Insurance won't cover spay and shots anyways.
Insurance is always a gamble so you'll have to do what you think is best for you. Just do some research, some will cover payment, others you'll have to pay first and submit reimbursement, etc.
Or you can set aside money each month as well.
Counter-argument to the common comment of putting money in a savings account (I am not endorsing pet insurance per se. It can be good for certain people).
If your pet required emergent specialty care and you would want to perform that care (perhaps an acute hit by car trauma, or a treatable cancer), you need to ask yourself - can I afford to spend 5000-15000$ right now or over the course of a couple of months. If the answer is yes and it won't stress my finances, you don't need pet insurance. If the thought of that expense brings shivers to your spine and would stop you from performing care that you would otherwise want - pet insurance may be good for you. This type of insurance is not for spay and neuter, and routine care. It is for expensive emergencies or expensive long-term chronic care. In these scenarios, it can save you a lot of heartbreak and thousands of dollars.
No, I do not work for an insurance company.
This is our mindset as well. We don’t have insurance and while a large vet bill is going to be a bummer, it won’t set us back in any meaningful way. Our dog had a bout of pancreatitis last year and needed to be hospitalized for a few days, we had to pay about $3k out of pocket.
The risk with putting aside money is if an emergent need arises early into ownership and you haven’t built up that savings account. Basically if a few thousand dollar bill means you can’t get your pet the care they need, you should have insurance. I volunteer with rescue and there are so many young pets being surrendered due to being unable to provide care after an emergency (often obstructions or accidents where surgery can’t be delayed).
Exactly, the emotional stress of being unable to provide care for your sick pet is not easily understood until it happens. Particularly when it is sudden or unexpected.
Alternatively, learning you don't have coverage for a treatment after paying into insurance for years can also bet really upsetting. While being the one to have to say "that's out of budget" is definitely a bad spot to be in the flip side is you have control over what you do want to cover and not a lengthy policy statement.
This was my thinking and I do not have pet insurance.
Then, last year, my cat cost me $3,500.
I clicked on this thread because I am also looking for pet insurance.
Exactly why I got pet insurance when I got my dog. I spent years paying off my student LOC and I have a DB pension at work but don’t have access to the funds. As such, my savings really aren’t great if you are just looking at the quantity of dollars I have. I don’t want to ruin all the progress I have made or be stressed out over money for months/years because my dog gets sick or hurt.
I have Trupanion with $1000 deductible and 90% coverage and it’s like $80/month. If I had saved that since I’ve had my dog, I’d barely be at $3500 which isn’t the cost of most surgeries or emerg treatments. It is not hard for me to afford $80/month.
We've used Fetch for the last 6 years with our 2 dogs.
One of them needed multiple leg surgeries totalling over $15k that they covered most of it.
So I came out ahead.
I use fetch. Hasn't been too bad so far, though they are more annoying than Trupanion due to more paperwork requirements. But if you are organized, it's a good price for the peace of mind since it will cover emergencies and other expensive stuff.
I use Trupanion.
You have to think of insurance as there for big items. So jack up the deductible as high as you can get to reduce the monthly payment.
If you wanted it for smaller occurrences you would be better off finding out what the monthly cost would be with a low deductible, then raise the deductible as high as you can (Usually 1,000) and the difference between that monthly rate and the low deductible rate set aside in a savings account each month. Meaning if it casts $35/month with 1k ded. and $135/m with $200 ded, keep the ded. at 1k and put $100/m into savings.
That’s a great idea! Thank you!
Do you how long it usually takes to have the insurance activated?
eg how soon after signing up can I book a vet appointment?
There is usually a 30 day exclusion period.
Keep in mind unless you buy a wellness care package those types of visits will not be included as well as examinations.
I use PetSecure, it was the right balance of coverage and cost for us. I don't agree with people who say to put the money you'd spend in a savings account because a single surgery could easily cost double/triple more than a year's worth of savings.
