Pet insurance

[Anonymous]

I am a first time pet owner, recently adopted a 6-month old dog. Would appreciate any input on whether to get a pet insurance or not, and any recommendations for the pet insurance company and coverage needed.

Thank you.

[Anonymous]

I was on the fence too, then a couple friends talked about $7-10K vet bills in the first year when their puppy got an intestinal blockage from eating something they weren't supposed to. I got the highest deductible/lowest payment option because I really just need coverage for a huge, expensive emergency. I can handle a couple hundred for minor things here or there.

[Anonymous]

Recommend MetLife Pet with routine care coverage. Get the unlimited deductible. One vet emergency can set you back $5000 easily.

[Anonymous]

I’m always amazed when people question whether or not to get pet insurance. Most people would not question getting their own health insurance or for family. I wouldn’t want to have to make a choice on caring for my pet.

[Anonymous]

We got it when our lab was a puppy. It covers sick care only, not routine stuff like vaccines and check ups.
Has definitely paid for itself as he's prone to eat infections and for the first few years had a few instances of him eating things he shouldn't.

[Anonymous]

My dog has eaten many things he shouldn’t, injured a leg, gotten a bladder infection, needed EKGs for a heart murmur, needed a surgery. Get the insurance policy while your dog is young, before he’s gotten into trouble!

[Anonymous]

+1 for Metlife but we do the emergency / major incident coverage only, not the routine care coverage. Have used it twice in 4 years, once for a blockage and once for a broken tooth extraction. Claims were really easy.

[Anonymous]

It depends. Do you have money to cover emergencies that could cost $$$$? If so, get the insurance. Some breeds are prone to chewing everything in sight so it's worth the price.

[Anonymous]

I chose to self insure. But it only works if you literally put the money you would have spent on insurance away each month, possibly into a special account, and if you have a big ticket expense up front, you will have lost the gamble.

[Anonymous]

I work for a vet and very few people seem to have insurance. You really have to gauge whether or not it might be valuable for you. Most use CareCredit- which gives you zero percent financing for a set amount of time. We hear from clients more often than not they have to fight it or are not covered for whatever reason. But sometimes they are! And that’s important to consider. I imagine an emergency vet would get more requests from insurance from a typical clinic though.

If you adopt or buy a breed that tends to have more difficulties (labs, goldens…) it might be a good idea to look into it.

Lemonade seems to be one we see pop up more often so people seem to be happy with that one.

Just another prescriptive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work for a vet and very few people seem to have insurance. You really have to gauge whether or not it might be valuable for you. Most use CareCredit- which gives you zero percent financing for a set amount of time. We hear from clients more often than not they have to fight it or are not covered for whatever reason. But sometimes they are! And that’s important to consider. I imagine an emergency vet would get more requests from insurance from a typical clinic though.

If you adopt or buy a breed that tends to have more difficulties (labs, goldens…) it might be a good idea to look into it.

Lemonade seems to be one we see pop up more often so people seem to be happy with that one.

Just another prescriptive.

How would you know if a client has insurance? It’s not like people insurance that pays up front. I pay the bill, then when I get home I photograph the receipt. Do they reach out to you to verify?

FWIW I have pets best and really like them. It can take 2-3 weeks to get payment for a claim, but they paid $12k when my puppy ate a bottle of pills, $2k when his tail got stuck on a door and had to be amputated, and pay $2k/year every year for my other dog’s vet behaviorist visit and all her psych meds.

Get it before there are any preexisting conditions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work for a vet and very few people seem to have insurance. You really have to gauge whether or not it might be valuable for you. Most use CareCredit- which gives you zero percent financing for a set amount of time. We hear from clients more often than not they have to fight it or are not covered for whatever reason. But sometimes they are! And that’s important to consider. I imagine an emergency vet would get more requests from insurance from a typical clinic though.

If you adopt or buy a breed that tends to have more difficulties (labs, goldens…) it might be a good idea to look into it.

Lemonade seems to be one we see pop up more often so people seem to be happy with that one.

Just another prescriptive.

How would you know if a client has insurance? It’s not like people insurance that pays up front. I pay the bill, then when I get home I photograph the receipt. Do they reach out to you to verify?


Yes. They require all records.

FWIW I have pets best and really like them. It can take 2-3 weeks to get payment for a claim, but they paid $12k when my puppy ate a bottle of pills, $2k when his tail got stuck on a door and had to be amputated, and pay $2k/year every year for my other dog’s vet behaviorist visit and all her psych meds.

Get it before there are any preexisting conditions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work for a vet and very few people seem to have insurance. You really have to gauge whether or not it might be valuable for you. Most use CareCredit- which gives you zero percent financing for a set amount of time. We hear from clients more often than not they have to fight it or are not covered for whatever reason. But sometimes they are! And that’s important to consider. I imagine an emergency vet would get more requests from insurance from a typical clinic though.

If you adopt or buy a breed that tends to have more difficulties (labs, goldens…) it might be a good idea to look into it.

Lemonade seems to be one we see pop up more often so people seem to be happy with that one.

Just another prescriptive.

How would you know if a client has insurance? It’s not like people insurance that pays up front. I pay the bill, then when I get home I photograph the receipt. Do they reach out to you to verify?

FWIW I have pets best and really like them. It can take 2-3 weeks to get payment for a claim, but they paid $12k when my puppy ate a bottle of pills, $2k when his tail got stuck on a door and had to be amputated, and pay $2k/year every year for my other dog’s vet behaviorist visit and all her psych meds.

Get it before there are any preexisting



Of course we know. You cannot get coverage without evidence. Insurance reaches out to us.

Again. It’s personal preference but most do not have it. Unless they have extra money to spend on insurance. We don’t advocate for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work for a vet and very few people seem to have insurance. You really have to gauge whether or not it might be valuable for you. Most use CareCredit- which gives you zero percent financing for a set amount of time. We hear from clients more often than not they have to fight it or are not covered for whatever reason. But sometimes they are! And that’s important to consider. I imagine an emergency vet would get more requests from insurance from a typical clinic though.

If you adopt or buy a breed that tends to have more difficulties (labs, goldens…) it might be a good idea to look into it.

Lemonade seems to be one we see pop up more often so people seem to be happy with that one.

Just another prescriptive.

How would you know if a client has insurance? It’s not like people insurance that pays up front. I pay the bill, then when I get home I photograph the receipt. Do they reach out to you to verify?

FWIW I have pets best and really like them. It can take 2-3 weeks to get payment for a claim, but they paid $12k when my puppy ate a bottle of pills, $2k when his tail got stuck on a door and had to be amputated, and pay $2k/year every year for my other dog’s vet behaviorist visit and all her psych meds.

Get it before there are any preexisting conditions.

You need to work on watching your dog. These are not typical claims.