Health insurance opinions

[LissG]

i have a question though...my greatest fear is that wolf bloats. lets say he bloated one day and we took him to the hospital-does the insurance pay the vet directly? or do i have to pay it first, then get reimbursed? cause there's no way i'll ever have thousands laying around to pay it up front..how does all that work?

[martemchik]

Originally Posted by LissG

i have a question though...my greatest fear is that wolf bloats. lets say he bloated one day and we took him to the hospital-does the insurance pay the vet directly? or do i have to pay it first, then get reimbursed? cause there's no way i'll ever have thousands laying around to pay it up front..how does all that work?

Pet insurance is usually, you pay and they reimburse you later. So you charge a credit card and they will then give you the money back (usually like 80% of large procedures).

My opinion on insurance is that its more worth it to save the $40 a month for a year or two and use that as a small fund for emergencies. The chances for an emergency are quite small and the $30-$40 in insurance for a year really adds up. Just assume that its about $400 a year for premiums, that's more than $4000 over the life of the dog.

[LissG]

thats true...but honestly, my hours have been cut really bad at work with the economy for the past 8+months. if something happens, i don't have any credit cards with more then maybe $200 available on them.

[spidermilk]

Originally Posted by kr16

Since I sell health insurance for humans, I am going to look into all these companies. I will make calls on Tuesday and research it. If all goes well with the health of your dog you are going to be putting 3-400 a year into a plan that gets you nothing until its needed. Why not open a seperate bank account and fund the same moneys in and in the later years when needed you should have $4,000 that you can use or keep if you do not need it.

This might not work for everyone, but after I looked into buying pet health insurance I decided to not purchase and create my own personal emergency fund. So now I have two emergency funds- one is for paying the bills if I lose my job or get sick long term. The second is for smaller emergencies like vet bills, extreme car overhaul, etc.

[gaia_bear]

I also have an emergency fund rather than pet insurance. I figure if I'm just going to have to pay upfront anyway it makes sense for me to collect what little interest myself.


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[SewSleepy]

What worries me about per insurance is that you pay up front then get reimbursed. I've read plenty of stories about problems getting reimbursed, or reimbursed very little. As much as I would like to say cost wouldn't be a factor in providing emergency care, it would be. Seven is a part of our family, but she's a member of the family with a relatively short life expectancy. With insurance, I believe it is very likely we'd choose a treatment based on an expectation of reimbursement, not one that we'd be able to afford without it.

I've decided to set up a separate savings for pet emergencies. I'm funding it in the spring every year when I get my bonus so it's a once and done thing. My plan is that if something ever comes up, we'll pay from that account first then consider any other savings we have or care credit if the bill is higher.




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[natalie559]

Any thoughts on Embrace? They seem good to me, of course you read lots of positive reviews and also some negative reviews, wish you knew what to make of the mixed reviews. . .

They have a spot on their website that compares plans, petplan being one. . .

http://www.embracepetinsurance.com/

Or purina care?

[grace23]

Pet Assure is even better than insurance. It saves you on every visit to the vet's office! You choose your pet plan & you can add unlimited # of pets to your program. It's great even if you have pet ins. because you will save much more right at the time of service..No claims to file, no deductibles!

[kr16]

Originally Posted by grace23

Pet Assure is even better than insurance. It saves you on every visit to the vet's office! You choose your pet plan & you can add unlimited # of pets to your program. It's great even if you have pet ins. because you will save much more right at the time of service..No claims to file, no deductibles!

This is a discount of 25% at participating vets. In my area only a few take this. A lot of these type of plans they charge 25% more to begin with.

Pay cash and negotiate your own 25% off.

Insurance is for the big ticket items not the small bills. This would be really good if your vet takes it on top of a good plan.

[Neko]

Wanted to thank kr16 for all the time and research we decided to go with PetPlan =)

Now I wish these puppy shots were covered! 3 more rounds to go!