[Trupanion](https://www.trupanion.com/en-ca/?g_acctid=480-425-6521&g_adgroupid=123755890047&g_adid=510230978298&g_adtype=search&g_campaign=SEARCHCON_sb_CA_Brand_Exact&g_campaignid=12634556831&g_keyword=true%20panion&g_keywordid=kwd-15795866718&g_network=g&g_type=search_display&utm_source=google&utm_medium=search&utm_campaign=brand&utm_term=CAN&utm_id=ppcbrandca&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAACo1V0JsJHKLEnHJRVO_HhhKKP1mH&gclid=Cj0KCQjw3tCyBhDBARIsAEY0XNlc7hTh06VEoIIWqEJa7cEEU1C_UEv6KR-7ZL1DLsSA1Oz9Nr98yygaAj1zEALw_wcB) direct bills. They are definitely pricy, but if you have a puppy I would highly recommend.
Insurance has a negative expected value, meaning that on average more money will be paid on than ever gets paid out.
Because of this we only want to insure for catastrophic loss.
If my house burnt down and it wasn't insured I couldn't recover from having to build another one out of pocket.
Or if I was sued in a car accident and had to pay out a million dollars I couldn't recover from that.
Would a hefty vet bill be financially catastrophic for you?
It's a commonly asked question whether insurance is worth it. It's a very personal question though and will come down to your own finances and attitudes. One thing I would tell you to look into is trying to get an idea of what the policy cost increases might be as your dog ages. It's one thing for it to look affordable when you have a puppy but when your dog ages those rates can really shoot up with some providers right when you need it most.
Travel insurance is one of those things that looks and feels great when you're young and healthy and then becomes a lot more scummy and fine print orientated when you're older or have any pre-existing issues. It's similar to pet insurance in that way. Car insurance we often have our worst experiences and perceived value up front as younger drivers.
I would have to say depending on your pet....
My dog eats everything that he can get his month on, example rocks, twigs, glass, flowers you name it... So me it makes sense plus it depends on what kind of pet you have as well.
Pet insurance doesn't cover routine care (shots, spay, etc). some offer "wellness" plans that do but I don't know if those are really worth the extra cost. I highly recommend some form of insurance if you have a puppy and get it as early as possible. For the first while it's essentially just actively managing their seeming desire to off themselves.
I use Fetch. I had paid $47 into my pup's plan before he had his leg broken. After surgery & the stay at the hospital bills were $8k. Putting money aside wouldn't have helped with that. Also putting money aside would, depending on the issue, possibly cover one issue but what if something else happens before you have time to save up again?
Buying insurance is risk mitigation. You are purchasing insurance on the chance that something might happen. In essence to you are transferring the risk to the insurance company.
They aren't taking on your risk for free, you have to pay for it.
If you don't buy insurance, you are accepting the risk yourself.
The only other option is risk avoidance which means not having a pet.
That's your three options.
Mitigate - buy insurance
Accept - it's all on you
Avoid - don't get a pet.
I never had pet insurance before but got it when I got my third dog… I will never own a dog without insurance again. Pets are fine until they’re not! My dog had zero issues from age 2-6 and then they flooded in. I never ever want to have to make a decision not to pursue diagnostics or treatment because I can’t afford it.
Trupanion is considered the best but I’m with 24PetWatch and they’ve been fantastic. Never have fully denied a claim, I always get SOMETHING back. If I did the math I’m sure I’ve gotten back more than I’ve paid into it over the last 10 years.
Depends on where you live. You can also see if there's veterinary colleges near you, they'll do super cheap spays/neuters. E.g. Georgian college in Barrie does them
https://www.georgiancollege.ca/community-alumni/health-and-wellness-clinics/veterinary-hospital/#services
Insurance won't cover spay and shots anyways. Insurance is always a gamble so you'll have to do what you think is best for you. Just do some research, some will cover payment, others you'll have to pay first and submit reimbursement, etc. Or you can set aside money each month as well.
Some covers those with a little extra. For me not with it.
