pet insurance

[LOLA FOLA]

pet care

All I can see on the pamphlet is that it seems like the akc ins. but no where on there do I see the words akc, but maybe they didn't put it on there. The www for pet care is www.petcareinsurance.com or you can call 1-866_275-pets
see what you get from it. I am leaning towards this one and vpi..

 

[Kimber & Mac]

Ok - I guess I just made that up. The AKC plan is AKC Pet Healthcare Plan...I don't know why that confused me. Sorry for the misinformation.

But THANKS - I hadn't heard of PetCare...I'll check that out too.

 

[Bethysue]

good news and bad news...

so i just did some homework on the AKC plan. i checked out the website listed above and i ended up just calling the info number. the good news is that dogs under 9 can get the plan, and when they turn 9 they are still covered, but your premium goes up 25%. then whn your dog turns 12, it goes up by 50%.

debbie, just make sure to check into AKC about the serious illness coverage. they told me that if yuor dog had a serious illness that required treatment for the rest of its life, it would only be covered for that year of coverage.

also there is a no chronic care clause (meaning anything that is deemed hereditary is not covered. but i think she said it has to pop up before the first 2 years of your dog's life to be considered hereditary.) PetHealth Care Plan is the same way according to some other posts.

maybe that's the way they all are...i am going to check up on the other plans that you guys have mentioned...i'll let you know if i find anything interesting.

 

[Aimee]

I have never been a fan of VPI but just recently when we were at our holisitc vets, she did recommend it. She is currently treating a dog in conjunction with an oncologist with lymphoma who is getting accupunture done through her and VPI is covering it. That was a bonus to me She said that although they state that they do not cover holistic care, when it is in conjunction with a disease, they *seem* to be covering it, either that or she has really pushy patients she said . She also recommended them because they do not breed discriminate. She can't believe what a rip off that is, she said she had no qualms putting all my dogs as mixes, to her it makes no difference, we have no papers for them and since we also have no pedigrees for them, she hasn't a clue what might could be somewhere in their lines and neither do any of the insurances

We have talked at length about getting insurance for ours, but we just keep putting those monthly payments into a savings account for any future mishaps. It comes in handy that way because I just had all 3 of mine in for urinalysis, heartworm/lyme/ehrilich tests, fecals and superchems, CBC's, and complete thyroid checks to the tune of 513.90 however, none of this would have been covered by the standard insurance plans because it is routine-there are some plans though that will cover these types of tests for around $40 per month per dog which is 1,440 a year for complete coverage for us. With these calculations, I would have spent more in the insurance this year than I did by going to the vet and paying outright. Insurance is peace of mind for emergencies or serious illnesses but for those that have puppies or younger dogs, if you start right away putting that monthly payment into a savings or money market account, you will have more than enough to cover any illnesses that crop up later in life not to mention you get the added bonus of the interest that occurs over their life I've done extensive research into it and so far, our savings account has been working. My biggest turn off with insurance is that it does not promote "preventive" medicine, which is most important to me, it will only cover once there is an illness present.

 

[Madame.X]

I thought the same thing as Aimee until Trixie got sick. I have been putting an extra $50 into my savings account since I got my two babies a year and a half ago rather than spend it on pet health insurance. Trixie's vet bills for her mast cell surgery so far have totalled almost $3,000. The extra $50 a month in my savings account didn't even equate to a third of her bill.

Since I don't want to go through this with my other dog, I signed Titus up for VPI last week. Unfortunately, this is now a pre-existing condition for Trixie so I can't get the coverage on her. If I had done it when we first adopted them, it and any future mast cell incidents that occur (which is likely from what I understand) would have been covered.

 

[Bethysue]

do you have any VPI web addresses or info numbers? i want to call and ask them a few questions. do they cover any booster shots for puppies? does any insurance? and what about spaying?

other than emergency situations, it seems that insurance doesn't really cover too much for them...am i wrong?

 

[Madame.X]

You can get routine care coverage through VPI (I think in Titus' case it was an extra $9 a month) but I opted just to cover non-routine care.

Their website is http://www.petinsurance.com.

 

[Bethysue]

yeah- i actually called and found out a lot of stuff that way. i posted it all on another thread. i think VPI is the way i am going to go though. thanks for the info!