[drew_in_oregon]

My GSD turned 6 on 12/10.

I signed him up with Petplan when he was 4 at $32.52 a month.

At 5 it went up to $37.54 a month.

Now I've been informed that for this year, the rate will be $44.65 a month.

Trending that out until he's 11, I'll eventually be paying almost $80 a month.

I like Petplan because it's catastrophic coverage only. Most of the other plans charge more for things I don't need, like annual exams, etc. I'd rather pay for those on my own because it's cheaper to self-fund those. But if he comes down with a serious illness, is in an accident, or something, I want coverage.

I'm wondering if these rates are too high or if they're about right for his age. I don't expect to pay puppy rates but the year-over-year increase concerns me.

Thoughts?

 

[Konotashi]

At $44.65 per month, that's $535.80 for one year. You said roughly $80 per month when he's 11 if it keeps increasing like it is, which is less than $1,000 for the year.

Does the insurance cover something like hip displaysia or only something like if he's hit by a car? Because if he ever needs hip replacements, I think someone said it can be $6,000 per hip, give or take. I think that if you can afford it and you like your plan, stick with it. Just make sure YOU feel like it's worth it. Even if you never need it, it's best to have it just in case.

 

[drew_in_oregon]

The plan covers 80% of anything, up to a maximum of $20,000 per year with no lifetime maximum. There's a couple other benefits (death is $1,000, etc.) but that's basically it. There's a $200 deductible. They definitely do cover hip displaysia.

So like I said, it's catastrophic coverage. My thought in buying it is if that he needs hip replacement or cancer care or something, I'd like to have it. But the annual visit where he gets his shots is something I pay for. (Of course, I'd prefer to never ever have to use it at all!)

I appreciate your point and agree that value is in the eye of the beholder. I'm just wondering if others have other plans that they are happier with...though at this point, switching insurance might be as expensive.

 

[Emoore]

We've saved up a sizable chunk of an emergency fund over the years, which is the only reason I don't have insurance on the dogs. Personally, it's worth the cost of a couple of pizzas per month to not have to make those heartrending decisions with your wallet. If I didn't have the emergency fund, I'd probably have Petplan or something similar.

 

[Emoore]

Hm. Just for fun I went to the petplan site and got a quote on Rocky, who will be 9 in a few months. For their Gold plan, $20k in coverage, $200 deductible, 80% copay they quoted me $42.07 per month. You might want to call them and rattle their cage a little. Tell them you've gotten better offers from other companies and would like a better rate.

 

[Pattycakes]

My Petplan insurance went up about a $100 a year. They told me that they are switching underwriters so thats the reason for the price increase.

 

[vat]

Have you tried Trupanion? When I check with them before their rates seemed good and they do not offer the routine care.

 

[unloader]

I pay $600 a year ($50/month) for the Silver 100% coverage $100 deductible, but I just started it a couple months ago, so I'm sure my rates will be raised next year.

Just an FYI, if you switch plans, anything 'on the books' is considered a pre-existing condition. So if you had many issues with your dog and they are on going and want to keep pet insurance make sure you check out what they consider pre-existing. Basically they know they can raise the rates and most won't cancel because their dogs have many pre-existing conditions (at least it's this way with petplan).

 

[roxy84]

one thing you could do to get the rates down is drop down to the 12000/yr coverage and/or raise your deductible.

 

[GSDElsa]

Yikes! I had health and mortality on my 30K horse for less than what you guys are paying--what a ripoff!

Anyhow, I'd imagine that you could up your deductible quite a bit--say, to $500, and drop the 20K a year. I think it would be fairly hard to rack up 20K a year in vet bills. Hip replacements aren't even that bad these day (not sure where the number of 6K a hip came from...anyone paying that much for a hip replacement in a dog is definitely paying too much). I think even dropping down to 15K a year would be plenty of cushion.

 

[GSDElsa]

Ah, i just went to the website and realized they only give you the option of a $200 deductible. That's kind of crazy that is the largest deductible...

ETA: I would not use the gold plan. To me, it seems like $1000 for a death, etc is not worth the price you are paying for it on a yearly basis. Same with the vacation cancellation?? WOuld you ever even use that....using the benefit would probably crank your rates up quite a bit. Also, with people with a $100 deductible versus a $200 one, it appears you'd be paying $100 a year MORE to have a $100 less deductible...

 

[crackem]

I can't believe people really purchase these things.

 

[roxy84]

I can't believe people really purchase these things.

believe it. a vast majority of people on this board who have PetPlan insurance are quite happy.

for $300/yr, i know i will never have to choose whether or not i can handle a costly procedure.

ive also collected more money from them in 2 1/2 years than 5 years of premiums will cost me.

i will never own another dog without getting pet insurance. it is still far, far cheaper than any human health insurance, while veterinary costs continue to rise.

 

[cassadee7]

I got PetPlan for Saber just for my peace of mind. She is 11 weeks and I paid for one year, $200 deductible and 90% Reimbursement up to $8,000/yr. Just over $22/month premium which is worth it to me.

 

[Heidigsd]

believe it. a vast majority of people on this board who have PetPlan insurance are quite happy.

Count me in as a very happy customer. Nikki's vet bills for last year alone added up to about $10,000. I have the Gold Plan/200 deductible/100% reimubursement.

