Pet health insurance—do you have it? Do you wish you had it? Are you interested, but you’re not sure where to start? I know many pet owners who are in that situation, especially if they have puppies and young dogs with no pre-existing conditions.
Is pet insurance worth it? How does it work? What policies are best? I asked pet professionals about their personal experiences and recommendations.
Flacortia Rosiea I added up what I’ve spent on four dogs over the last 11 years and what I would have paid in premiums. By not buying insurance, I’m $5,000 ahead. And there’s been no skimping on vet care.
Toni Vignogna I wished I had coverage when my five-year-old rescue, Stella, had a dental done last month. She had nine extractions. It cost $1,320.
Donna Furneaux I had it and dropped it. Premiums for older pets were high—high deductibles as well. So I put the amount I would have paid in premiums into an investment-savings account. I was ahead by $3,000 after 12 years. But I am very good at allocating money that I earn. For example I have never had a car loan. Always bought new and for cash because I put $$$ away. Did the same thing for the dogs.
Jim Mihalek Libby was originally with Purinacare, which was very good. They were sold to 24 Pet Watch in early 2013. I read some online reviews of them, and they were not very good. We switched Fever, Toke, and Splash to Embrace because we had heard many good things about them. I had just submitted a claim for Libby which would ultimately lead to her cancer diagnosis, so we could not switch her. In the end, 24 Pet Watch paid everything (80/20). She went through two rounds of radiation treatment for spinal meningioma, and all of the follow-ups. She also ended up with leukemia and, toward the end, seizures and cognitive disorder. They paid everything without question except for some very minor things—far and above what they got in premiums from me. They did not excessively jack up the premiums either. In her last year, the premiums jumped quite a bit, but I believe that was simply due to her age.
Fever had Embrace and until a few months ago, I never had submitted a claim. Once we got through a few initial hiccups, they have paid everything as well. The hiccup was after submitting the first claim, they asked for 12 months of vet records from before she was covered. That is okay, except they already had them. They got all that prior to covering her. They did the same thing when Sara filed a claim for Splash when she had cancer. When you get that news and are dealing with it, you don’t need the extra aggravation. A terse email to Embrace got that clarified and there have been no further issues.
There are many things to look at when deciding what to get. Most companies will allow you to pick your deductible amount and co-pay. That will affect your premium. Watch for annual or lifetime limits. Not necessarily to avoid them, just to be aware of them. Some do have exclusions for some diseases such as cancer. Some will also exclude bilateral conditions such as ACL—they will cover one, but not the other, since they commonly go out one shortly after the other. Of course, pre-existing conditions are a factor. The sooner you can get them covered the better to avoid that problem. I would not bother with the coverage for routine or wellness care. It appears to be a break even at best.
Some people don’t like pet health insurance because if they don’t use it, then it is a waste. Well, then, so is house insurance or car insurance. I prefer the peace of mind knowing that in a serious situation such as cancer or if they got hit by a car, I would not have to make a decision based on finances alone. The majority of the plans you pay up front and they reimburse you, so you will need to have the cash up front. Some are starting to make arrangements with vets to pay them directly.
Photo by Katie Casell
Beth Fabel I did the math over a 10-year period and decided the odds were better for me to have a savings account and a credit card, especially having several dogs and older dogs. It’s true that having it right at the beginning and having a huge bill would probably have saved me money, but saving the equivalent of a year’s premiums over many years has put me way ahead. It helps I have a great vet and a reasonable emergency vet and am comfortable enough that I can afford to save money and have a high-credit, low interest-rate credit card available.
Monthly premiums x 12 months x 10 years x 3 dogs, also taking into account the fact costs will rise with age, compared to what amount I could take as a financial hit based on my savings and the amount of credit I have available and how much I am willing to spend on a dog health issue.
We have a decent savings in our rainy day account; we have two cards with low rates and a 10K limit. So, I can handle the hit if needed. Were I in a different place financially, I would be less likely to risk the need to have that big deductible and I’d pay a little more each month to avoid an expense I can’t afford later.
Sarah Langevin-Gaspar I have wooly huskies. As such, we end up having a lot of health issues. Several vet bills have been 10k! Insurance covered 90%. Honestly, for us, it ends up being cheaper in the long run. However, you still have to have the $$$ up front, which is a down side.
Diane Pinkerton I would not own a golden retriever without insurance. Probably any breed, but for sure my goldens.
Annie Zeck My poor dog had Cushings and low thyroid and diabetes insipidus at age 12. The night she had a massive heart attack, we put her down and that night was about $1000. I never added up all the expensive tests and outrageously expensive medication; she was my darling. Now I have insurance on my 11-year-old dog and bought it when I got my puppy. It’s really for problems, not regular stuff, and that’s what I need. I wouldn’t be without it again. We live in the woods with coyotes.
