Is it wise to purchase insurance for a puppy?

Question

I am a new puppy owner & would like to know if it's worth the money to purchase pet insurance? What does it cover & what doesn't it cover?

Answer 1

If you're going to get insurance, it's best to get it when he/she's a puppy, as you'll get a cheaper rate.

The issue is if you should get it at all. As others said, it doesn't cover everything. It'll cover shots and whatnot, exam costs, and most emergency surgeries (ie: if your dog gets hit by a car, etc...) though it won't cover every major one, in which case they'll pay to have the dog euthenized *rolls eyes*. It doesn't cover many illnesses, even those specific to certain breeds. And for what it does cover it does in the same way that many human insurances do, but worse... You need a surgery. You KNOW you need it (or in this case, your dog). But they won't pay for the surgery. They'll pay for something else, much more minor and less effective, and maybe some medication if necessary. If that doesn't help, then they'll go one step up... a little more medication, maybe more frequent visits, etc... But still not what even your vet says NEEDS to be done. And they'll keep going up on level, until the issue gets worse and time passes (thus the success rate of the surgery goes down and down and down)... if you're lucky, after a few of these cycles, they *might* cover the surgery. But maybe not.

By all means, look into it... but read the fine print. Have some foresight and think of the pros and cons once you and your dog are IN a serious situation (ie: how much time, etc... can be spared, and compare that to their plan... if it's just a matter of getting some diagnostics and few days, that's probably fine... but if its minor treatments over a year while the condition gets worse then, yeah... no).

In my opinion, you're best off just saving some money and starting your own "pet emergency" fund (I recommend keeping $3,000-4,000 in it at any given time, just in case). In the long run, it's not much more expensive than pet insurance (and, if your dog is completely healthy, can actually be cheaper) and is certainly MUCH safer and helpful when needed. Not to mention, since it doesn't cover everything (read: MANY things), if you have it but your dog needs something they don't cover, then you're paying all the medical bills as well as the insurance premium.

Answer 2

I gave this answer to a similar question:

"When I bought my ferret, I looked into getting pet insurance because they can be very expensive to care for when they get older. My father (who is a lawyer and knows about insurance stuff) called one of the companies that specializes in exotic pet insurance and we found out that pet insurance most often doesn't work like people insurance. Not everything is covered and depending on the plan, pet, and sickness/surgery oftentimes you still need to shell out some dough which can range from $50 - $500.

"Now, I'm not familiar with dog insurance, but if its anything like ferret insurance, in my opinion you'd probably be better off just setting aside money every week and putting it into a pet fund.

"If you're still interested in pursuing insurance, then I suggest you find someone who knows a lot about insurance and have them call up the different providers and find out how much it costs, what they cover, what are the out-of-pocket expenses for different (common) treatments. Also, request some information. If you express interest in one company (I'm convinced that all insurance companies have some telepathic network to sense when there are potential clients), then chances are you will be contacted by at least 3 others.

I hope this helps a little."

Answer 3

I believe it is a good idea... There are different packages always... Depending on what you want to spend and how covered you want to be..

I don't have a price list or anything, but just one major incident with a dog can cost several thousand dollars sometimes.. Say for example a Doberman with bloat. I have heard of people spending $3500 for a dog, for surgery and everything else.. Obviously those people wish that they had bought health insurance.. If your dog goes thru life relatively unscathed, then you don't need it and might decide that it was a waste of money. But if you had one thing, that was expensive, you would be glad that you had it done.

Answer 4

If your puppy is a mixed breed and healthy and you feed it a good diet of dry dog food then you probably don't need insurance for it. Pet insurance doesn't cover routine vaccinations which is usually all a pet ever needs unless it is a breed with inherent health problems, i.e. hip displasia in German Shepherd puppies. It's a judgement call--but if you do need it, it's a godsend since vet care is getting quite expensive.

Answer 5

Check the fine print, I have a puppy dachshund, and insurance doesn't cover any back problems, which are hereditary for dachshunds, so for me it isn't really worth it. But pet insurance will help pay for your puppy shots and vet visits.

Answer 6

Check with insurance and find out what it covers. When I looked into for my dog, for example I had to pay first $300 on a spay. Spaying and neuters are around $100 from Vets. It wasn't worth it to me. You have to remember insurance company's are trying to make money.

Answer 7

yes it is on my pet insurance it covers me for all vet bills all opparations that it may need and all medication that the dog needs and it only costs about 3 pound a month

Answer 8

I think rather get a pet medical aid, they cover all hospital exspencise. Acording to me that is a better option, since insurance is there for loss or damages, so they probally only pay if your pet loos value or die. So Insurance are more for people that just show off there pets.

Medical aids are ther for people who love and want to do everything they can for there pet enven if its the uglies one around

Answer 9

yes its well worth it, what happens if your dog got run over or something would cost you thousands . go 4 it get pet insurance

Answer 10

they are all a rip off . stay away from it . alot of double talk .