Pets

Question about pet insurance

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  • Apr 30th, 2014 12:42 pm
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Newbie
Oct 21, 2011
37 posts
18 upvotes
Toronto

Question about pet insurance

Hello everybody! Does everyone have a pet insurance?
Recently I bought an exotic shorthair. The breeder has given him a six week accidental and illness insurance coverage from PetSecure. It is about to expire.
My boss, who also has a cat, recommend me to have a pet insurance since the vet cost for sick kitten could be very high.
I did some research online, and I couldn't really find much other information.

I have came across PC pet insurance from Loblaws the other day when I went shopping.
Great thing is it gives you PC points as well as fairly cheap. roughly 25 to 35 dollars a month with a full coverage.

Do you guys have any other recommendation? as well as reviews and feedback regarding to PC's pet insurance?
10 replies
Deal Fanatic
Apr 23, 2009
5161 posts
708 upvotes
South of Ottawa
Put money away in a savings account for the cat. You'll be much further ahead in the long run than paying insurance premiums.
Sr. Member
User avatar
Sep 24, 2006
606 posts
64 upvotes
Guelph, On
Beachdown wrote: Put money away in a savings account for the cat. You'll be much further ahead in the long run than paying insurance premiums.
I agree put money away in an account then insurance. Also you have a breed which cost more for insurance - I learned my lesson Jupiter male Himalayan at for $35 then he got sick once $68 a month and 1000 deductible and they covered nothing - dropped it fast and now account for him.
Newbie
Sep 23, 2013
57 posts
17 upvotes
No use at all! Don't buy these kind of insurance! basically you can deal with almost every problem your pet will have.
Deal Addict
Jan 28, 2014
3925 posts
1036 upvotes
Toronto
Basically what it often comes down to is how soon you might need major coverage. Say at 6 months your cat needs major surgery costing $6,000 and it is covered well then you made the right choice. If your pet reaches say 3 years of age and hasn't had a covered incident, then, well hindsight is everything. Hindsight in our particular case with our current dog would have paid off but at age 10 we are not about to cancel the coverage. Of course his very expensive dentals are not covered - nor our rechecks, consultations etc. etc. We know all about rechecks - his eye issue has been going on for 3 years despite being caught day one.

I noted the premium cost you mentioned for PC Financial. We have Trupanion (formerly a Cdn. company called VetInsurance). Well VetInsurance wanted to expand to the U.S. so in the end bought a U.S. company and renamed it Trupanion - but we did not know this. Originally our premium was $32.00 a month plus the Ontario taxes. Now it is about $70 pre tax - and the increase in premium
occurred before he had a claim at age 7 and there is now a deductible - there was not one when we signed up. Note that the deductible is PER condition. This is very important.

Our dog was signed up at 15 months. We did not sign him up earlier because the plan did not cover hip dysplasia - and all of our former dogs had back/neck disc issues so I figured we would end up with a dog with hip dysplasia. But since our current dog has very long legs and is a hoover, I decided to sign him up at the rate in effect for dogs 1 - 3 years. He will always be covered at the current rates for dogs in that age group except that it has obviously increased a great deal with little pay-back.

Trupanion started offering hip dysplasia coverage several years ago but would not grandfather existing patients who had exhibited no signs of the disease. Very frustrating for clients whose dogs were now say 5 or 6 and afraid to cancel but who had always paid their premiums. Truthfully, our dog would be more inclined to develop Patellar Luxation or pull a tendon - but so far so good.

We received a letter the other day about additional coverages being added to our policy - my question being how much was this going to cost us since none of the additional coverages will apply - same thing happened last year. Of course the hip dysplasia coverage will never be offered. I did ask though about ownership. Since my husband and I are both listed on the policy, if one of us had to be hospitalized for longer than 4 days, boarding fees would not be paid since the other person is not in the hospital. I guess today we would have to pick one person - no doubt the other person would end up in the hospital.

If you do decide to pursue pet insurance, check out the various deductibles (some plans have more than one), annual maximums per condition (as in say a blockage or a broken leg - most plans annual maximums won't pay for the full cost); lifetime maximums per condition (much as with kids' braces). And know what will not be covered - as in consultations, rechecks, certain conditions - and never forget pre-existing conditions and the wait period before coverage begins.

My friend wishes she had taken out the insurance based what the blood work revealed when she took him in for a physical and ended up with a huge bill when her pup was 12 months old - but then, again hindsight is everything - and it became a lifetime condition. Other people had insurance and when they tried to use it for illnesses that they thought were covered found out they weren't and so cancelled the coverage - but when the pets were young enough to make starting a bank account realistic. Once again we did not luck out - nothing new there.

Trupanion pays out a little differently. 90% of the pre tax cost of what is covered, without the annual/lifetime maximums. Note the pretax! So just read the fine print very carefully and then make a decision.

Truthfully, with some breeds I would sign up fast for insurance. Our dog does not fall into that category but many do. Good luck with whatever you decide. Unfortunately, in Canada there is not as much demand for the pet insurance $ as there is in the U.S. due to the much higher population. Back in the day - and of course this affected us - there were only a few plans.

