Pet Insurance

My insurance is with Pet Plan USA (http://www.gopetplan.com) . They are more expensive but they also offer a way higher level of service (and they're not that much more expensive).

Do your research here: http://www.petinsurancereview.com/ 

 READ THE FINE PRINT! These are not charities, they are businesses and they exist to make money. My personal opinion is that there are maybe 2-3 companies that are worth your while. Most of them are just short of being scams.
 

Having read the fine details of most of the companies policies, Petplan is the only company I would even consider. I would only consider getting the "catastrophic" coverage, not the pay-for-vaccines etc. coverage, that's a waste of money. And it's still a toss-up whether you or the company will come out ahead financially.

VPI is the most common company around here and they are a rip-off. They don't cover ANY of the common expensive things like ACL surgery and treatments for hip dysplasia.

I'm in NY and  apparently PetPlan is not available in New York.

Currently I'm with VPI and has been for about 4 years now. I've filed claims twice but not big one. One of them was for a tooth removal. They paid back 80% and I received a check in a month. On both occations they took exactly a month. I decided to get insurance after Melby had 2 surgeries. I would be happy to switch over to the better policy but PetPlan is not available for my area.

I too have been researching the usefulness of pet insurance.  There is a discount plan that I'm considering it is called Pet Assure.  The following is directly from their website, www.petassure.com     Thought you all might be interested seems reasonably priced, you just have to go to a network vet or retail store to get the discount.  Miraculously, my vet is on the provider list and there are a couple of retail stores on the list that are in my area. 

 I pay $122 a year for VPI and judging by what I hear from people at the dog park and reading in different dog forums, , that is a small  fraction of the amount that an emergency or any kind of serous injury would cost. It is so easy today to wind up with a multi thousand dollar bill at the vets, and the fact that 80% of that would be covered by the insurance makes it a no brainer for me. I  would hate to have to consider euthanizing a dog because I couldn't afford to pay for the care it needs. With the insurance, that is something I don't have to worry about, and the peace of mind I get is well worth the small premium. 

Remember though that the insurance companies reserve the right to not pay for lots and lots of things. Common things that most companies won't pay a dime for:

• ACL/CCL injury
• Osteoarthritis
• Renal failure
  
• Anything considered "genetic or hereditary" and that always includes hip and elbow dysplasia and lots and lots of other things as well
  
• Anything pre-existing
• Congenital heart problems
  
• Anything chronic that needs continuing treatment for over a year (diabetes, cancer, chronic pain management)
  
• I could go on...depends on the company but many of them have very LONG lists of what they will not cover
  

VPI has a list of conditions and treatments and the max they will pay for each, which can either cover quite a bit of your bill or not even approach it depending on where you live and what veterinary costs near you (there's a lot of variability). So again, you really really really really have to read the fine print.

 For those of you in states that don't have Pet Plan, look in to Embrace. http://www.embracepetinsurance.com/
 

Bobsk8

 I pay $122 a year for VPI and judging by what I hear from people at the dog park and reading in different dog forums, , that is a small  fraction of the amount that an emergency or any kind of serous injury would cost. It is so easy today to wind up with a multi thousand dollar bill at the vets, and the fact that 80% of that would be covered by the insurance makes it a no brainer for me. I  would hate to have to consider euthanizing a dog because I couldn't afford to pay for the care it needs. With the insurance, that is something I don't have to worry about, and the peace of mind I get is well worth the small premium. 

I' paying $30 per month so it comes to $360 for the superior plan. Might be because mine is a labradore.

After a year with VPI mine needed ACL surgery and VPI said they don't cover it till the policy has been effective for a full year. After reading all this I might just deposit a monthly amount to a savings.