Dog insurance

[Big Gunner]

Does anyone have dog insurance? And if so who do you recommend.
I can see how easy something can happen like bad cuts, broken bones, animal run ins(I pray rocco never runs into a porcupine or coyote). Not to mention I have heard from a lot of dog owners haveing had dogs pull leg ligaments and pulled hamstrings. And I don't see that being cheap

[MikePal]

Hey BG, we've had dog insurance policies on our dogs for the past 8-9 yrs. My wife started to buy it when she bought her first Burnese Mountain Dog. Originally we dealt with Petsecure, now we have policies with Trupanion.http://trupanion.com/canada

The two previous Berness we had both required TPLO (knee) surgeries (x3) which ran about $3.2K each. So we definitely got our money spent on the policies recovered and then some. Petsecure was excellent and we had no problem with the claims. Having the policies sure helped in the decision making process when confronted with the quotes for the surgery.

I can't remember exactly why we switched to Trupanion, but there was a few things that were better and based on the recommendation by the Animal Hospital in Ottawa, we switched when we got our 3rd Bernese. Although have have no claims submitted with them yet, knock on wood, we have friend,s who are also with them, and the coverage and claims process are excellent.

[Dakota Creek]

We had PetPlan insurance on the dogs a number of years ago. We discovered that after legitimate claims (that were covered) were made, our deductible suddenly was moved higher as did the monthly payments.

With multiple dogs we found the better route was to take the money that was being paid to the insurance company on a monthly basis and create a separate dog emergency account. The chance with this is an emergency arises before you have had a chance to create a "fund" or two BIG issues back to back. May not work for everyone, but with multiple dogs it works for us!

[Sharon]

I believe in saving rather than insurance BUT after $10 000. on 2 TPLOs for one setter, I decided to go with insurance for the JRT- not the other setter as she is almost 14.

I use petsplusus. I pay $60.00 a month for accident and illness. They pay 80% and I pay 20 % on any claim.
Maximum benefit is $7 500 a year. One deductible of $200.

That's the category I have. There are other category choices.

I don't know if it's good deal , but it gives me peace of mind , now that I'm retired and have less money.

[bonecollector23]

I have petsecure for my pup. No issues with them. I had to two claims with them so far and no problem. I have it for peace of mind and if something serious happen ( knocking on wood) with my pup then money will not be an issue for treatment.

Bc23


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[yellow dog]

Never have never will and have a separate rainy day account to dip into. Have a good vet with reasonable rates as well as connections that should have to do major surgery's at an affordable price. Build a relationship with them based on integrity ,qualifications and trust. Ask lots of questions be prepared .

[Waftrudnir]

insurance companies make money by insuring pets to their conditions. you need to answer for yourself if your pet is at an elevated risk so you might gain more than you pay over the dogs life span.
in addition, you need to ask yourself if you were wiling and able to spend 8k tomorrow on a major surgery if something happens (alternative is to put the dog down). lots of pets get surrendered because the owner cannot (or is not willing to) pay, which is really sad (to say the least).
but just because you have insurance does not mean you don't need to save on the side! policies are often capped and you need to pay the 20% (or more deductible). So say your policy is max. $7k/a and 80% and your dog has two really major accidents (5k + 6k) in a single year, the insurer would pay 5,600 and you have to come up with 5,400 (plus whatever you have already paid monthly).
I don't have a policy and put some money on the side instead. Right choice? I still feel it is, but at the same time I would have already recovered my money due to one freak accident last year.
Whatever you do, unless you get the top plan (which would really cost you) save on the side for the unexpected!

[Ugo]

I'm with you Waftrudnir. The downside is rates have been inflated to accommodate third party revenue. That means we ALL pay the inflated rates - insured or not.