Pet Health Insurance - Wall Street Journal

Pet Insurance - Analysis Wall Street Journal
Here is a great article about pet insurance I thought I'd share :)

The cost of medical care for pets is rising as fast as it is for humans, and that's helping to spur sales of pet insurance.
Pet owners are able to choose from a rapidly growing array of policies, featuring everything from high-deductible designs to coverage of alternative-medicine treatments like acupuncture. Some pet policies focus on accidents and illness, while others include wellness checkups and shots. And some things that traditionally weren't included in pet insurance, such as hereditary conditions, are now paid for under many plans.
Consumers need to be careful, since many pet policies can be as confusing as coverage you buy for yourself. Pet insurance often places strict limits on how much it will pay for particular procedures. And policies can have tricky designs that can leave consumers with big out-of-pocket bills for their animals. Premiums vary from around $10 a month to $75 a month, depending on factors including the richness of the plan, your location and your animal's breed and age.

This year, pet owners are expected to spend around $12.2 billion for veterinary care, up from $11.1 billion last year and $8.2 billion five years ago, according to the American Pet Products Association. Complex procedures widely used for people, including chemotherapy and dialysis, are now available for pets, and the potential cost of treating certain illnesses has spiked as a result.
Donna Oliver, in Austin, Texas, has shelled out about $32,600 since 2007 to care for two dogs who passed away earlier this year. Marley, a Labrador, got stem-cell therapy for his arthritis, surgery on his windpipe to deal with a condition that was choking off his breathing, and, at the end, medication to ease the pain of advanced cancer. Maddie, a corgi mix, suffered from Cushing's disease, a hormonal disorder, and got treatment including surgery to heal ulcers on her corneas.
"It does cost a lot if you want to do the right thing by them," says Ms. Oliver, a 38-year-old customer-service manager, who says she is still paying off the credit-card bills. To avoid a similar situation with her three remaining dogs, Chelsea, Jasmine and Runner, she recently bought insurance for them.
One Million Insured

Currently, around a million U.S. pets are insured, according to the North American Pet Health Insurance Association. The number is growing about 10% a year, the group estimates, though that still represents just a tiny fraction of all pets.
Around 90% of the insured are dogs, with about 10% cats and a small number of other animals. The biggest U.S. pet-insurance company, Veterinary Pet Insurance, or VPI, a unit of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., says it has written policies for hedgehogs, snakes, turtles and geckos, among other creatures.


See rest of the great article at:


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704825504574583884242775444.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_sections_personalfinance

i was actually thinking about getting pet insurance....i probably should just in case something else comes up... thanks for the post...

I am the poster child for having insurance for your pets. My darling Puck and LouLou in the last years of their lives had vet bills hovering around $55-60,000 - 80% of it covered by insurance thank Dog! My vet bills in the last few years have gone north of $70,000. The major bills this year for Pearl's liver-shunt WEREN'T covered (the best part of $10,000) but I still think it's one of the best investments you can make with your pets.

Yeah, I've been very greatful to have it. Got it and only a few months after Bruce had to make a bunch of vet appointments. I think it's great, especially if you have a pug, becuse frequent vet trip bills add up quick!

If you don't mind me asking, what pet insurance companies do you ladies have?

I signed up Bruce Lee with Trupanion pet insurance and they have been very affordable, provide full coverage, and are very helful. they have processed all of my claims within a few days and provide me with financial peace of mind when vet bills are in the hundreds and they cover 90% of the vet bill. having bruce lee on pet insurance has already paid for itself.

What I like about them is that they don't increase your premium when your pet reaches each age bracket, like most other companies. You essentially get to keep your premium for the life of your pet except for inflation increases. Trupanion covers all diagnostic tests, surgeries/procedures, and medications 90% and also emergency vet visits and specialists. I have found that some are more restrictive on how much they pay if you go to specialists.

I would also recommend avoiding benefits schedules because sometimes these flat rates are far less than what your vet charges you as well as routine coverage (regular exams, vaccines, etc), because you are just paying the costs through higher premiums thus not saving any money, but in most cases, losing money.

If you are shopping around for it, it's important to find out if the company covers hereditary conditions and chronic conditions, because some companies only cover chronic conditions for the first year and then consider it preexisting after that!

I'm in Australia so it's not really relevant for North America, but I did BRIEFLY use a worldwide company, "Petplan" for my younger pug. they were the ones that denied the liver shunt so I didn't renew with them and have gone back to my original company "Petsecure". They have a maximum claim MUCH smaller than Petplan but they are infinitely better to deal with.

Petplan SUCKS and I could NEVER recommend them.

oh, and also! ...a really good place online for unbiased reviews on all the major companies is: www.petinsurancereview.com

worth looking into, good info and reviews on there :)

Thanks so much for this incredibly informative thread and the article. I wish I had known about all this before. I am going to spread the word, especially to pug people!