[Her&heeler]

Hello!

I'm sure this question has been asked before, so I apologize.

I am wondering how everyone feels about pet/dog insurance. My heeler is coming up in a year old and was adopted at 8 months with a broken leg. I am extremely anxious and cautious now that we've been through that.

Should I worry about him reinjuring the leg? Is it worth it for me to get pet insurance? Should I create an emergency dog fund instead?

Thanks!

 

[DaySleepers]

Pet insurance tends to be the best value when you can insure a dog early on before there are any 'preexisting conditions' to take into consideration, in my experience. It will depend on the insurance company, but I'd be concerned that none will cover further issues with the formerly broken leg because of that, or at least not until X amount of time has passed without problems.

We've done both. We've never insured our older boy, and the emergency dog fund has worked well for the occasional issue that pops up. Granted, he seems to average only about one non-routine issue requiring veterinary intervention a year, which makes it fairly easy to keep up with.

Our six month old was ensured the day he came home from the breeder. We have him on a fairly comprehensive coverage plan for his first year or two, and then we'll decide whether we want to keep that, drop to a less comprehensive plan, or double our emergency fund and drop the insurance entirely. We're happy with it so far - his dental work for removing a stubborn puppy tooth was covered - but it's really hard to compare service between insurance companies. And, well, the US has caught onto the pet insurance thing later and slower than over here in Europe, where it's fairly standard.

Best advice I can give you is read policies carefully, especially the stuff about preexisting conditions. Some companies will even give you an estimate based on your dog's breed/age so that should give you some idea of what you'd be paying monthly, vs. whether that cost would work better for you in a savings account.

 

[Jen2010]

My advice is always if you can afford the cost of an emergency then don't bother with pet insurance. You're paying a lot for something that "might" happen and then might not even be fully covered. The exception would be if you bought a breed that has known health issues, then insurance might be worth it.

 

[Britta-S]

I like my dog's health insurance. We always got the worth out of it per year, from broken toenails, to luxuriating patella, mass cell tumors and now an emergency vet visit for dog bite care.
To be honest, I have not done the math if it would actually be cheaper to just put the money we pay per month in a savings account and use that as the vet fund. The health insurance gives me peace of mind. Especially with the mass cell tumor, going to the Oncologist and getting her checked out top to bottom? I don't know if I were able to say "do whatever you deem necessary" if I hadn't known that I have the health insurance.

Now, I got for my dog at 6 months, right when I got her, so she didn't have any preexisting conditions, because those are not covered.
If the premiums stay the way they are, I will keep the insurance on her.

 

[NadiaK]

I got insurance for my pup shortly after we brought her home at 11 weeks of age. She puts everything in her mouth and is super fast. I would take her out and before I even knew it she would be already chewing on something. She loves everything that is outside. Sticks, leaves, mulch, dirt, those twirly things that fall from the trees, you name it. I was always afraid she would swallow something before I noticed and end up with an obstruction. I have Healthy Paws and pay around $32 a month.