Pet insurance?

Post Feline health, behavior, and veterinary questions here
Post Reply
kiggityca
Posts: 47
Joined: Sun Jul 10, 2005 10:20 pm

Pet insurance?

Post by kiggityca »

Does anyone have pet insurance? Is it worth having? I'm getting a 5-yr-old cat and plan to keep him indoors to minimize the possibility of injuries/illness, so hopefully he'll only need yearly exams and maybe medications as he gets older. Not sure how much they usually charge or how cooperative they are in covering basic care. I'd appreciate anyone's experiences with it! Thanks!!
User avatar
Phoebe's human
Posts: 248
Joined: Sun Sep 05, 2004 2:09 pm
Location: Portland, OR

Re: Pet insurance?

Post by Phoebe's human »

I had health insurance during the last several years of my previous cat's life (she died when she was almost 13). I have an impression that in this case it was six of one and half a dozen of the other.

It seemed like a great windfall every time a refund check came along, but when I added up the total expenses I had to pay for the year and added in the premiums for the insurance, I'm not sure I came out ahead.

Some years I seemed to do better with the insurance, but ON THE OTHER HAND, and this is a big issue for me, wading through all of the ifs, ands, and buts in the policy--and the frequent changes and updates that came in the mail--was a chore. So was keeping track of the premiums paid and the amounts allowed on each claim.

Almost more trouble than it was worth, in my opinion. But different people with pets with different health problems might have a very different story to tell.
itineran
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat Oct 01, 2005 8:15 pm

Re: Pet insurance?

Post by itineran »

We are considering getting pet health insurance for our two cats because of stories heard from friends about their pets.

For one friend: it cost $ 4,000 to diagnose and treat her very obese dog's diabetes (for this reason, we make sure to monitor our cat's weights, and to keep their weight normal).

Another friend: it cost him $ 800 for x-rays and treatment of his cat's abcess tooth
Eric,
Toronto, Canada
Post Reply