It's been a dilemma for us for a very long time. The main reason? We don't like insurance companies and we don't trust them.
Insurance companies are not charity organizations.
They are businesses; they are in it to make money. And as they say in Vegas, “the house always wins.” So why would anybody ever pay for any insurance?
We were struggling with this dilemma when we got Jasmine.
We asked her vet at the time what the cost of some common mishaps and accidents could be. We then decided, that instead of paying insurance, we would put an equal amount into a savings account instead. Made perfect sense to us and it is an advice you'll often hear.
It was the advice we got from Jasmine's chiropractor when we mentioned we were considering getting pet health insurance for JD.
Logical, isn't it?
We had five thousand dollars put aside in a dedicated savings account for Jasmine's unexpected vet bills and we felt very good about it.
And then Jasmine injured her knee. Then a mass was found in her abdomen. Then she busted her other knee. Then she ended up spending a week in the ICU at the teaching hospital after her drug-induced hyperthermia …
Over sixty five thousand dollars of veterinary bills later (and that's just for the past four years) the five thousand dollars, we'd originally saved, turned out to be about as good a spit in the ocean.
Here is the question, though, how much of that would have actually been covered and paid had we had an insurance?
Jasmine's acupuncture vet adopted a dog who ended up with back-to-back health issues, similar to Jasmine. She did have an insurance. Guess what? After a number of claims, the insurance cut her off.
Getting pet health insurance is one thing. But what does it cover, how much does it pay up, and under what conditions?
Does one actually need to get a lawyer in order to figure out all the different policies and conditions in order to get an insurance that will do them any good?
With Jasmine, it is what it is. But what about JD?
JD might of course remain perfectly healthy for his entire life. Not all dogs get sick and keep on getting sick. But short of having a crystal ball, there is no telling what might happen.
Every time I watch JD throw up bunch of wood chunks, run after a squirrel without any regard for the terrain and obstacles, or simply run into things expecting them to get out of the way, I get covered in cold sweat.
We don't have any more money or credit to draw from!
Frankly, we don't even have any extra money to spend on an insurance. Jasmine is an ongoing project and expense.
We discussed this over and over, time and time again. We looked at different policies from different pet health insurance companies. We looked at the premiums and the conditions. And we kept procrastinating. Stories we heard did very little to encourage us.
With JD, I mostly worry about intestinal obstruction, intestinal perforation, broken limbs, busted knees, bloat …
Many companies offer insurance at reasonable rates. But when you look at the policies, you'll find that the policy might cover only say up to $2,500 per accident/illness/year.
Well, that is all fine and dandy, but how much of veterinary care does that really buy?
- Jasmine's hospitalization after her drug-induced hyperthermia, and to remove an abdominal abscess – $13,000
- Lilly's severe adverse reaction to a rabies vaccine – $16,000 (or more, I don't know the exact number; the insurance covered something around $3,500)
- Ella's hospitalization and surgery after ingesting a string – $7,000
- Diagnostics and treatment/surgery of cruciate ligament injury – $5,000
- Ella's syringomyelia diagnostics and treatment – $10,000 plus
- Cancer diagnostics and treatment – $10,000 - $20,000 plus
- IVDD diagnostics and surgery – $8,000 plus
And for all that you'd get $2,500 minus your deductible. So that is not very helpful, is it?
A friend of mine had a coverage that included stem cell therapy. Awesome, right? So they did the treatment and the insurance paid. $150. (Stem cell therapy comes to $2,500 plus, depending on where you have it done) Their policy covered stem cell treatment but had a maximum of $150 for arthritis treatment per year! That wouldn't even cover the cost of NSAIDs!
Makes you wanna run out and get one [pet health insurance], doesn't it?
Some plans out there offer coverage up to $5,000 per accident/illness/year. That's better, but apart from the knee injury, doesn't really cover any real disasters either, does it?
If we were going to pay for an insurance, we wanted to be covered no matter what happens. You can't tell your dog to get hurt/sick only within the coverage you happen to have.
Our sentiment in that regard was clear. We're not going to waste our money on insurance just to get a consolation prize.
Then we found an insurance who has a premium plan that offers unlimited coverage per accident or illness. Sounds good, right? They even cover things such as annual check-ups and dental cleaning. HOWEVER—and there always seems to be a however—they pay out only up to 80% of the actual cost (minus the deductible, of course). AND if you make too many claims they can lower it all the way down to 50%!
No wonder we kept abandoning the idea of getting pet health insurance.
Not to mention all the things that don't get covered anyways, such as pre-existing conditions, hereditary conditions ...
Is there actually ANY way to get insured AND covered?
On the other hand, as healthy as he is, JD is a disaster waiting to happen...
The most no-nonsense plan we could find is with Trupanion.
The core policy covers
- Accidents
- Illnesses
- Hereditary conditions (other than hip dysplasia)
- Congenital conditions
- Diagnostic tests
- Surgeries
- Medications
- Hospital stays
- Veterinary supplements
There is no lifetime limit per claim, per incident, or per year and no lifetime payout limit. It pays 90% of the cost (minus deductible). It seems simple and sweet.
So JD is now officially a Trupanion insuree.
He is now insured—and, hopefully—covered. If we get disappointed, you'll hear about it.
Do you have a pet health insurance? Do you have misgivings with pet health insurance?
No comments:
Post a Comment