Eskie legs and learning about cruciate ligament and luxating patella figured I would go ahead.  Because he was signed up and past waiting period with no signs of either condition in either leg, he would be covered should either condition develop.  Also under this plan you pay the first $25 per each day of hospitalization.  If this sounds strange to you, it is because many Cdn. vets now have a flat hospitalization rate of say $135 to $175 per say - rather than say a boarding fee of $40 plus cost of medical services provided as needed.  The insurance company said that most dogs only have to stay a few nights - well one of my Dachshunds was in for 40 nights.  Apparently only 1 in 50,000 dogs reaches the full spending limit - well we would have be 2 time "winners".  What is really strange is that vetinsurance covers Dachshund disc disease - but plan was too late for our guys.  But doesn't cover dysplasia?  Although this could change due to increasing Dachshund claims.  It is necessary that all preventative health measures be taken to ensure continued coverage.  Our guy is covered to the hilt. 

Thank you both, eskie especially.  That is all very useful information.  One of the reasons I went with the provider I have is that they do not exclude the ailments that Labs are most likely to suffer from (hip dysplasia, OCD etc).  You're right, it is commonplace here to have pet insurance, and all the competition keeps prices down   I had kind of assumed it was the same everywhere, so it is good to know that is not the case.  Forewarned is forearmed and all that.
 
I appreciate the info.  Maybe by the time I get to Canada things will have changed and prices will be lower, but if not at least I am prepared. 
 
Kate