Given recent events I thought this might be a nice time to discuss pet insurance. I know there's a lot of opinions on pet insurance. I used to think I didn't need it. I could put some money aside every month and that would be sufficient. I have changed my mind.
My technician's lovely 15 month old dog was hit by a car and over $5000 later we still ended up having to say goodbye to the sweet boy. After coming in and seeing me as an after hours emergency, I sent him to the local emergency hospital where he could have surgery to stop internal bleeding. Once stabilized he was supposed to have his broken femur fixed. The details aren't particularly important for the big picture here. What it made me realize is that my guys could have an accident or crisis, or even a complicated disease that requires a referal hospital. Even as a vet I do not get any special discounts at other clinics or specialty hospitals. And I sure don't have $10, 000 lying around at my disposal. So even vets need pet insurance.
You definitely need to do your research and find a company where the policies work for you. I do hear a lot of people saying that they don't get their money's worth from insurance so it's not worth it. I'd like to encourage you to look at it from a different angle. You don't need to "get your money back" or "claim more than you pay". To me, at least, I am paying for peace of mind. I am paying for a guarantee that I will be able to take care of my animals. So if something were to happen I don't have to think "Can I afford that? Where will I get that money?" and I can just say, "Yes, do it".
However, I think I WILL get my money's worth on this calendar year. On top of the UTI, Kili decided today that she was going to break with explosive, bloody diarrhea! Good thing I got the highest level of insurance on this one... she might be a lemon! She's also got an ultrasound booked for tomorrow. Fingers crossed that we don't find any weird anatomic abnormalities!
1 comment:
We have it for the 'peace of mind' factor, that and ours includes Public Liability insurance just in case one of the boofheads knocks someone over at the park. A friend of mine had an incident where her dog ran into someone's leg and caused a knee reconstruction. She had to pay for it. In that scenario our insurance would cover it!
It has been fairly good value for us in terms of premiums/claims as well though. You never know whether your dog is going to be a risk or not until they do some damage to themselves !
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