Comments on: Should You Buy Pet Insurance?

By: Oslobåden

Oslobåden — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 11:06:56 +0000

When my dog broke his leg this summer the vet bill was around USD 1000 so I was very happy that I actually had a pet insurance. Saved the day!

By: Teddy's Mom

Teddy's Mom — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 18:15:12 +0000

I have insurance on my puppy and my cat. The puppy’s has already paid 75% of the cost of neutering and one emergency vet visit. After having to put down a cat last year whose vet bills over the years reached close to $10K, I decided that insurance is well worth the cost of premiums.

The cat is older, so I only have coverage for major illness and accident on him, but my puppy has full coverage–everything from checkups and vaccinations to teeth cleaning to major surgery.

I’ve learned my lesson.

By: Minilaan

Minilaan — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 13:29:14 +0000

I think it’s really important to keep your pet insured. If your pet gets sick it can be very costly.

By: discount pet insurance

discount pet insurance — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 01:57:37 +0000

Good article. Pets get sick and injured just like humans. Their care can be expensive. It has been proven that pet owners that have insurance for their pets take better care of their animals, because many of the costs are covered. Pet insurance programs that have well visits covered are a great idea.

By: Howard

Howard — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 00:07:47 +0000

thats your choice….you obviously do not care that much about your pet. That is fair. As long as you are honest with yourself. But; it doesn’t make someone else a fool if they choose to insure their pet. Its just a matter of what matters to you. I have insurance for my dog…but not me. Thats because I care a lot about my dog and couldn’t afford to pay for an injury or illness if it were to occur. And; her cost is a lot lower than mine would be. Plus; it is my obligation to take care of her….and it would probably be my fault if something happened to her.
It is just about what matters to each person.

By: DR

DR — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 10:54:10 +0000

Matthew, thanks for sharing your experience and the informtion. We still haven’t decided whether to get insurance on our 6 month old Shee-tzu.

By: Matthew

Matthew — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 17:37:26 +0000

My wife and I decided to purchase insurance for both of our dogs. One is a Pekingese Poodle mix and the other is a Shepard Chow mix. For the last 7 years we have used Banfield Optimum Wellness Basic Plus plans http://www.banfield.net/optimum-wellness-plans-adults
We have been very satisfied with the plans overall and make use of all the benefits including the teeth cleanings.

However, we have not ALWAYS used it. Our Shepard Chow mix tore her ACL and it needed to be reconstructed. We live in the Chicago area and the typical quotes ran in the $3500-$4500 range plus any additional medicines. Wow! This is where looking around makes a BIG difference.

We decided to have the surgery performed and it only cost us $1500 including medicines, plus we had a wonderful day trip to an interesting area.

What happened is that we discovered that Veterinarians in more rural areas charge different fees. You could possibly apply a variant of Parkinsons law here: Fees will increase to encompass the maximum dollar amount the areas population may be able to afford. In rural areas of the U.S. the per capita income can be significantly lower. Therefore the people who live in those areas and provide services will typically charge what the population will support.

Basically we drove 3 hours from Chicago to South Western Michigan. We had found a great doctor who had good references ( 2 hours of asking friends and research on the web). We left at 4:00 in the morning. Dropped off our loving pet. Drove 45 minutes to an Amish town and took photos, ate lunch, and visited small shoppes. Then in the afternoon we picked up our pretty little lady (highly drugged) and drove home.

Total costs:
$1500 Surgery and followup medicines
$100 Gasoline
$150 Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and some shopping.

$1750 total for 6 hours of driving, 6 hours of wandering around holding hands with my wife and shopping in a cute little community, and a spare $1750 – $2750 in my wallet. I hope my experiences help others when it comes to a challenging and expensive procedure on a furry family member.

By: Maya

Maya — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 14:40:39 +0000

I got pet insurance for my dog because the cost of vet care has gotten so high and if something should happen I would not want to put her to sleep. I found a good report and information at:
http://smartpetinsurance.com/

By: DR

DR — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 10:43:30 +0000

We recently got a dog and are still deciding whether to get pet insurance. Medical expenses for a dog can be extremely expensive, so it’s a serious consideration.

By: Evan

Evan — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 21:04:50 +0000

The Wife and I have VPI, and the reason we did it was simple…the $30/month was worth knowing the fact that the decision would never have to be made if the dog was too hurt or too sick to save her (vs putting her down) because of cost.

Take a look at this dog:
http://www.myjourneytomillions.com/articles/life-ignore-costs/