yes, pet insurance is well worth it if you are unfortunate enough to have
only 1 or 2 berners. i thought about it when holly was about 1 yr old, but
didn't follow through because i assumed that a young dog couldn't possibly
incur sufficient vet bills to justify the premium (~$190/yr). lo and behold,
a month later, she developed a hematoma that cost $150 to repair. so, i
figured "ok, nothing else to worry about, we don't need the insurance".
wrong, double ear infections, cha-ching another non-routine visit ~$75. the
next year i swore i would sign her up. i did, and within about 2-3 weeks
another hematoma. i thought great, we're covered. not, they said it was a
preexisting condition and refused to pay. i took her for allergy testing and
again, because the ear infections were deemed allergic reactions, the testing
was not covered as it was considered another preexisting condition. the third
hematoma repair was covered, finally, but future hematomas were written up as
exclusions as they were considered tied to the ear inflammation due to
allergic reaction. needless to say, i decided that the best course was to
spay holly, which was covered under the well care rider ($65 allowance).
however, (unfortunately) i still manage to recover my yearly premium which
is up to $335/yr (it goes up with the age of the dog and # of claims). holly
has had 2 surgeries to remove 5 tumors that have, fortunately, been benign. i
hope our luck holds, as she is scheduled to undergo another surgery today to
remove 2 more cysts (?). they were initially believed to have been enlarged
lymph nodes due to lyme (~$200), but did not shrink appreciably after a month
of antibiotics, so removal was recommended. due to the high incidence of
cancers we are experiencing with our beloved berners, i thought it prudent to
carry the cancer endorsement that doubles the amount paid for cancer
treatment. i hope i never need it.
so, i decided to cover timber when she was 8 months old. lucky for me i did.
2 days after the effective date of the policy, she jumped off the deck at the
dog sitter's to play with the others and landed rather awkwardly. she seemed
fine. after i picked her up 4 days later, she began to limp after play with
holly. 3 vet visits later, 2 weeks of rimadyl and a full set of x-rays on
both shoulders and elbows ~$300. the insurance company made me jump through a
lot of hoops, but i was reimbursed $190 (premiums now ~$220). this summer,
timber was treated for pyoderma (~$90), for which i expect about a $40
refund. so, if you require 2 non-routine visits a year, most likely you will
recover your premium, and still be covered for the catastrophic illness or
injury. if you do not file any claims they may still refund a portion of the
year's premium, i am not sure. well care can also be covered for additional
cost. however, i worked it out and unless you plan to avail yourself of the
choice between the dental or spay/neuter benefit, it isn't worth the premium.
regardless, if your loved ones are few in number and you can afford it, you
will more than likely recoup the yearly premium as i am sure you are aware of
the high cost of quality veterinary care (sorry dr. neff).
there are probably other insurers out there, but 3 years ago VPI was the only
company i could find. http://ph.petinsurance.com/
celia, holly and timber