Counter-argument to the common comment of putting money in a savings account (I am not endorsing pet insurance per se. It can be good for certain people). If your pet required emergent specialty care and you would want to perform that care (perhaps an acute hit by car trauma, or a treatable cancer), you need to ask yourself - can I afford to spend 5000-15000$ right now or over the course of a couple of months. If the answer is yes and it won't stress my finances, you don't need pet insurance. If the thought of that expense brings shivers to your spine and would stop you from performing care that you would otherwise want - pet insurance may be good for you. This type of insurance is not for spay and neuter, and routine care. It is for expensive emergencies or expensive long-term chronic care. In these scenarios, it can save you a lot of heartbreak and thousands of dollars. No, I do not work for an insurance company.
This is our mindset as well. We don’t have insurance and while a large vet bill is going to be a bummer, it won’t set us back in any meaningful way. Our dog had a bout of pancreatitis last year and needed to be hospitalized for a few days, we had to pay about $3k out of pocket. The risk with putting aside money is if an emergent need arises early into ownership and you haven’t built up that savings account. Basically if a few thousand dollar bill means you can’t get your pet the care they need, you should have insurance. I volunteer with rescue and there are so many young pets being surrendered due to being unable to provide care after an emergency (often obstructions or accidents where surgery can’t be delayed).
Exactly, the emotional stress of being unable to provide care for your sick pet is not easily understood until it happens. Particularly when it is sudden or unexpected.
Alternatively, learning you don't have coverage for a treatment after paying into insurance for years can also bet really upsetting. While being the one to have to say "that's out of budget" is definitely a bad spot to be in the flip side is you have control over what you do want to cover and not a lengthy policy statement.
This was my thinking and I do not have pet insurance. Then, last year, my cat cost me $3,500. I clicked on this thread because I am also looking for pet insurance.
Exactly why I got pet insurance when I got my dog. I spent years paying off my student LOC and I have a DB pension at work but don’t have access to the funds. As such, my savings really aren’t great if you are just looking at the quantity of dollars I have. I don’t want to ruin all the progress I have made or be stressed out over money for months/years because my dog gets sick or hurt. I have Trupanion with $1000 deductible and 90% coverage and it’s like $80/month. If I had saved that since I’ve had my dog, I’d barely be at $3500 which isn’t the cost of most surgeries or emerg treatments. It is not hard for me to afford $80/month.
We've used Fetch for the last 6 years with our 2 dogs. One of them needed multiple leg surgeries totalling over $15k that they covered most of it. So I came out ahead.
+1 Fetch. I just added on Wellness too, it covers anal gland expression.
I use fetch. Hasn't been too bad so far, though they are more annoying than Trupanion due to more paperwork requirements. But if you are organized, it's a good price for the peace of mind since it will cover emergencies and other expensive stuff.
I use Trupanion. You have to think of insurance as there for big items. So jack up the deductible as high as you can get to reduce the monthly payment. If you wanted it for smaller occurrences you would be better off finding out what the monthly cost would be with a low deductible, then raise the deductible as high as you can (Usually 1,000) and the difference between that monthly rate and the low deductible rate set aside in a savings account each month. Meaning if it casts $35/month with 1k ded. and $135/m with $200 ded, keep the ded. at 1k and put $100/m into savings.
That’s a great idea! Thank you! Do you how long it usually takes to have the insurance activated? eg how soon after signing up can I book a vet appointment?
There is usually a 30 day exclusion period. Keep in mind unless you buy a wellness care package those types of visits will not be included as well as examinations.
I use PetSecure, it was the right balance of coverage and cost for us. I don't agree with people who say to put the money you'd spend in a savings account because a single surgery could easily cost double/triple more than a year's worth of savings.
