Pet Insurance?

[MamaRhea]

It's open enrollment time at my place of employment, and pet health insurance is apparently an option this year! I'm very seriously considering covering my snake, as well as my cats. Do any of your have health insurance for your pets? And if so, have you felt like it wound up being a worthwhile investment? I know that herp/exotic vets can be very expensive so I figured it might be worth a look see, and I would be very interested in input from all of you <3

[wnateg]

Most people on here probably have too many snakes to make it worthwhile, considering how expensive the insurance premium would be. Plus I feel like the odds of an expensive bill is higher with cats and dogs than snakes.

[Bogertophis]

We discussed this a while back. Really depends on how your own finances are. For me, it's like dental insurance- I'd never do that, OR buy pet insurance, but that's me.
Paying regularly (even a fairly small amount) for something I may or may not need? Well, I'd rather leave the money in MY bank than theirs, because IF I don't need to
use it, it's still mine. But if budgets are a problem for you, it might be for you. I have a number of snakes but seldom anything comes up that I can't handle, which
is more than I can say for my local vets, lol. There are no reptile specialists anywhere near me. If pet insurance doesn't add much to add to your regular policy, maybe
it's worth doing for you?

[Zincubus]

We pay £70 per month !!

For one little , but old (12) Italian Greyhound...

Our last dawg an Irish Red Setter requires substantial vets treatment and cost us £2,200 before she sadly passed away anyways.. thank gawd that we had pet insurance !!


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[Cheesenugget]

If you have the realistic expectation that the chances you come out of a claim at an even or greater gain are low, then sure. You are paying for a piece of mind, that is definitely guaranteed to you. But financial wise, it is not worth it. Many of them exclude coverage that most pet owners need: chronic health problems, pre-existing conditions including breed specific like lab mixes (Like 80% of the mutts out there are labeled as such, whether or not they genetically are or not) and cancer, and annual preventative care including legally required vaccines. Common problems for big dogs are ACL tears that require expensive surgeries. Most won't cover it because they know the other knee will most likely tear too, those that do cover the other leg requires that your dog has no injury for at least the first 30 days to 6 months (depending on policy).

Then you have your deductible. Per incident, usually. And the bill is almost always reduced at a fee schedule, meaning a $2500 surgery requires a payment up front from you, then after submission of the claim it reduce down to $1500. Lets say the deductible is $500, so $1k is what you will get reimbursed. But you still paid $1500 out of pocket. If that was after 6 months of insurance ($100/month), you really get $600 out of $1500 back in premium.

Cancers and other very expensive treatment are more worth it. Accidents that severe and happening within the first few months are worth it, because you should be able to come out even or get more out of it. But... Again, you must lay up front (hopefully without taking a loan with interest like a credit card, then it gets messy from here..), and the policy must cover it... And as previously mentioned, most will stop affording coverage to elderly pets when they are prone to such medical issues, or they will charge a much higher premium knowing that there is a chance they will have to pay out so they are covering themselves first (If they are lucky, the pet dies before a claim is filed and the claim never have to pay out other than cremation).

So like your car insurance you would probably never file a claim on for years. Or home security. What you get is a piece of mind.

[Cheesenugget]

Add-on post:

While accidents and many unforeseen things can happen where pet insurance will work out for the owner, one can also do the follow:

Emergency fund. The amount is based on your budget but it is a must. Vets require full payment or they won't treat your pet.

Find a reliable veterinarian that you can trust and stay with for many years. The longer and better the relationship, the more likely they will work with you on a payment plan should that be necessary.

Preventative care like flea preventative and deworming. If your pet is an outdoor pet or spends a lot of time out in the woods and around other dogs/cats, deworming may need to be done every 6 months. Otherwise, a yearly deworming should suffice. Puppies and kittens may need more deworming because of their curiosity to eat and chew anything dirty, or worms passed on by the mother. If it has fleas, tapeworm is almost for sure so a combo like Revolution will rid of it all in one go.

Vaccinate only when necessary. There are risks associated with too much vaccination, so depending on the age and health of your pet, you may not need the same shots yearly. For example, cats are at risk of an aggressive form of cancer in their skin from vaccines or any needle penetrating their skin. The benefits outweigh the risks though. Kittens and puppies must complete their vaccine schedule. Afterward, core shots and legally requires shots should be considered. But getting non-core bordetella vaccine every year for an indoor dog that rarely meets other dogs may not be needed.

Feed your pets well. You really get what you put into your pets. However, a decent quality of pet food is good enough. It does not have to be grainfree or raw or expensive. I'm talking about feeding cats Friskies is okay but if you can afford something like Fancy Feast or better, that would be preferred. Portion control is important, this helps keep track of your pet's daily food intake and at a health weight. Pet obesity is becoming a common thing, and that is just sad.

Lastly, don't wait if you suspect your pet is not feeling well. The best news you would want to hear is that your dog/cat is fine from the vet. The worst is delaying it for a variety of reasons and then it got worse to the point it becomes costly to treat. For example, tumors don't grow into a grape fruit size overnight. A male cat that can't pee is a medical emergency, no ifs and buts, and he can die in 24-48 hours. Call the vet if a visit is not possible and ask for advice. Many is willing to help over the phone if they can. Don't rely on Dr. Google just because you want to save $100 on a vet visit.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Considering snakes if cared for properly are not very likely to have issues compare to other animals you will be better off paying for the cost of treatment in case something happens.

In the last 14 years out of at least 100 adults in my care (realistically more since they come and go) I have had ZERO issue requiring veterinary intervention that means if an insurance was let's say $15 per animal per month and I had paid that, I would have spend $21000.

[Bogertophis]

I've always had various insurance options available to me (thru my work) including dental, & legal advice. I looked over the detailed plans and what I'd have paid out
(between monthly payments & required deductibles) was way more than I'd have been likely to get back. Auto, health & homeowners insurance, yes of course...those
are all essential or required, but the other options are not.

To me, insurance is a lot like gambling in Las Vegas: you keep paying those little amounts hoping to win big (when you need it for big bills), but think about it- if the
"house" wasn't winning MOST of the time, do you really think there'd be ANY casinos in operation? No, of course not- they're in it to make money, just as insurance
companies are, & that's why the policies are written to be so confusing & why they have such aggressive sales people pushing their products, & why you see so many
(expensive!) commercials for insurance on TV. If you're guessing that I'm not a gambler, you'd be correct.

[MamaRhea]

I really appreciate all your feedback! It really helped bring things into perspective. I agree, I'd probably be better off just putting aside what I'd be paying in premiums in a "just in case" fund. I'd probably save quite a bit in the long run doing that anyways haha

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[Bogertophis]

Risk assessment is an interesting field no matter what the application is, but many people just cannot put money aside (without spending it prematurely for temptations
or emergencies), so for those folks, there's always other options like pet insurance (etc). We're not all the same...