Health Insurance For Cats

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Cat Protector - 04 Dec 2004 03:44 GMT

I was thinking of getting health insurance for all of my cats. Does anyone
know a good and reliable insurance company that has policies for cats
without charging through the nose?

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Mary - 04 Dec 2004 04:00 GMT

> I was thinking of getting health insurance for all of my cats. Does anyone
> know a good and reliable insurance company that has policies for cats
> without charging through the nose?

I think I would invest in a better quality food than you feed them before I
would
shell out for health insurance.

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Cheryl - 04 Dec 2004 04:27 GMT

> I was thinking of getting health insurance for all of my cats.
> Does anyone know a good and reliable insurance company that has
> policies for cats without charging through the nose?

I have VPI for Shamrock, but I'm beginning to see that it isn't
worth the money. His only problem (young cat) is allergies, and
since it was pre-existing when I took out the policy, they won't
cover any of the bills. The policy had to be renewed last month and
I planned to cancel it and just put the monthly premiums into a
separate bank account just for vet bills, but I haven't cancelled
it yet. I even got the cancer coverage, but then again, I've had
two cats in a row who had problems that most cats don't seem to
have so I was sort of pressured by large vet bills in the past that
I hoped I wouldn't see again.

I don't think it's worth it. Insurance is just that: great if you
need it, a waste of money if you don't. Just put a few dollars each
payday into a separate account earmarked just for vet bills. With
4 cats now, this is going to be my plan. Shamrock's premiums are
over $200 per year paid monthly. Oh, and VPI informed me that my
personal info was stolen by a former employee and that I need to
keep an eye on my credit history in case it is used. I've had to
make a lot of adjustments to my accounts just because they didn't
have proper security set up with their databases.

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Cheryl

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Cat Protector - 04 Dec 2004 04:38 GMT

Thanks for sharing. At least I know who to avoid. I thought of putting away
a certain amount each month for vet bills and such but read some more about
the insurance for the cats so I didn't have to pay a whole lot up front
should an emergency happen. It's a shame that VPI had such a lack of
security that a former employee could steal people's identities. If that
employee was in a position to have access to people's accounts then the
security should have been strengthened to protect the customers. Hopefully
the former employee will be prosecuted. I am no lawyer but you might have a
case against the company here. You probably weren't the only one who was put
at risk.

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"Cheryl" <jlhshadow@nospamhotmail.com> wrote in message

> I have VPI for Shamrock, but I'm beginning to see that it isn't
> worth the money. His only problem (young cat) is allergies, and
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
> make a lot of adjustments to my accounts just because they didn't
> have proper security set up with their databases.

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Cheryl - 04 Dec 2004 04:51 GMT

> I am no lawyer but you might have a
> case against the company here. You probably weren't the only one
> who was put at risk.

The person is being prosecuted. Theft of this sort is very serious
these days. VPI did what they had to do, to inform me of the theft.
An entire database of personal information was stolen, so it wasn't
just *my* information. The computer with the stolen database on it
was seized, but that doesn't mean there weren't copies. This type of
theft is becoming more and more common, so none of us should be
surprised if it happens to us. Just call one of the 3 credit
companies (equifax, et al) and put a "fraud alert" on your
information. The 3 share, so the fraud alert propagates to all of
them.

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Cheryl

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---MIKE--- - 04 Dec 2004 13:54 GMT

I had pet insurance for a year (I don't remember which company) but I
cancelled when they raised their rates. I had been paying about $300 a
year (for two cats) so I opened a savings account and put in $300 every
year. Any normal vet bills, I pay without robbing the account. There
is now over $1200 in the account. It is there in case of any major
expenses.

---MIKE---

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Mary - 04 Dec 2004 17:54 GMT

> I had pet insurance for a year (I don't remember which company) but I
> cancelled when they raised their rates. I had been paying about $300 a
> year (for two cats) so I opened a savings account and put in $300 every
> year. Any normal vet bills, I pay without robbing the account. There
> is now over $1200 in the account. It is there in case of any major
> expenses.

This sounds like a reasonable way to ensure you have money
for the vet!

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sarah - 04 Dec 2004 20:10 GMT

My cat is a rescue cat so her history was not known. However, I bought
insurance for her and am so glad I did. One month after owning her she was
diagnosed with CRF and her ongoing bills are currently being met by the
insurance company (until next May).

The only thing I would advise is if you are looking for insurance - get the
type that covers them for life with a condition - not just for one year (as
I made the mustake of doing).

I'm putting aside money each month for her now for when the insurance no
longer covers her.

sarah

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Yngver - 06 Dec 2004 16:05 GMT

>> I had pet insurance for a year (I don't remember which company) but I
>> cancelled when they raised their rates. I had been paying about $300 a
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>This sounds like a reasonable way to ensure you have money
>for the vet!

I agree. A couple years ago one of our cats had a bacterial infection and spent
a few days in the veterinary hospital. The total came to $1100. After that, we
started checking out pet insurance. However, when we priced it out with the
best coverage we could find (VPI), we calculated that after deductibles,
premiums and other exclusions, VPI would only have reimbursed us about $200 for
that incident. And if she ever had another liver infection, it would not be
covered. Since we don't expect to have $1100 a year illnesses with our cats, it
seemed that in the long run it did make more sense for us to just put the
premiums (at the time, about $250 per cat) in a savings account.