At first I thought the Gold Plan was overkill but after what I went through with Heidi I wasn't taking any chances and now I am glad I went with it. EPI & allergies will take up a nice chunk of the annual benefit.

People have to do what they are comfortable with but putting up $50 or $100 a month for an emergency is nothing. Nikki's bill for her emergency surgery and a four day stay at the hospital was $4,100. I prefer to know that we're covered if something comes up, it gives you peace of mind.

Michaela

 

[s14roller]

I know this is overkill, but has anyone who purchased the insurance thought about this from a numbers perspective? For example, what's the probability of your dog having these issues and then comparing that percentage to how much it would cost, vs. how much you are paying in insurance premiums?

Insurance policies are out there to make money...same reason why Best Buy offers a policy on a TV, etc...they are betting on the fact that more chances than not, the policy holder won't use it.

Yes, there will always be people that these policies work for (just like in 50 people who flip heads or tails, there will be 1 person who flips a heads 10x in a row when the probability should be 50% on heads 1 time, and 50% on tails the next) but the large majority of ppl will never need it.

Yes, I do agree it's good for peace of mind...but just something to consider...

 

[Ellie]

@s14roller have you ever thought about car insurance or any other kind of insurance from a numbers perspective? I would gladly pay monthly premiums to ensure the health of my pet over my car. You don't pay for insurance of hopes to get your money back, you do it because you want to be insured in case of the worst.

 

[s14roller]

@s14roller have you ever thought about car insurance or any other kind of insurance from a numbers perspective? I would gladly pay monthly premiums to ensure the health of my pet over my car. You don't pay for insurance of hopes to get your money back, you do it because you want to be insured in case of the worst.

Note that I'm not saying anything about ensuring a pet's health...I'm assuming that if the dog gets sick, the owner takes him/her to the vet. The question isn't ensuring a dog's health, per se, but rather, what makes more financial sense. If you are thinking your dog has a 50% probability of having a severe illness that cost $10,000, then sure, a few hundred dollars a year policy makes sense. If you knew your dog had a 1% chance, this might not make as much sense since by the time you finished your premiums, you could have just paid for the surgery, etc anyway which is now in your pocket vs. insurance firm. I could then argue that extra money could have been put toward making a better life for the dog (more quality food, different dog classes, etc)

I would hope as a responsible pet owner, one would have enough saved up (or makes enough salary wise) to be able to take care of health expenses should they come up.

As for your question, (and you raise a valid/good question) of course I have thought about car insurance and other insurance. However - let me ask you this - would you pay an additional premium to protect against theft (so outside of just state required liability) if you drove a 1987 Geo Metro that was worth $1K? The $500 additional premium on the car would have paid for the car itself in 2 years...of which one could be fairly certain the car would never be stolen (or less than 10% probability).

So it would look like this:

10% probability * 1,000 loss = $100 ... which would be as much as you would want to pay for a premium in the event you wanted to truly hedge against theft.

Sickness is unpredictable...we can all agree on that...but all I'm suggesting is that ppl think about insurance policies before we shell it out for no reason...

At the end of the day, there's no right or wrong answer (I also think my friends who buy extra warranties on their new cars is also kind of strange) and there's no amount of money to give you peace of mind...the above is just how my mind works (risk vs. reward) so I thought I'd share it.

 

[s14roller]

BTW - adding to my post above...this isn't exactly accurate (or maybe it is, hard to say) but if I took the OP's numbers and assumed the last price increase will stay consistent at 18.9%, here is what the policy cost over the ave. life of the dog...

Age Monthly Yearly Increases
4 32.52 390.24
5 37.54 450.48 0.15
6 44.65 535.80 0.19
7 53.11 637.28 0.19
8 63.16 757.98 0.19
9 75.13 901.54 0.19
10 89.36 1072.29 0.19
11 106.28 1275.38 0.19
12 126.41 1516.93 0.19
13 150.35 1804.23 0.19
14 178.83 2145.95 0.19
15 212.70 2552.39 0.19

Sum $14,040.49


Sorry for the formating...but you get the idea...also, when you look at the month over month increases, it doesn't seem that bad (and might be realistic)...until you compare year 4 with year 15 in one shot...also note, I kept the 18.9% consistent even though from year 4 to year 5 was a 15% increase which then jumped to 18.9%...this could go down or worse, go up.

Bottom line - it sounds like there are those of us who are putting away money for a rainy day, and those who pay insurance. Neither is wrong...as long as you know the whole picture and make the best decision based on that.

 

[GSD07]

Bottom line - it sounds like there are those of us who are putting away money for a rainy day, and those who pay insurance. Neither is wrong...as long as you know the whole picture and make the best decision based on that.

$14K is NOTHING for the life of the dog. Let me tell you my numbers with two genetically absolutely healthy dogs that I got as pups. Time period - 2 years. One dog without insurance - $8K, second dog with insurance - probably three hundred $. If I didn't have insurance for the second dog I'll have to pay another $2K. Total - $10K in vet bills for TWO first years of dog's life. 13 more left... Around your dogs' 15th year I guarantee that you'll have to deal with arthritis, pain, incontinence, etc Even if your dog lives in a bubble without training, hiking outdoors, roughhousing with other dogs, experiencing icing conditions etc.

And you know what, I put for rainy days too, but I want my money to work for me and not just depreciate in the bank.

Just an opinion