Pet Insurance vs. Savings Account/Credit Card
I wanted to touch on the topic of the differences between having pet insurance versus putting money aside or using a credit card because I’ve seen a few comments from you guys about the topic. This is usually a highly disputed topic because about three years ago consumer reports made the suggestion that a person should open a savings account as opposed to buying into pet insurance.
Ok.
While maybe three years ago this *might* have been a good idea, look at where we are today. If you had happened to invest the money you were putting aside, it’s likely disappeared into dust, if anything. Also, in the past three years multiple pet insurance players have entered the arena to not only offer more options, but raise the bar for any existing companies.
Of course I am biased on the situation, but let’s think about this logically. If you start putting, say $20 away a month tomorrow, and if you have the self-discipline to do that then GOOD FOR YOU! What happens if you’re on a hiking trip this summer, say in June, and your trusted walking companion trips, stumbles down a hill and ends up breaking a foot. Traumatic for you, of course. Traumatic on your wallet – YES! The trip to the emergency room and treatment for a broken foot ends up costing you about $1,000. Yes, you might be happy to have the $100 you had put away at this point, but would probably be MUCH happier if you had put that $20 into pet insurance and instead of having to cover $900 of the bill out of pocket, you’d only have to pay maybe $100-$200.
The same would go for a credit card. If you put that $1,000 onto a credit card a paid it off, you’d have to worry about interest accruing and it would end up costing you more than the $1,000 trip to the vet. Now, if you feel like your pet is indestructible, power to ya for saving money! Just bear in mind that accidents (expensive and inexpensive ones) can happen any time.
You can visit here to learn more about alternatives to pet insurance.
Hi Melissa…I think it’s just a matter of preference. For myself, personally, I don’t have a problem putting $20 a month away…automatic transfers in today’s times makes that easy…what scares me is exactly what you said in your last statement…”accidents can happen any time”. And that’s exactly what happens.
My personal experience has been, it comes up when you least expect it. And for me it did…long story short…I had a dog who seemed perfectly healthy…who all the sudden wasn’t and it cost me $1500 alone just for a diagnosis. Treatment wasn’t really much of an option. But believe me…I was not prepared for the emergency that I was hit with.
So, that experience scared me to death…I never wanted to be “unprepared” for another emergency again. Sure, I could take the $97 I pay my insurance (4 pets) and put it in a savings account, but I am scared to death, that the moment I don’t have insurance…two or three months from now…6 months from now…something will happen. Remember, my own personal experience came when I least expected it.
There is peace of mind with having insurance, but at the same time, I’m worried…what if…what if my claim is denied. I’m such the optimist aren’t I? That really scares me too. That just tells you I don’t trust the insurance companies 100%
and thanks for your comment…I read your blog every week
I save money from every pay for my cats’ healthcare in an easily accessible savings account in a regular bank.
Saving money means I’ve had enough money for both of my cats to have twice yearly wellness exams and dentals and it’s covered a few illnesses and hospital stays. One of my cats was just diagnosed with cancer. Since December I’ve spent over $2700 for her to see a specialist, have an endoscopy, ultrasound, blood tests and her chemo medications. She’ll need to take chemo meds for the rest of her life along with getting frequent blood tests and follow up vet visits. My other cat has hyperthyroidism and has also cost a lot of money over the past few months. Both cats will be costing me a lot of money in the future. If I hadn’t saved money, I wouldn’t be able to afford any of this.
Based on my previous experience with pet insurance, I would have had to pay the full vet bill before submitting a claim, so I would have needed the money on hand anyway. There’s no way I can afford to save money and pay sky-high insurance premiums at the same time! And I doubt any pet insurance company would have reimbursed me for more than a token amount for either of my cats’ tests and treatments.
One of my former cats was covered by pet insurance for 8 years until she passed away. Her premiums went up every year until I was paying about $40 a month for coverage. I submitted only two (small) claims during those 8 years. When she was diagnosed with cancer, the insurance paid almost NOTHING for her tests and treatment and it was a strain finding money to cover her vet bills. What a waste of money paying premiums for 8 years! If I’d saved the money instead of having the insurance, there would have been way more than enough money to cover her tests and treatment. (After she passed away, I called to cancel her insurance and they told me to submit a claim for her euthanasia and they’d reimburse me — how nice of them! I never sent the claim in).
My past experience with pet insurance and the fact that my cats are older made the decision easy. I decided not to waste money on paying sky-high pet insurance premiums and sincerely doubt I’d insure a younger cat either. The only exception I’d consider would be accident insurance if my kitties went outdoors.
Hi Teresa,
Thanks for sharing! It sounds like you’ve had quite the experience with your cats’ health! SHEESH! It’d be interesting to see how pet insurance companies today (there are many more options, and hence higher competition to be the better copmany) would compare to the compay that you used in the past. For example, there are companies today that will allow you to get pre-approval, or directly pay your veterinarian without having to reimburse you first. There are also companies that don’t increase your premiums with your pet’s age, as well as companies that offer different deductible options, which would lower monthly premiums.
I think that about touched all of the bases you covered?
My largest point being, while pet insurance may not have worked for you in the past, more and more options are becoming available to work in the pet owner’s favor. In case your curious, or if others reading this blog are curious, you can compare pet insurance companies here.
Regardless Teresa, best of luck with your cats’ cancer treatments and hyperthyroidism:(
Melissa- I just wanted you to know that I gave your compare link from above a shot (even after my bad experience with the other company- I thought I’d give it a try) but they don’t write policies in CT yet. Three of my cats are just over a year old so it kicked me over to a related site for adult pets and that gave me the same result. Oh well, guess I am sticking with the vet care new savings account that I mentioned on the other topic.
Teresa- I am guessing you were with the same company that I just cancelled yesterday. But I took the $60 they offered me for my Dolly’s cremation (which cost $200) since they denied everything else. I personally loved the pre-generated condolences on the loss of my pet message that printed on the denial letter. I wish you the best with your 2 currently sick kitties.
Sandy, thanks again for taking a look. Unfortunately both Trupanion and the company for older pets are still working on licensing so they aren’t quite in every state. However, I still believe that that compare tool is useful for comparing all companies, regardless. Best of luck with your kitties!