# Pet insurance- worth it?



## Stephjames512 (Aug 12, 2018)

We will be getting a poodle puppy in the near future and I’m looking into pet insurance. In your opinion, is it “worth it”?


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## Aimiloo (Apr 23, 2018)

HI, there's been lots of posts on it if you search - this is a helpful one I found.

https://www.poodleforum.com/29-poodle-health/254186-pet-insurance-worth-recommendations-3.html

we're signing up for at least the first few years while it's cheap as a puppy and also contributing to separate savings account for after


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

This is a perennial discussion around here. Personally I am on the self insurance side of the conversation. We have a substantial savings account for emergencies. We also have clear positions on what kinds of things we would bear large expenses for (injuries, acute illnesses, palliative care for chronic illnesses) and what we wouldn't want to invest deeply in treating (cancer).


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## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

I have both. I believe that you might need, $15K for vet expenses over the life of your poodle. Insurance was cheap when he was a puppy and I will recoup all of the premiums paid in the early years with the cost of his seizure medication this year alone. Obviously, you have to pay for treatment as it is delivered yourself and meet a deductible. I was drawn to getting insurance after a member spent $3K on a broken leg. I’m belt and suspenders, but will do a yearly assessment to see if continues to make sense to have both each year.


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

If you don't have a substantial amount in your savings account for emergencies, insurance is imperative.


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

I absolutely despise pet insurance because as your dog gets older, you will have more claims and it will get denied. With the lack of regulations on pet insurance it is highway robbery. The magic age you will start feeling this is around 9years old and their health declines. I have gladly paid more than 5k for one visit for than having paid high premiums all along to get denied coverage for a true emergency which has been my experience with both Embrace and Healthy Paws. 

ETA: A way to see if pet insurance is worth it or not is by looking at people with insured senior dogs. Most positive reviews are going to be from young dogs or dogs that had accidents at a relatively young age. Otherwise it is a huuuuge moneypit! 

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## Mysticrealm (Jan 31, 2016)

I think it's a bit of a mixed bag. If you don't have a decent savings then maybe a good idea.
My mini poodle is 13 and he's never had anything wrong with him so I would have paid years and years of insurance for nothing which obviously would have cost me more than if I hadn't had it.
My pom when he was under a year old fell and injured himself and required 2500 worth of surgery. If I had had insurance for him it would have been well worth it considering I would have only paid for it for less than a year, but things are impossible to predict.
I think it's a choice you make and it's a choice that you live with, and you won't know if it was 'right' or 'wrong' till something does or doesn't go wrong.


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

Mysticrealm said:


> I think it's a choice you make and it's a choice that you live with, and you won't know if it was 'right' or 'wrong' till something does or doesn't go wrong.




That is exactly it. You won’t know until your dog has reached the end of his or her life. And I’ve done exactly that. I had insurance for my previous dog her entire life. They pay the first few claims even when I registered my previous dog at 8 years. After the first few small claims and one major claim, they started asking for more “documentation” or basically postpone payment indefinitely. I’ve had this happen with all five of my animals that had pet insurance. Now no one is on insurance anymore because it was a huge mistake to pay thousands of dollars each year to insure all my pets and get denied repeatedly when I actually needed it. 8 years of robbery with pet insurance was enough for me to never ever get it again. 


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I do both - insure immediately and for the early years, when any congenital issues will become apparent, accidents are most likely, and premiums are low. Be sure to choose a reputable lifetime policy just in case - if you change insurer previous health issues won't be covered. Meanwhile build up a savings account for later years, when premiums soar.


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

fjm said:


> I do both - insure immediately and for the early years, when any congenital issues will become apparent, accidents are most likely, and premiums are low. Be sure to choose a reputable lifetime policy just in case - if you change insurer previous health issues won't be covered. Meanwhile build up a savings account for later years, when premiums soar.




That is actually not a bad idea to game the system. 


Also, high yield savings account are available from online sources like Barclays or Goldman Sachs @ aprox 1.25% the last time I’ve checked a few months ago. Good money market, CDs acts, or even the treasury bonds will yield better returns if you wait until maturity. Whatever you do, don’t stick it in a savings act with less than 1% yield which can’t even beat inflation. 


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## Stephjames512 (Aug 12, 2018)

Thank you for the input. It's terrible that they started denying claims for you. I guess I need to read a little more into the detail of the insurance I was considering. It's called Figo (relatively new company I think and had good reviews).


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

Stephjames512 said:


> Thank you for the input. It's terrible that they started denying claims for you. I guess I need to read a little more into the detail of the insurance I was considering. It's called Figo (relatively new company I think and had good reviews).




I am familiar with it. I saw a review for that company saying they denied surgery on a puppy who ate socks. Figo came up on a previous discussion on insurance. The reviewer was angry because the denial was citing preexisting conditions. When you first sign up, pet insurance make sure whatever your first bill is, that you have strong supporting document it has never occurred before. They look for vet notes. I’ve been denied for preexisting condition with Sahara, Happy, and Spunky. Sahara had a epulis which is a benign growth. They covered it one year and denied it when it came back. It sited preexisting condition. Happy developed alopecia at age 2 and I took him to a dermatologist. The bill from all the allergy test came out to $800 which I had to pay ahead of time. Then they sited preexisting condition even though he was covered for about a year at that point. Spunky has been insured since 4 weeks, he had two UTI emergencies that were covered and then the third one started getting denied as a preexisting condition. With the exception of Sahara my pets were all under 5 when this happened. 


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

If you go the savings account route you have to be disciplined about it. You need to maintain it and repay it if you use $ out of it. Mine is north of Mfmst's number.


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## twyla (Apr 28, 2010)

Save up for the best poodle you can buy as in a pup with health tested parents either from a breeder that shows or does agility. Get insurance for those early years then assess or have a health fund.

I didn't have insurance still don't but I did pay and pay for my Beatrice, she is from a BYB, I have spent $10K on her bilateral patella surgery plus cruciates repair and diagnosis for chronic kidney and urinary tract disease that was before she turned 4 yrs old.

Things do still happen, so have a plan


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