Cathy Reisfield We currently have Healthy Paws for both dogs . . . and it’s more than paid out over the past three years. Easy to file a claim, easy to interact with.
Debby McMullen I have Pets Best and have had them for years and I love them. If you want elaboration, I have had several high-dollar amount claims. I spent $10,000 treating my heart dog for cancer through VIP. And with Pets Best, Kenzo has cost them far more than his insurance cost me with two TPLO surgeries and a molar fracture extraction and monthly injections for arthritis . . . and he’s only five years old.
Darlene Bryant Pets are family! Therefore, you need to take care of your pets as you would the other members of your family. We have had Nationwide Pet Insurance, formerly VPI, for the past 25 years. We have never had a claim denied. 5 STARS, highly recommended without reservations!
Amy Suggars I have Embrace Pet Insurance and just recently submitted a claim. It was processed quickly and they covered my expenses (minus the deductible). I know that any follow-up care will be fully covered. I just found out that the premiums are going up, but they are adding prescription drug coverage. I wish I could have such good health insurance for myself!
Amy Fumetti-Levine We have Nationwide for all of ours. We have the whole health plan that covers wellness and illness/injury. It’s a bit more per month, but they pay all claims at 90% after a $250 annual deductible. I should mention that we are currently going through a cancer battle with one of our dogs and this policy has been awesome.
Linda D. Keast Trupanion has gotten our three dogs through two cancers, one hernia, serious spinal injuries, and a ton of non-surgical gastric adventures. Caveat: they do not cover “pre-existing conditions,” so you want to get a policy before your dog has the inevitable medical problems.
Lori Leah Monet It brings to mind something from a lecture when I was in vet school. “Insurance is like gambling. You’re betting you’ll need it. They are betting you won’t. They’re the house. They have the odds.” Still, if you have it and don’t need it, it costs a little. If you don’t have it and need it, it could cost you a lot more. Most policies are reasonable.
Christine Flint I love Healthy Paws because it’s an annual deductible rather than per incident deductible . . . huge difference in my reimbursements as compared to PetPlan.
Jody Anne I also have Healthy Paws. I’ve used it for both of my dogs and was glad to have it. One had a TPLO knee surgery after he tore his CCL. The other got aspiration pneumonia on a cross country drive. The insurance doesn’t cover the actual office visit, but does cover all diagnostics and treatment (less the annual deductible). I have a 90% reimbursement on both plans with just a $100 deductible, so it works out well.
Christine Hale Vertucci We use Embrace. We chose our coverage, reimbursement level, and deductible amount. We ended up with some expensive vet bills this year, so I was really glad to have it, and we have been reimbursed much more than I paid for the annual premiums (I pay them annually rather than monthly for a small discount).
BTW, I noticed that at least one company, can’t remember which, does not cover canine influenza. Perhaps it will be different now that there is an available vaccine, but Omar was hospitalized with pneumonia due to the flu very early in the Chicago outbreak (before we even knew what it was). We didn’t have insurance for him, and his hospital bill was close to $3K. I was lucky to be able to pay that, as well as to find a space in the overcrowded hospitals. I know of many other owners who experienced much different outcomes. Omar also is minimally vaccinated due to a history of vaccine reactions, so he probably wouldn’t have been protected anyway. My point is to read the coverage and exclusions very carefully. Also review your vet notes carefully before signing your dog up, as no pre-existing conditions are covered on any plan. A new vet in the clinic I’ve taken my dogs to for 10 years added a condition to Omar’s record that was never discussed with us, and that I believed to be a mistake. If Omar were to ever develop that condition “for real,” it wouldn’t be covered.
Kelly Byam An insurance plan isn’t an investment. It’s a gamble. You are betting your pet will have a catastrophic illness or injury, and the insurers are betting against you. They usually win.
But you (and your pet) win when it matters the most; when euthanasia, surrender or suffering are the only other options because it is rare to have ten thousand you could just put on a credit card.
Ettel Edshteyn *waves hand* Cautionary tale over here! My dog had a freak accident where she swallowed a treat that perforated her esophagus. After multiple complications, she was in the ICU for two weeks, almost didn’t make it multiple times. My bill was capped at 20k. I maxed out all my credit cards and left the hospital with 10 dollars in the bank. Plus two months of intensive follow-up treatment at home where I really couldn’t work. Otherwise healthy dog, happened just after her first birthday. I didn’t have pet health insurance at the time, that’s why I had to pay it all out of pocket.
Read reviews of pet insurance companies from thousands of pet owners so you can be better informed when it comes to choosing the right policy for you and your pet:
https://www.petinsurancereview.com
