<p>D has a 4 year old dog and has carried vet insurance policy on her for the last 3 years.
It costs $125 and the coverage, while not 100%, does cover a number of things. She has never needed it and is wondering if it is worth the $. Dog is going to stay with friends for 3 weeks now and the policy just ran our for this year.
Anyone here have any experience with Pet Watch?
Thanks!</p>
<p>I don’t have experience with this policy, but I do have Trupanion. The coverage is excellent - 90%, excluding the walk-in (appointment) fee and routine care (shots, etc.). Covers cancer, accidents, even a call to animal poision control fee.</p>
<p>Personally, even though I have a very good job, I could not afford dog medical care without insurance, since I am just starting out, and I am the only source of income. I know from my parents’ experinece that cancer treatments can easily cost $10,000 or more. A dog hit by a car could easily require $20,000 in surgery, and I certainly know of other procedures that can cost even more. I have two guinea pigs as well, and I only WISH there was better insurance for them, as the medical costs for them are extremely high as well. One of them developed a very serious medical issue this year, and the costs have definitely been higher than I ever anticipated (even though I am extremely thankfull there is such great vet care available).</p>
<p>As someone said, insurance is really a peace of mind. None of these things may ever happen, but I would prefer to know that, if they do, I can do the treatments without going into tremendous debt. I believe in making medical decisions for my animals regardless of the cost (only what’s in the best interest of the animal will be considered), so if I felt the treatment was necessary, I would never not do it because of money. And after most of my savings getting wiped out caring for my piggy, I am happier than ever that I at least have dog insurance.</p>
<p>If the dog is staying with a friend for three weeks, get the insurance: $125 is less than it costs to kennel the dog for that time and is worth the friendship.</p>
<p>Imagine if the puppy eats a towel while under the friend’s care. Your daughter gets a phone call: “Fido ate a towel. He’s in the animal ER. It’s a $3,000 surgery. They want your credit card number before they operate; if you don’t want to do that, they’ll have to put him down.”</p>
<p>Even if the dog wouldn’t be toast, the friendship would be. (If I were the one watching the dog, I would happily split part of the pet insurance costs to make sure that <em>I</em> wasn’t the one in charge when the dog runs up huge medical bills.)</p>
<p>^^^The pet owner still needs to make sure they leave a working credit card with a pet sitter. Pet insurance reimburses, not pays up front, so the $3,000 or however much will still have to come out of pocket. I always leave a credit card for a pet sitter whenever I go away.</p>
<p>Forgot to add, but the pet sitter, friend or no friend, should have VERY clear instructions for when to take the pet to the hospital and what to do. For example, my pet sitter knows that I will pay for any and all medical expenses (and they actually have it in writing from me), so that if it’s a true medical emergency they are not wasting valuable time trying to reach me, while I may be in a different time zone. It’s not even a matter of friendship, but it may be necessary to save the dog’s life, which to me would be more important than the friendship.</p>
<p>I wish I had pet insurance! Treating a dog with cancer - $7000+ chemo bill. If I ever get another dog - pet insurance is a must!</p>
<p>I am kicking myself now because we didn’t buy pet insurance for Batman. That 4yo black lab had elbow surgery (both) when he was 2 yo. $4500. Cold tail in April, $800. Two weeks ago he was having the worst kind of gastro distress for 6 days. ka-ching! $1100. </p>
<p>I can’t bear to think what his old age will bring.</p>
<p>DougBetsy, it’s not too late to buy pet insurance! It won’t cover anything he already has, but it WILL cover any future conditions! Check out Trupanion, PetPlan, and Embrace!</p>
<p>We have 80% coverage, with a two-year-old Welsh Terrier, and we have way more than made back the premiums.</p>
<p>Do all vets accept health insurance? I love our vet and would not want to switch.</p>
<p>It works a little different from human insurance. The vets don’t ‘accept’ insurance. You spend the money up front, and then you fill out a claim form, and you give it to the vet to fill out his portion (my vet will actually fill out the whole thing and submit it, but you can do it yourself). Then, the insurance company reimburses you for your expenses. So, it doesn’t matter what vet you go to, as they get paid by you, not the insurance company. Hope this helps :)</p>
