Is insurance worth it?

D

Donea

Guest
I looked at the insurance plans and stuff and realized that it's not so apeeling to me.

Whole idea of insurance is good, but I see that I might be better of just trasfering, a few bucks to separate account for my doggo.
Only way it could be profitable is death insurance, cause I done the math and it looks like I could get more money out of it based on average lifespan of dog, but my boi is going to live longer, cause it's gonna have better condisions than average.

Beasicly I see insurance plan as just complicated way to force yourself to save money for a dogs vet bills.
 
I have medical insurance through vet about $45/mth per dog. Covers regular shots, check ups, etc. And discounts on food, meds. Worth it for me for peace of mind.
 
ManLovesDog said:
I have medical insurance through vet about $45/mth per dog. Covers regular shots, check ups, etc. And discounts on food, meds. Worth it for me for peace of mind.
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Yeah, but what if you'd instead saved 45$ and use that saved money to pay for vet.

Do you think that you'd save money or not?
Do you know how much you spend on vet bills?
Can you tell how much money you save on food and meds via insurance?

I'm kinda going to use you as my informator here. 😅
 
when you pick a breed, look at common health issues of them and then look how much on average treating them costs where you live. how many transfers of "few bucks" would cover it? surgeries are generally very expensive.
 
Yeah, but what if you'd instead saved 45$ and use that saved money to pay for vet. Investment decision on my part. That being said, right now I only have one dog to cover. There's an economy of scale influence in that decision. If I had more than one dog I'd consider banking funds.

Do you think that you'd save money or not? $540/year insurance expense is probably a little more than annual average expense. But I'm willing to pay a little more for peace of mind and stabilized expense.
Do you know how much you spend on vet bills? $300-$500 estimated average.
Can you tell how much money you save on food and meds via insurance? 10%. Not a lot but I like I get vet advice too.
 
nekdoneco123 said:
when you pick a breed, look at common health issues of them and then look how much on average treating them costs where you live. how many transfers of "few bucks" would cover it? surgeries are generally very expensive.
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I know surgeries are expensive they are a huge problem. I'm thinking about having also some money at your disposal to add to those saving just in case.

My plan for this moment is to gather a bit of money at my saving account before getting an dog and then add a bit every month. Pups need health care too so I might need a bit of head start.

Surgeries is the place I don't know much about. The only think I know is that they are expensive.
What are the ranges of prices for some emergency dog need help situations?
 
ManLovesDog said:
Do you know how much you spend on vet bills? $300-$500 estimated average.
Click to expand...
is it after discounts?

If that's how much you pay for the bills on average then if I'd done my saving plan it would only leave 40-240$ a year and that's too little for suprise expense.

I would need to save more than those 45$ a month and at best have headstart sum at the begining.
 
There are many different ways to look at insurance companies being "worth it".

If you're looking purely financials, it wouldn't be much of a business model if they paid out more then what people pay in. They've got people crunching numbers to make sure the average customer doesn't get more then they pay. Some do, most don't, overall the company stays afloat. Because you don't know if your dog will ever require more costly care, it's hard to just look at the financial side. If he never gets sick, your 45$/month x 10 years is 5400$ you didn't spend on insurance that you could use for another dog. If he does get sick, you might spend more than that on care, and if it's early on in his life that he gets sick, you might not have enough funds saved up.

So, from a peace of mind perspective, it can take the issue of money off the table if something bad happens to your dog, even if that peace of mind might cost you overall throughout his life, that's something many people consider "worth it".
Also, depending on the coverage plan, it might grant you access to specialized care that wouldn't otherwise be realistic, like expensive chemotherapy, advanced diagnostic imaging, specialized surgery, dialysis or mechanical ventilation, which can be in the 10k$ and up range. Maybe those aren't common things, and they might not be for everybody, but if you have an emergency and they throw scary big numbers at you, it's one less thing to worry about.

Also, cost of vet care is growing fast, especially if your dog needs specialized or emergency treatments. When you consider the different coverage plans available, you should give yourself an idea how much care in your area costs. For example, if they cover 2000$ and emergency surgery is 4000-6000$, you may or may not be getting all the peace of mind you think you're paying for. You also want to make sure you understand if they're putting exclusions in your policy (like if the dog has pre-existing problems that they won't cover)

In this area, I'd ballpark hospital stay with surgery (like pyometra or intestinal obstruction) at a regular clinic is roughly 1500-2500$, and figure 4000-6000$ in big emergency center. That might vary from place to place, you can probably get some rough estimates for frequent emergencies by talking to your vet.