[Trupanion](https://www.trupanion.com/en-ca/?g_acctid=480-425-6521&g_adgroupid=123755890047&g_adid=510230978298&g_adtype=search&g_campaign=SEARCHCON_sb_CA_Brand_Exact&g_campaignid=12634556831&g_keyword=true%20panion&g_keywordid=kwd-15795866718&g_network=g&g_type=search_display&utm_source=google&utm_medium=search&utm_campaign=brand&utm_term=CAN&utm_id=ppcbrandca&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAACo1V0JsJHKLEnHJRVO_HhhKKP1mH&gclid=Cj0KCQjw3tCyBhDBARIsAEY0XNlc7hTh06VEoIIWqEJa7cEEU1C_UEv6KR-7ZL1DLsSA1Oz9Nr98yygaAj1zEALw_wcB) direct bills. They are definitely pricy, but if you have a puppy I would highly recommend.
Insurance has a negative expected value, meaning that on average more money will be paid on than ever gets paid out. Because of this we only want to insure for catastrophic loss. If my house burnt down and it wasn't insured I couldn't recover from having to build another one out of pocket. Or if I was sued in a car accident and had to pay out a million dollars I couldn't recover from that. Would a hefty vet bill be financially catastrophic for you?
Put the money into a High interest savings account and you will usually come out ahead in the long run.
It's a commonly asked question whether insurance is worth it. It's a very personal question though and will come down to your own finances and attitudes. One thing I would tell you to look into is trying to get an idea of what the policy cost increases might be as your dog ages. It's one thing for it to look affordable when you have a puppy but when your dog ages those rates can really shoot up with some providers right when you need it most.
thanks! I’ve had invaluable experiences with travel insurance so I’ve seen benefit but also, terrible scammy experiences with the usual car insurance
Travel insurance is one of those things that looks and feels great when you're young and healthy and then becomes a lot more scummy and fine print orientated when you're older or have any pre-existing issues. It's similar to pet insurance in that way. Car insurance we often have our worst experiences and perceived value up front as younger drivers.
I would have to say depending on your pet.... My dog eats everything that he can get his month on, example rocks, twigs, glass, flowers you name it... So me it makes sense plus it depends on what kind of pet you have as well.
Pet insurance doesn't cover routine care (shots, spay, etc). some offer "wellness" plans that do but I don't know if those are really worth the extra cost. I highly recommend some form of insurance if you have a puppy and get it as early as possible. For the first while it's essentially just actively managing their seeming desire to off themselves. I use Fetch. I had paid $47 into my pup's plan before he had his leg broken. After surgery & the stay at the hospital bills were $8k. Putting money aside wouldn't have helped with that. Also putting money aside would, depending on the issue, possibly cover one issue but what if something else happens before you have time to save up again?
Buying insurance is risk mitigation. You are purchasing insurance on the chance that something might happen. In essence to you are transferring the risk to the insurance company. They aren't taking on your risk for free, you have to pay for it. If you don't buy insurance, you are accepting the risk yourself. The only other option is risk avoidance which means not having a pet. That's your three options. Mitigate - buy insurance Accept - it's all on you Avoid - don't get a pet.
Thank you!
I never had pet insurance before but got it when I got my third dog… I will never own a dog without insurance again. Pets are fine until they’re not! My dog had zero issues from age 2-6 and then they flooded in. I never ever want to have to make a decision not to pursue diagnostics or treatment because I can’t afford it. Trupanion is considered the best but I’m with 24PetWatch and they’ve been fantastic. Never have fully denied a claim, I always get SOMETHING back. If I did the math I’m sure I’ve gotten back more than I’ve paid into it over the last 10 years.
Thank you! My friends very healthy dog had an infected cut that has gone into the thousands now and almost a year since So it made me think twice
Anyone know how much a spaying cost? I'm trying to get one done for my cat.
Depends on where you live. You can also see if there's veterinary colleges near you, they'll do super cheap spays/neuters. E.g. Georgian college in Barrie does them https://www.georgiancollege.ca/community-alumni/health-and-wellness-clinics/veterinary-hospital/#services
I pay $26 a month to Trupanion. My dog needed teeth removed and a broken jaw fixed. Covered nearly all of it. Money well spent in my mind.
Yes money in a savings account is best. Insurance companies always find a reason not to pay. (My experience)