<p>Also, just be careful when choosing your insurance. Some companies (VPI comes to mind) have a fee schedule (how much THEY think the procedure should cost), and they will pay out based on that. Personally, I avoid companies like that like the plague, especially since I am in NYC - what THEY think things should cost often doesn’t even cover half of what it actually costs. That’s why I mention Trupanion, PetPlan, and Embrace - they payout based on what you actually PAY. </p>
<p>Also, make sure to confirm what lifetime and yearly limits are (some companies, like Trupanion, do not have a cap; some do).</p>
<p>Oh, thanks so much. That makes perfect sense. My DH loves to research. I think I’ll mention it to him.</p>
<p>Yeah, I had to do quite a bit of research before settling on one.</p>
<p>This webiste is a great place to start: [NEW</a> Pet Insurance Review - comparison of VPI, ASPCA, etc.](<a href=“http://www.petinsurancereview.com/]NEW”>http://www.petinsurancereview.com/)</p>
<p>However, I also make sure to read the actual website for each insurance company I am considering (for me, it was Trupanion and PetPlan) and then call the rep and ask some more specifics (for example, some companies that cover everything else won’t cover hip dysplasia without additional coverage (Trupanion)). Be careful when talking to reps though - some of them don’t know what they are talking about (sorry to pick on VPI again, but their rep gave me misleading information about exotics coverage, which directly contradicted the website - I don’t think he did it on purpose - he just wasn’t informed), so I would verify everything they say. Also, some companies (VPI) will only cover diagnostics if they lead to a diagnosis, which, again does not work for me.</p>
<p>P.S. Just by looking at some other ones, it looks like new companies are popping up which, at a quick glance, seem pretty good! Healthy Paws looks promising! Dog health insurance is getting better and better. When I was in high school and my dog was sick, my mom looked into health insurace, and she said the options were limited and not very good. When I started shopping around for my dog, there were options, but I felt only two were really comprehensive. Now, I see at least 4 that look good.</p>
<p>We have PetPlan, and they have been a cinch to deal with. (wish my health insurance was as easy…)</p>
<p>Thanks! I am passing all of this on to D. I do think she needs to have a plan. I knew I would get good info here!</p>
<p>Let me be clear: I’m not saying that the pet would die if the friends had it and it required massive surgery. My point is that no matter what happens to Rover, the friendship would be strained, since you’re introducing a huge financial loss into the picture. </p>
<p>If the dog eats a towel that they left lying around, you may want your dog enough to pay for surgery, but you may be really, really irritated that you have to pay for it because your friends were careless. They might be mad if you ask them to pony up some of the surgery cost: after all, they were doing you a favour by watching the canine.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>For some reason the idea choosing between a PPO and HMO for your pet seems funny.</p>
<p>We had it when our dog was diagnosed with torn ACL and needed surgery. Still expensive but really helped with costs.</p>
<p>Gave it up after a few years. after having to say goodbye to our dog this week because she had cancer and internal bleeding, sometimes I wish I had kept it, but there was no way even with insurance we could have afforded any treatment.</p>
<p>It sounds like a lot of you have dogs with pet insurance. I have 2 cats. Only one has had some medical issues that needed addressing. It pet insurances still a good idea for cats?</p>
<p>Crizello, I am sorry for your loss. If it’s not too personal, would you mind sharing how much the cost was that was quoted to you (or PM me if you would be more comfortable with that).</p>
<p>Lakemom, I don’t have a cat (although would like to have one in the future), but I would say insurance for them is a must as well. All the same companies insure cats, and medical costs are as high for them as they are for dogs. As I mentioned earlier, I wish there was better insurance for exotics (small pets, birds), because, honestly, when it comes to vet costs dogs are not the only ones with high costs any more.</p>
<p>Acollegestudent: thanks for the condolences. It is still hard to come home from work and not be greeted by my dog (the only one in the family that got excited when I walked in the door!)</p>
<p>Pet insurance was only $30/month at most. The vet had recommended exploratory surgery of 2-3K but all that would have done is confirm the cancer. With the way it was progressing, they estimated she only had a little time left anyway. She went from full health ( at least as far as we knew) to us saying goodbye within one week.</p>