I do think it's really worth having insurance if you have a puppy, like first year or two. Overall cost for 1-2 years of insurance is nothing, and that's a time where you get to know if he has dangerous habits like eating socks, throwing himself down the stairs or chewing electrical wires, or if he gets development problems like bad joints that need surgery or stuff like that.
After that, it's "worth it" if something terrible happens, that part is really a personal decision.
 
Strayward said:
[...]
If you're looking purely financials, it wouldn't be much of a business model if they paid out more then what people pay in.
[...]
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That's my main concern. I know those are private companies that want profit. That means that on a everage I need to loose money and they don't care about well beeing of my dog.

I'm thinking of getting fast loan when I get those expensive situations. I mean from friends or family. Having my dog healthy is going to be same as having my own myself healthy so no expense is going to be hard for me.

I'm thinking about getting something like few friends that have pets to have such account together. Is literally insurance done by ownself I know, but we could at the same time use that money to invest or anything to not make it sit around and do nothing. like 50% of founds is beeing invested while rest is at the disposal in case of need.
 
Donea said:
Yeah, but what if you'd instead saved 45$ and use that saved money to pay for vet.

Do you think that you'd save money or not?
Do you know how much you spend on vet bills?
Can you tell how much money you save on food and meds via insurance?

I'm kinda going to use you as my informator here. 😅
Click to expand...
Yep, that 45 bucks is gonna mean one helluva lot when the bill to treat <pick a problem> comes out in the 5 digits range.

A colic surgery on a horse an easily run between 10 and 50 thousand. Colic is one of the more frequently encountered problems in horses.

Now, about that 45 bucks a month... Still think it's too much?
 
UR20Z said:
Yep, that 45 bucks is gonna mean one helluva lot when the bill to treat <pick a problem> comes out in the 5 digits range.

A colic surgery on a horse an easily run between 10 and 50 thousand. Colic is one of the more frequently encountered problems in horses.

Now, about that 45 bucks a month... Still think it's too much?
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W8 W8 W8
I mean moastly dogs at this point.
EDIT:
I guess horsie bois need more expensive insurance?
How much it cost for such large pet?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Donea said:
is it after discounts?

If that's how much you pay for the bills on average then if I'd done my saving plan it would only leave 40-240$ a year and that's too little for suprise expense.

I would need to save more than those 45$ a month and at best have headstart sum at the begining.
Click to expand...
$300-$500 is what I'd spend without insurance or discounts. But that's only regular check ups, shots, tests. I initially purchased when my boy was a pup, when those expenses tend to be high.
I don't have insurance for major medical items. I budget that separately myself.
I'm interested to hear if others have insurance for major medical stuff.
 
ManLovesDog said:
$300-$500 is what I'd spend without insurance or discounts. But that's only regular check ups, shots, tests. I initially purchased when my boy was a pup, when those expenses tend to be high.
I don't have insurance for major medical items. I budget that separately myself.
I'm interested to hear if others have insurance for major medical stuff.
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That's intresting. It doesent cover any major treatment or does it only cover like up to some sum like 1000$?
 
Donea said:
That's intresting. It doesent cover any major treatment or does it only cover like up to some sum like 1000$?
Click to expand...
Correct. Just routine items. The program likely isn't "insurance" by definition (and correction required to my original post indicating insurance) but a "wellness plan."
 
Strayward said:
There are many different ways to look at insurance companies being "worth it".

If you're looking purely financials, it wouldn't be much of a business model if they paid out more then what people pay in. They've got people crunching numbers to make sure the average customer doesn't get more then they pay. Some do, most don't, overall the company stays afloat. Because you don't know if your dog will ever require more costly care, it's hard to just look at the financial side. If he never gets sick, your 45$/month x 10 years is 5400$ you didn't spend on insurance that you could use for another dog. If he does get sick, you might spend more than that on care, and if it's early on in his life that he gets sick, you might not have enough funds saved up.

