Good Morning all,
I was asked by someone from the list to post a summary of the responses that
I received privately regarding pet insurance.
Karen and Thor
"I purchased VPI insurance for my Berner when he was 12 weeks old. I did
receive some benefits from it. At 10 months he was diagnosed with bilateral
elbow dysplasia that required very expensive surgery. I breathed a sigh of
relief that I had insurance, scheduled the surgery, and then found out that
they do not cover anything considered to be a genetic related illness. I got
nothing for any type of claim related to the elbow dysplasia or the
surgery(about $4000.00 of expenses).
Just some food for thought if one of the reasons you are purchasing
insurance is to help out if your Berner develops one of those problems that
are inherited and known to Berners."
"My only complaint (I have VPI, Veterinary Pet Insurance) is that they will
exclude from what's covered anything that the dog has been previously
treated for (in my older dog's case, he had flea bite dermatitis when we
first got him, so that was excluded for the future). The plan I have has a
$50 deductible per "incident," so the insurance is really used for BIG
problems. The only time I've used it is when my younger pup at 4 months ate
a huge amount of an old couch; the emergency vet visit for that cost $178;
after filing, we quickly got reimbursed for all but $50. So that worked out
well... Also, I think if you read the fine print you will find that
conditions considered inherent to the breed (such as dysplasia) will not be
covered. I recently spent a lot of money on xrays and a CT scan for my puppy
because of suspected elbow dysplasia. Even though I've filed, I strongly
doubt any of that will be paid; it's considered "genetic." I think
insurance is good if you count on it to handle some of the big things (bloat
perhaps, or a real illness) but probably doesn't pay when it's just routine
care and the occasional case of pinkeye, etc."
"I don't have the insurance but wish I did. Unfortunately I never really thought
about it until my Berner was two years of age and then it was too late as he has what
would be considered a preexisting condition. I advise everyone that pet insurance is
something that they should SERIOUSLY consider. I know my next Berner will be insured
from the day I bring him home."