It is not inexpensive owing a pet these days - our guy will be our last dog. At one time we had 4 dogs and 4 cats - quite the household.

Perhaps check with your vet about your particular cat and any known issues - but NOT any that your cat has exhibited. Remember your vet has to sign the forms before submission to the insurer and your vet cannot lie on the form.
Deal Addict
Sep 22, 2009
3861 posts
2938 upvotes
Markham
This is from my own personal (wife) experience.

My wife, before she met me, had pet insurance.
At the time, she was paying +$20 per month.
2 years after (having paid +$500), dog torn a ligament and required a +$3000 surgery.
Insurance would only reimburse her $500.

At the time, I don't think my wife read the fine print and knew exactly what the coverage was.

So, for those who are considering pet insurance, find out what the coverage is.
Sometimes, it is not worth it.
You are better putting money aside every week and use the money if needed.
Deal Expert
User avatar
Jul 5, 2004
27420 posts
6791 upvotes
BDSL wrote: This is from my own personal (wife) experience.

My wife, before she met me, had pet insurance.
At the time, she was paying +$20 per month.
2 years after (having paid +$500), dog torn a ligament and required a +$3000 surgery.
Insurance would only reimburse her $500.

At the time, I don't think my wife read the fine print and knew exactly what the coverage was.

So, for those who are considering pet insurance, find out what the coverage is.
Sometimes, it is not worth it.
You are better putting money aside every week and use the money if needed.
Rarely is it worth it or it wouldn't be offered. There's almost always limits, such as a per claim limit, monthly limits, annual limits, etc. Many things aren't covered and when they are, it's usually only 80%, after you pay the deductible.

Not to mention that it's cheap right now, but once your animal hits a certain age, the premium will go through the roof and that's when you'll need it the most. Many people will cancel at this point and all the money they paid for the life of their animal is gone.

Do yourself a favour, open a savings accounts and deposit $50 per month into that account and don't touch it except for emergencies or expensive vet bills. Don't use it for shots or other routine appointments. When the day comes that your pet is no longer with you, you can pocket what's left.
Deal Addict
Jan 28, 2014
3925 posts
1036 upvotes
Toronto
BDSL wrote: This is from my own personal (wife) experience.

My wife, before she met me, had pet insurance.
At the time, she was paying +$20 per month.
2 years after (having paid +$500), dog torn a ligament and required a +$3000 surgery.
Insurance would only reimburse her $500.

At the time, I don't think my wife read the fine print and knew exactly what the coverage was.

So, for those who are considering pet insurance, find out what the coverage is.
Sometimes, it is not worth it.
You are better putting money aside every week and use the money if needed.
Totally agree with you. We did have insurance back in the day (1980s) on our much loved dog. Premiums in those days were not cheap - we were paying something like $80 a month (and this was not for an all-inclusive spay/neuter, annual shots type of policy) it was the type of general policy we see today. So after paying a few years of premiums, and $6,000 for surgery, by the time the breed deductible, the admin deductible, the annual deductible, and the yearly limit per condition were taken into consideration - we received about $500.00 back from the insurance company. And wouldn't you know it, VetInsurance, had it been around when we had this particular dog, before it became Trupanion, would have paid 90% of the cost. Now, Trupanion would look at the breed of dog and base the premiums on his breed - but not then. Today, for Dachshund disc surgery you can easily be looking at $8,000 Cdn. We did not have insurance on our second guy who had the same surgery. So you are hedging your bets and Dachshunds can require surgery at age 1.
Deal Addict
Jan 28, 2014
3925 posts
1036 upvotes
Toronto
Shaner wrote: Rarely is it worth it or it wouldn't be offered. There's almost always limits, such as a per claim limit, monthly limits, annual limits, etc. Many things aren't covered and when they are, it's usually only 80%, after you pay the deductible.

Not to mention that it's cheap right now, but once your animal hits a certain age, the premium will go through the roof and that's when you'll need it the most. Many people will cancel at this point and all the money they paid for the life of their animal is gone.

Do yourself a favour, open a savings accounts and deposit $50 per month into that account and don't touch it except for emergencies or expensive vet bills. Don't use it for shots or other routine appointments. When the day comes that your pet is no longer with you, you can pocket what's left.
The one thing we have going for us with our pet insurer and our 10 year old dog is that his premiums will never increase beyond those charged for a 1 - 3 year old of his breed. And don't think I don't check that from time to time. Easy enough to do. Just type in the details for a 15 month old dog of our breed and see what the premium is. If we were looking for coverage now at age 10, then yes, he would fall into the senior category. There are some insurance plans though that do have a fee that increases with age - same as with people and term insurance.
Deal Addict
Sep 22, 2009
3861 posts
2938 upvotes
Markham
It is all good until you have to make a claim....
Newbie
Apr 29, 2014
7 posts
4 upvotes
Vancouver, BC
It is not really help you much while you are having your income return !

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