So, from a peace of mind perspective, it can take the issue of money off the table if something bad happens to your dog, even if that peace of mind might cost you overall throughout his life, that's something many people consider "worth it".
Also, depending on the coverage plan, it might grant you access to specialized care that wouldn't otherwise be realistic, like expensive chemotherapy, advanced diagnostic imaging, specialized surgery, dialysis or mechanical ventilation, which can be in the 10k$ and up range. Maybe those aren't common things, and they might not be for everybody, but if you have an emergency and they throw scary big numbers at you, it's one less thing to worry about.

Also, cost of vet care is growing fast, especially if your dog needs specialized or emergency treatments. When you consider the different coverage plans available, you should give yourself an idea how much care in your area costs. For example, if they cover 2000$ and emergency surgery is 4000-6000$, you may or may not be getting all the peace of mind you think you're paying for. You also want to make sure you understand if they're putting exclusions in your policy (like if the dog has pre-existing problems that they won't cover)

In this area, I'd ballpark hospital stay with surgery (like pyometra or intestinal obstruction) at a regular clinic is roughly 1500-2500$, and figure 4000-6000$ in big emergency center. That might vary from place to place, you can probably get some rough estimates for frequent emergencies by talking to your vet.

I do think it's really worth having insurance if you have a puppy, like first year or two. Overall cost for 1-2 years of insurance is nothing, and that's a time where you get to know if he has dangerous habits like eating socks, throwing himself down the stairs or chewing electrical wires, or if he gets development problems like bad joints that need surgery or stuff like that.
After that, it's "worth it" if something terrible happens, that part is really a personal decision.
Click to expand...
Why would a k9 throw themselves down a stairway?
 
Reconscope said:
Why would a k9 throw themselves down a stairway?
Click to expand...
Ah, good question, I just meant some dogs are clumsy, accident prone, or poor decision makers, and at higher risk then others for illness or injury. I have met some that were less then agile when navigating stairs, but that was just an example.
 
Strayward said:
Ah, good question, I just meant some dogs are clumsy, accident prone, or poor decision makers, and at higher risk then others for illness or injury. I have met some that were less then agile when navigating stairs, but that was just an example.
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Thats somehow very cute (in a dangerous way ofc). Its distressing yes but its also its weird how animals make mistakes
 
Reconscope said:
Thats somehow very cute (in a dangerous way ofc). Its distressing yes but its also its weird how animals make mistakes
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The root of cuteness here is that silly people and animals are perceived as cute. Making mistakes is cute.

That's because
silly=unexperienced=young=innocent

We all love pupies falling on each other while playing or just watching the reaction as they are surprised when they see something new.
 
Donea said:
The root of cuteness here is that silly people and animals are perceived as cute. Making mistakes is cute.

That's because
silly=unexperienced=young=innocent

We all love pupies falling on each other while playing or just watching the reaction as they are surprised when they see something new.
Click to expand...
Wheres my awww button in the "like" button
 
Depending on the plan, yes. some plans cover annual visits, shots, dentals and nail trims. Others only cover emergencies and some only cover a select few things like it will cover blood work but not an MRI, or will cover surgery but not a broken leg. Read the fine print and choose wisely.
 
telllem said:
no, I would avoid insurance unless it's necessary
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that is such bad advice. if you care about your pet, preventative mesaures should be in place, that means insurance too. by the time you need insurance you can't have it because of a pre exisiting condition or the waiting period needs to pass first. if a dog needs a vet today, you can't wait 30 days for the insurance to take effect.
policies vary and are different than human insurance. I've seen the prices friends in America pay for their own health insurance. It's stupid expensive. But pet policies are affordable. A policy to cover everything can be as little as $50 a month. get rid of a streaming service or two or stop getting take out so many times each week and it's covered.
each policy is different, some cover everything including annual visist and shots, others are very selective. you get what you pay for. $10 a month and your dog breaks a leg but the policy won't cover the surgery. $65 and not only does it cover the surgery but take home meds, cone collar and they'll send you a get well basket for the dog.
 
Depending on what it costs; yes!!! If you’ve ever had to go to a Vet you know. A couple of years ago my girl friend bought some bones for her fixed pit/aussie mix. Saturday evening she was getting the marrow out of one of the bones and the bone flipped back and got stuck behind her teeth. There was no way she’d let me attempt anything. An emergency call to the vet, seditive, a dremal and $600.00 she was fine.
 
I'm really conflicted about this. I feel that vets rates skyrocketed as a reflection of pet insurance growth. Higher premiums, higher prices.

