My initial reaction was the same as ReFinDoc’s to self insure, but I think something like MPMD’s plan could be helpful. I know people who have faced angst over whether to treat their pets for a condition versus euthanasia because the treatment costs were so high. If you insure above whatever amount you would be willing to pay to treat your pet, it could be worth it to spare yourself the trauma of having to put your pet down because treatment was too expensive.
That said, I don’t have pet insurance and won’t be buying any in the future.
My initial reaction was the same as ReFinDoc’s to self insure, but I think something like MPMD’s plan could be helpful. I know people who have faced angst over whether to treat their pets for a condition versus euthanasia because the treatment costs were so high. If you insure above whatever amount you would be willing to pay to treat your pet, it could be worth it to spare yourself the trauma of having to put your pet down because treatment was too expensive.
That said, I don’t have pet insurance and won’t be buying any in the future.
to me it’s just a classic use of insurance, i am transferring risk of a high cost/low prob event for <$1/day.
i would let how you feel about your pet dictate this. we are frankly nuts about our dog (see profile pic). i would absolutely spend $20,000 on something that would give her some quality adjusted life years.
there are plenty of people out there who view pets as less a part of the family and that is absolutely fine. if i inherited my step mom’s dog i probably would self-insure b/c i would have a more transactional approach to vet care.
I agree with Dave Ramsey on this point… no pet insurance. the best thing that you can do if your pet is injured is to have the medical professional accompany the pet. our dog was hit by a car a few years back. thankfully husband physician was available and went with him to emergency pet hospital (the night before thanksgiving no less). he was able to stop a lot of unnecessary treatments that he knew were just seemingly to add padding on the bill or were “we could try this and this and this, it could help”. he essentially laid out a plan of action on what treatment he wanted. dog survived, and bill was about $1500 if I remember correctly, so it would not have met the deductible even. just another reason why you should have an emergency fund…. $26 doesnt seem like a lot but it adds up over the lifetime of a pet – especially if it does not cover routine care and has such a high deductible. i have had my dog 10 years so that would be $3,120 in premiums that would not have even covered our “catastrophic” event….
Tweet
Comment