Pet Insurance...For it.....or Against it...and why - Page 3

I hear this all the time that people will just put up money in savings for emergency and that's fine but how much are you going to have saved up?  Putting up $50 or $100 a month is not going to go far in a true emergency that can easily cost a few thousand.  What about chronic conditions?  Nikki's medical care and home prepared diet adds up to about $1,000 per month.  Even if people have that kind of money, I know for a fact many that wouldn't spend it on a dog.

Just the first year of Nikki's care was around $10,000 (parvo, demodex, allergies, EPI and more).  Why would vet costs rise because of insurance?  You have to pay the vet up front just like anyone who doesn't have insurance.  They are not going to make care unaffordable for the majority of their clients who don't have insurance.

You have to pay the vet up front just like anyone who doesn't have insurance.
Which is one reason I won't use insurance. If I don't have the money, how does that help?  A line of credit can be used up front, plus many right now have good promos where there's no interest for 15-29 months. Like I already said, if anyone is going to make money off of my veterinary emergency I would rather it be my local credit union (where I do all my other banking) than a pet insurance company. I can't think of what my local vet could possibly do to my dog that I could not pay back in two years.  Some of the costs people are quoting in this thread sound like highway robbery to me.  If I had paid insurance on the dogs I've had so far I'd probably be near ten thousand dollars in the hole already because my dogs have been healthy and my vet is not ripping me off for routine care or minor procedures. I've never paid more (or even close) to $1000 in one YEAR on total vet care for 2-4 dogs.

Which is one reason I won't use insurance. If I don't have the money, how does that help?

It helps because you get reimbursed for it.  Most people have a credit card for emergencies.  People are entitled to their opinions but I don't believe that veterinarians are out to rip us off, etc.  And if you feel yours is then it's time to find a new one, we have a great veterinarian and I am very lucky to have found him.  People always want the best care for cheap, it just doesn't work that way.  You get what you pay for!

If you never paid more than $1,000 a year for your dogs then consider yourself lucky.  For the rest of us, that had/have dogs with chronic health issues things are different.  Nikki's emergency surgery for septic abdomen was anything but minor and without it she wouldn't be here today.  Viokase is not optional, she uses two bottles per month, one bottle costs $200 (Drs. Foster & Smith).

People need to do what they feel is right for them but I know for a fact that many dogs get euthanized because their owners can't afford to pay for surgery or emergency care.  Let's just take the estimate I received for Nikki's parvo:  I was quoted a high estimate of $900 a day for a maximum of 10 days.  I didn't even had to think about it and told them to do what ever they needed to.  She was only 9 weeks old and I had no idea if Petplan would cover it or not.  She ended up having a very mild case and only stayed three days for a total of $1,600.  

Another great reason for insurance:  http://www.monicasegal.com/wordpress/?s=insurance&op.x=0&op.y=0

Personally, unless you are independently wealthy, I think pet insurance is a great idea. Most will reimburse you 80% of your bills. As a specialist, I have seen hospitalization bills go as high as 20,000 for severe trauma events, so why wouldn't someone want to get some of that money in return. Yes, I know that not everyone is going to go to that extreme, but it is peace of mind. Yes you need to lay out the money up front, but knowing that you can pay that credit card bill later has got to be a comfort.