One thing I have trouble getting my head around is this.

My $40k vehicle costs me $88 a month. My $1.2k Rottie costs me $108 a month. Which risk is more likely.

My vehicle insurance is fully comprehensive and is for a 24 year old very sought after 4x4 known for its all round reliability and toughness. Its value actually has started appreciating especially as mine is a low Ks example and as they saying goes they are now "as rear as rocking horse shit" So should I choose to sell it I can most likely recover my premium costs.

My pup (10 months old) has 10k cover thus if he survives to 10 years they will recover their risk and it is a sliding scale. I love him dearly but in pure financial terms I could never sell him and recover my initial outlay never mind my ongoing costs which I estimate to be $5k a year. In fact I would spend money finding an appropriate owner and give him to them and follow his progress in life. I can think of many life hurdles where this may happen.

From an adjusters viewpoint the vehicle is an acceptable risk because of my driving history, age and he type of vehicle. Should it be written off the sum of its parts are still very valuable. Should it be stolen it is very hard to hide because of its rarity and parts security (parts identification). My pup however is, I feel adjusted purely by emotions and responsibility. I love my dog and he is cared for exceptionally well (food training exercise toys etc) I would never expose him to the same level of risk as I might my vehicle. He does not roam, has regular vet visits is chipped the whole nine yards. I refuse to pay registration costs as I have no need of my local governments support re his care, this and the fact he cant fill out the paperwork. Insurance companies know that these two policies (vehicle and pet) are governed by completely different impulses. One is financial cover the other is love and care. This to me is unfair and akin to blackmail. Responsible pet owners who can provide evidence of care (receipts and say a diary of their pet) should see lower premiums and vets should stop adjusting costs linked to value of cover. People who have a dog as a noise maker for security or because its what you do when you have children to entertain them, feed them poorly, ignore their health and wellbeing are never going to insurer their animal and when it passes or they lose it they will just find another as cheap as they can.

In summary bad vehicle operators pay high premiums whilst bad animal owners pay none. The pet insurance industry is gouging the emotions of loving responsible and engaged pet owners and it pisses me off!!
 
I don't think you can compare car insurance to pet health insurance. It two very different realms, it's apples to oranges. Cars aren't t insured for when it inevitably start falling apart from wear and tear, and there's a substantially larger pool of clients contributing to the insurance float. Even if you baby both of them, you're unlikely to file a claim for the car in the next 15 years, and guaranteed to file one for the dog.

Pet insurance premiums are based on the age of the pet, their breed, their local vet prices and the number of customers and claims in their geographic area. The insurance companies are businesses, they don't exist to care about people's emotions and will look at hard numbers instead. They aim to make a profit by charging premiums that are sufficient to cover their obligations but not so much as to loose business out to competition.

Prices for vet care have gone up 25-30% in my area in the last 3 years despite the fact that the very vast majority of people don't have insurance. There are a bunch of factors for this. "Greedflation" from many of the suppliers, increasing employee wages, an insane increase in the number of pets sine the pandemic, a huge labor shortage with people in the vet community burning out of shifting to part time, a new generation of people who choose quality of life over crazy hours, and probably the main driver is the corporatization of the industry, a handful of corporations are buying up all the clinics and consolidating them into a few large groups, creating lots of middle-people and upper management salaries to pay and certain profit expectations from investors.

As much as I believe that health insurance has been a factor in sending the prices of human healthcare into the stratosphere, I don't think that I've seen that yet with our pets, at least not around where I am, but it is a concern for the future.
 
Always keep insurance on your pet. Or risk the horrible rejection of a possible life saving treatment in a capitalist society that will let a suffering animal die in the name of profit.

Honestly I'm surprised people don't hold doctors at gun point in stressful incidents like this. like that one movie where the one guy wanted the doctors to perform a transplant on this dad or something.

Like how can anyone really put the dollar over someone suffering in front of you.

But yeah insurance is just that. "insurance" if something went wrong.
 
For us it was one of those where insurance paid for itself in one trip. It's for the emergencies. We spent about $55/month but over the lifetime of our dog that was around $4000 total. By the end of his life, one vet visit being covered by insurance made up for 6+ years of premium payments. That doesn't count the smaller reimbursements over those years. So for me, it's worth it. The cost and likelihood of an emergency seems worth the cost at that rate.
 
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