In addition, keep in mind that pet insurance is not comparable to health
insurance for human beings--since in most states pets are considered property,
pet health insurance operates under rules for property insurance. In general,
you can be dropped or refused renewal at any time, and when the cat gets old
(when most health problems will occur) many policies refuse to cover the cat
anymore.

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Mary - 06 Dec 2004 16:35 GMT

"Yngver" <yngver@aol.comnospam> wrote> >

> >This sounds like a reasonable way to ensure you have money
> >for the vet!
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> premiums and other exclusions, VPI would only have reimbursed us about $200 for
> that incident.

This is how these insurance companies make money--they know most folks will
not read the fine print. It was smart of you to look at an example case that
way,
to see how the insurance really works.

>And if she ever had another liver infection, it would not be
> covered.

What kind of crock is this "cat only covered for one type of
illness once" stuff?? What good is the insurance then? We all
know that chronic illnesses are terribly common--in cats and
people What a rip. I am glad this topic came up because I am
just the type to get suckered into pet health insurance.

>Since we don't expect to have $1100 a year illnesses with our cats, it
> seemed that in the long run it did make more sense for us to just put the
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> (when most health problems will occur) many policies refuse to cover the cat
> anymore.

Well, that's terrible--and how terrible that must be for the ones who love
the
cat. I'm learning more than I ever expected to about insurance these days--I
just paid off my own deductible (first time in my life I have been at the
doctor's
enough to do so) and am finding out what insurance will and will not pay. I
have
nothing serious, just niggly things like asthma and allergies, but keep
receiving
bills for various items not covered by the company now that I have paid off
the deductible. What a racket.

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Yngver - 06 Dec 2004 23:23 GMT

>"Yngver" <yngver@aol.comnospam> wrote> >
>> >This sounds like a reasonable way to ensure you have money
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
>way,
>to see how the insurance really works.

Unfortunately too many people assume that pet insurance works just the way
health insurance for people works. In our case, the first thing we did is ask
our vet if he recommended any pet insurance companies, and he said no, most of
his clients that got pet insurance did not seem to get as much covered as they
thought they would.

>>And if she ever had another liver infection, it would not be
>> covered.
>
>What kind of crock is this "cat only covered for one type of
>illness once" stuff??

That is VPI--the main one I looked into. Once they cover your pet for a
particular illness or condition, they won't cover it again. As someone else
mentioned, it's the "once per lifetime" type clause. I think some of the other
companies do that too.

What good is the insurance then? We all

>know that chronic illnesses are terribly common--in cats and
>people What a rip. I am glad this topic came up because I am
>just the type to get suckered into pet health insurance.

Yes, again, I can't emphasize that enough--I've known people who took out pet
insurance, then their pet developed cancer, and the company dropped them. I'm
not sure all of the pet insurance polices have as many "out" clauses, but you
really have to read them closely to make sure.

>>Since we don't expect to have $1100 a year illnesses with our cats, it
>> seemed that in the long run it did make more sense for us to just put the
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
>the
>cat.

Well, in some cases however, it does work out. If you have a young cat that
develops a catastrophic illness, or is in an accident, it may save money. I've
known some cases in which a pet owner was able to afford a lot more treatment
or tests because of having insurance. It's just that you don't know ahead of
time if that will be the case with your own cat--as someone else said, if that
happens you'll be glad you had the insurance, but otherwise you'll find you
spent more on premiums than you got out of it.

I'm learning more than I ever expected to about insurance these days--I

>just paid off my own deductible (first time in my life I have been at the
>doctor's
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>bills for various items not covered by the company now that I have paid off
>the deductible. What a racket.

Well, in the U.S., anyway, health care insurance is a for-profit business--both
for people and for pets--and that is a big part of the problem, IMO.

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equalizer - 08 Dec 2004 01:15 GMT

>I had pet insurance for a year (I don't remember which company) but I
>cancelled when they raised their rates. I had been paying about $300 a
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>
> ---MIKE---

I do the same thing. $10 a week, and only for emergencies. Plus, all my
change that accumulates goes into their account, and all the interest
from my savings account goes there too. In a little over 2 years it's up
to about $1500.

One important point -- make that account AT LEAST a Living Trust, so if
anything happens to you, the cats' guardians can immediately draw from
that account without waiting for things to go through probate.

eq

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~*Connie*~ - 04 Dec 2004 21:29 GMT

like insurance for humans, it is of great benefit if you need it, and a
great waste if you don't. I know someone who bought it for their puppy, and
used it then some when problems arise.

> I was thinking of getting health insurance for all of my cats. Does anyone
> know a good and reliable insurance company that has policies for cats
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> Panther TEK: Staying On Top Of Your Computer Needs!
> www.panthertekit.com

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Masha - 06 Dec 2004 01:27 GMT

If you're in the UK don't use Tesco, I didn't read the small print and they
only insure each illness for a year, my cat's got diabetis and it's now
costing me a fortune since his insurance ran out, ALWAYS check the small
print first!

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