Cat/pet Health Insurance

[wawadoll8]

Greetings and Happy Friday fellow feline lovers

My Ricky boy is a healthy roughly 7-year-old cat. His vet hospital seems excellent, but is definitely on the costly side. I am the kind of person who thinks ahead to be proactive rather than reactive with tons of questions and genuinely just want to understand to make informed and best decisions.

I am very realistic about how costly vet bills can amount to and particularly as our kitty cats age, and so I am doing some research into cat/pet health insurance. What do you think of cat/health insurance? Do you have cat/pet health insurance and why so or why not? Any particularly health insurances you recommend or do not recommend? My vet hospital explained to me that they do not take any health insurances and it is typically reimbursement, but I've read that "TruPanion" does disburse of direct pay to the vet.

Trying to understand all of this, and always grateful for any insight that you have! Have a great day!

Keep smilin',
Mary

 

[neely]

Glad to hear that your cat, Ricky, is in good overall health. There have been many discussions on the topic of health insurance for pets. Here are a few helpful links for you to reference regarding your search:
Pet Insurance Advice?
Pet Insurance: Yea Or Nay?
Good luck on your decision!

 

[wawadoll8]

Thanks so much! :-) Loads of discussions and information! From everything I'm reading the mass majority of these pet insurances seem to target assistance IF there is an accident, chronic condition, etc. I'm looking for a pet insurance that could assist/cover/reimburse-disburse for routine yearly or wellness visits like for dental care, annual exam, annual bloodwork, etc. Does such a pet insurance exist, or am I living in a dream world? Haha! From the research, I can't seem to find an insurance of this type.

 

[prairiepanda]

I've seen a couple pet insurance providers that cover routine checkups and the like, but they are reimbursement-based and increase your premiums every year as your pet ages, so it would be more cost effective to just pay for the checkups yourself. If you want to break up the cost, just put aside some money each month. I have a dedicated savings account just for veterinary expenses, and a dedicated credit card for veterinary emergencies. My vet also offers financing if needed. With insurance you're mostly paying for the peace of mind, knowing that you won't be screwed if your pet develops a high-cost chronic illness or has major consecutive emergencies. Insurance has the potential to cover a lot more than any savings/credit/financing could (most plans start at $100,000 per year or per condition, with some even having no limit at all)

Personally, I decided not to buy insurance after chatting with reps from several different providers, but I can definitely understand why some people do. But keep in mind, if you decide to buy insurance it is best to enroll as early as possible. The insurance provider will fight hard to not pay for anything that might have been hinted at in any way prior to enrollment. Any symptom in their medical history prior to enrollment that could potentially be linked to a condition can be used to make that condition ineligible as a "pre-existing" condition.