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Cat Forum / General Topics / November 2006Pet Insurance
I am going to adopt 2 kittens and would like to know if pet insurance is worth the money or should I just pay as I go. Who has the best pet insurance available at a good price? I have looked at www.petinsurance.com, www.petassure.com, and www.petsbest.com. Also, is it a good idea to have cats teeth cleaned on an annual basis? Thanks for all the help. >I am going to adopt 2 kittens and would like to know if pet insurance is >worth the money or should I just pay as I go. Who has the best pet [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Thanks for all the help. I have two furbabies, Holly and Duffy. I researched pet insurance when I adopted Duffy, motivated by the fact that he had free insurance for a short time because he was adopted from a shelter that had listed him on Petfinder. I came to the conclusion that it is not worth it -- many insurance policies have unreasonable restrictions such as a specific list of covered illnesses, too-low maximum coverage, some will not cover the same illness more than once, and some increase costs as the pet ages (just when it is most likely to be needed). Instead, I opted to self-insure. I opened a savings account just for Holly and Duffy. I have made a deposit every month since that time (Feb. 2003), and I have never touched the account. It is exclusively for their use and only for emergencies or major expenses. It is not for routine exams or health care. This means that I took a risk that I would not have any major expenses until after the account had time to build, but I thought that was a reasonable risk considering all the limitations of standard pet health insurance policies. MaryL > I am going to adopt 2 kittens and would like to know if pet insurance is > worth the money or should I just pay as I go. Who has the best pet We haven't found a pet insurance that makes sense so far. They are all very pricey, so they only would be worthwhile in case of a devastating disease/injury, like cancer. > insurance available at a good price? I have looked at www.petinsurance.com, > www.petassure.com, and www.petsbest.com. Also, is it a good idea to have > cats teeth cleaned on an annual basis? We have 7 cats ranging in age from 3 to 10 (?) years old and only one of them (the oldest) has ever required a dental cleaning and that was only once.  SignatureVictor M. Martinez Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM) Send your spam here: uce@ftc.gov Email me here: pistorLITTER@BOXaustin.rr.com >> I am going to adopt 2 kittens and would like to know if pet insurance is >> worth the money or should I just pay as I go. Who has the best pet > > We haven't found a pet insurance that makes sense so far. They are all > very pricey, so they only would be worthwhile in case of a devastating > disease/injury, like cancer. Yes, and most of these policies establish a maximum "payout" that is unreasonably low for a catastrophic disease. -- MaryL >> insurance available at a good price? I have looked at >> www.petinsurance.com, www.petassure.com, and www.petsbest.com. Also, is [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > them (the oldest) has ever required a dental cleaning and that was only > once. >I am going to adopt 2 kittens and would like to know if pet insurance is >worth the money or should I just pay as I go. Who has the best pet [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > >Thanks for all the help. IMHO the bset pet insurance is no pet insurance. Put the money you'd pay in premiums into a high yield investment vehicle. Insurance companies don't make money paying claims, they make money not paying claims. [snip] > IMHO the bset pet insurance is no pet insurance. > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Insurance companies don't make money paying claims, they > make money not paying claims. Fine if you're willing to take the risk of not needing a payout until the account has had time to build up. I personally know of someone whose cat required £1500 of surgery less than a month after they'd adopted her from our shelter. It was nothing that we could have detected or prevented, but without the insurance policy the owner would not have had a chance to save her cat, who is now doing fine, by the way :-) Ivor I haven't got enough money to get enough from premiums after "investing" to pay for the checkups my kitten needs. I pay something like $10 a month in insurance. The first claim has been paid and it pays for the whole year of insurance payments. And if I had to pay for the vet without the insurance, I'd still be out the amount I paid for the insurance, plus some....I'm fairly certain my other claims will be paid, too. It's better than nothing, imho.... >I haven't got enough money to get enough from premiums after "investing" > to pay for the checkups my kitten needs. I pay something like $10 a [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >insurance, plus some....I'm fairly certain my other claims will be paid, >too. It's better than nothing, imho.... Read the fine print, understand the fine print and massage the numbers. You're going to spend more on premiums over the life of the policy than you will if you pay for the procedures out of pocket. You'll spend $7,000 + to raise that cat over the years, you'll spend a heck of a lot more than $7,000 to get insurance for that cat. The insurance company is in it to make a profit. [snip] > You'll spend $7,000 + to raise that cat over the years, > you'll spend a heck of a lot more than $7,000 to get insurance > for that cat. The insurance company is in it to make a profit. So answer my question in my last post - what would you do if your cat required expensive surgery before you'd had time to build up your savings account balance..? If you haven't got enough money to pay out of pocket, what then..? Incidentally, here in the UK I pay just over £100 ($150..?) a year for insurance. My cat was 8 when I had her 4 years ago, so that's around £450 in premiums I've paid so far. Assuming she lives another 8 years, that's another £1000 or so, where do you get the figure $7000 from..? Premiums must be way higher your side of the water. Ivor >Fine if you're willing to take the risk of not needing a payout until the >account has had time to build up. I'm older than dirt. After all these years of dealing with health insurance/home owners insurance/auto insurance/etc. i'm not a fan of insurance companies. You do realize that if you get insurance today it will be a long time before they will allow you to file a claim? (Called a waiting period.) > > Fine if you're willing to take the risk of not needing > > a payout until the account has had time to build up. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > a long time before they will allow you to file > a claim? (Called a waiting period.) Not always so. At our shelter the company we use covers all cats who leave us for new homes free of charge for 6 weeks, irrespective of the cat's age, assuming there are no ongoing conditions. At the end of that period they contact the new owner to ask if they want to continue. They will pay out almost immediately if necessary, as shown by the case I mentioned where expensive surgery was needed less than a month after the cat left us (the problem was nothing we could have known about or done anything about had we known). Fortunately, the cat came through ok and is now doing fine :-) You still haven't answered the question of what you'd do if treatment was needed before the account you recommend people start up has time to reach a balance that's enough to cover the costs. Ivor >> You do realize that if you get insurance today it will be >> a long time before they will allow you to file [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >age, assuming there are no ongoing conditions. At the end of that period >they contact the new owner to ask if they want to continue. Every insurance i've ever had had a mandatory waiing period of at least a year before you could file a claim. Some were even longer and some had deductibles. >You still haven't answered the question of what you'd do if treatment was >needed before the account you recommend people start up has time to reach >a balance that's enough to cover the costs. The same thing i'd do when the insurance company tells me to pound sand because my deductible hasn't been met, that haven't passed the mandatory waiting period, of find some other excuse to not pay the claim. I've had lots of insurances over the years, they are all experts at sleazing out of payments. >Ivor > > > You do realize that if you get insurance today it > > > will be a long time before they will allow you to file [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > period of at least a year before you could file a claim. > Some were even longer and some had deductibles. Then we obviously differ in how insurance companies work. When the cats leave our shelter, they are covered automatically for 6 weeks, no mention anywhere about not being allowed to claim..! It is obviously up to the individual whether or not they continue with the policy at the end of the free period, but in my experience most people do, and with good cause in the case I mentioned. > > You still haven't answered the question of what you'd > > do if treatment was needed before the account you [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > haven't passed the mandatory waiting period, of find some > other excuse to not pay the claim. Which is what, precisely..? Your cat needs a major operation, you have no money and you have not taken out insurance. What do you do..? > I've had lots of insurances over the years, they are all > experts at sleazing out of payments. And I've made several successful claims. Funny old world, isn't it..? Ivor > > On Tue, 28 Nov 2006 02:06:46 -0000, "Ivor Jones" > > > You still haven't answered the question of what you'd [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > Which is what, precisely..? Your cat needs a major operation, you have no > money and you have not taken out insurance. ---------- There are two choices: 1. Charge the expenses to a credit card and pay it off over time. 2. Work out a payment plan with the veterinary hospital. Best regards, ---Cindy S. [snip] > There are two choices: > > 1. Charge the expenses to a credit card and pay it off > over time. If (a) you have a credit card and (b) can afford the ridiculous interest rates. > 2. Work out a payment plan with the veterinary hospital. A possibility, I agree. Choice No.3 - take out an insurance policy that lets you claim within a reasonable period of taking out the policy. Ivor >Choice No.3 - take out an insurance policy that lets you claim within a >reasonable period of taking out the policy. > >Ivor And after dealing with insurance companies of all kinds over the years I don't consider this a viable option. Insurance is legalized theft. >> The same thing i'd do when the insurance company tells me >> to pound sand because my deductible hasn't been met, that [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > >What do you do..? I don't know but often having insurance is not the answer. Often you haven't met the deductible, met the waiting period, etc. Read and understand the fine print. Often you're no better off with the insurance than you are with no insurance. This from someone who did medical billing for years. >> I've had lots of insurances over the years, they are all >> experts at sleazing out of payments. > >And I've made several successful claims. Funny old world, isn't it..? > >Ivor >> I've had lots of insurances over the years, they are all >> experts at sleazing out of payments. > >And I've made several successful claims. Funny old world, isn't it..? . Where do you live? Around here they will cancel your policy after making a claim. Insurance companies don't make money paying claims, they make money not paying claims. > > > I've had lots of insurances over the years, they are > > > all experts at sleazing out of payments. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > Where do you live? Around here they will cancel your > policy after making a claim. West Midlands, UK. > Insurance companies don't make money paying claims, they > make money not paying claims. So you keep saying, but you *still* haven't told me what to do if I were to follow your advice but needed to meet a large veterinary bill within a few weeks, before the account I set up had had time to accrue the required balance. Ivor >>>You do realize that if you get insurance today it will be >>>a long time before they will allow you to file [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > >>Ivor My waiting period was 2 weeks - and they paid the first claim - it was almost half the vet's bill... >My waiting period was 2 weeks - and they paid the first claim - it was >almost half the vet's bill... Let me guess....they cancelled you after the first claim.
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