pet insurance for cats?

[CJinCA]

Hi everyone!

does anyone have any experience with VPI pet insurance? It just seems a little pricey and I'm wondering if its worth it. My kitties are indoor only and healthy (little Squeek keeps sneezing lately though and Lickorich could lose some weight)..

so the quote I got (my hubby gets discount thru his company) was

feline plan: 15 most common cat illnesses only, no deductible: 16 / mo per cat - this plan is available but not part of discount.

major medical (most illnesses, injuries): 100 deductible: 22 mo per cat

major medical (100 deductible) plus preventive care (checkup, vaccines, dental cleaning, etc): 33 mo per cat

The major medical has a list of all the diagnoses and the max the insurance will pay for each with a cap of 14000 / year /cat. since I haven't had cats for a long time, I'm not up-to-date on what things cost, so its hard to figure out if its worth it. Of course, God forbid, if one of them gets injured or major illness it may pay off, but I guess its just wait and see and hope.

Thanks,

Carla

[YayHappens]

Hi Carla,

I went over all of the insurance stuff when I got my two who are indoors only several months ago. I had to decline because what the policies covered were not anything I felt I would need in an emergency and there were too many limitations on everything. I am not opposed necessarily, but what they offered in exchange for my money is not the right fit at this time.

A vet consultation local to me is just under $50.00. Based on your quote for just the basic coverage, you would be paying over $160.00 per year for one cat to be seen for a common illness, which in most cases for 'common' takes one visit to get sorted out. Does that plan cover the cost of prescriptions?

On the fine print of limitations, what do they mean by "most" illnesses or injuries? I found that what they listed as "most illnesses" on the policies I looked at was actually a really short list of a bunch of stuff that occurs from feeding a cat a poor quality cat food. Seriously.

Also, certain "major injuries or illnesses" are only covered for cats up to a certain age and of course it turned out that the age that they would need insurance to cover that care is where they would not be covered anymore. (Convenient!) Do the policies you looked at mention age or breed limitations anywhere?

If my own cats were outdoors or indoor/outdoor, I may have looked a little deeper into the major stuff, but I could see right away that with the cats being indoor only on a really decent diet, feeding and exercise plan and having no real history of prior issues, it didn't make sense to do the insurance. I might revisit it again when my oldest cat turns senior to see if anything changes to work in everyone's favor.

IMO, a yearly visit to for a checkup and preventive care will do volumes. Read about what things are poisonous to cats (foods, fruits, vegetables, chemicals, cleaners, plants, and things that help cat-proof your home, etc.) and if you are making sure their food is composed of what a cat would naturally eat (or as close to it as you can get) those two things will be so helpful towards avoiding ill health.

Of course, if any of them have a history or something genetic that you might be concerned about, there are more considerations to have to weigh out.

In my case, the money that would have gone to insurance is being better utilized by spending it on $$$ food and tucking a few dollars away for just in case something unexpected and unlikely happens.

Isn't it amazing they can make pet care insurance just as complicated as they do for people here?!

[Ritzpg]

I have PetPlan insurance, serviced by Fetch Insurance Services, for my one cat, Ritz, indoor only. My annual premium is $290. This is the second year I have insurance.
Ritz had a UTI in May that was originally misdiagnosed so she was under treatment for almost six weeks. The amount I was reimbursed equalled the annual premium.
PetPlan reimbursed me for all prescriptions, even the extra cost of PillPockets and then getting the medication flavored. And expressing her anal glands at the same time the vet clipped her nails (same line item).
Ritz has been diagnosed with stress-induced FLUTD. Liike the other poster indicated, an once of prevention will go a long way towards preventing problems. (I used Feliway when I had repair work done in my apartment, which prevented yet another UTI.)
And as you are doing: read the fine print.
Note that PetPlan ("bronze level") will not pay for 'routine' dental cleaning; I argued that it is not "routine" for an 18 month old cat to have gingivitus, but that argument didn't change PetPlan's decision.
I plan on renewing the insurance; it is worth my peace of mind.

[BarbieAnn]

I have VPI insurance and thank God I got it for my indoor only cat. At around 6 months she ate and got a braided material in her stomach that obstructed it. She needed hospitalization endoscopy to get it out! I never expected anything like that to happen but I was happy that my vet's assistant told me about the insurance plan.
It paid $1,000.00 of her entire treatment. It also pays for her wellness visits and medications for parasite prevention.

[MowMow]

I have PetPlan as well. I don't know how good they are about paying out as they don't cover routine visits and I haven't had any crisis yet (crossed fingers) that I need to file a claim.

I'm ashamed to say I only have it for MowMow and not for Shepherd Book. I can't afford twice the payments right now and MowMOw is the one who had a history of medical issues so I make sure he is covered.

*IF* I had a job that gave me lots of extra cash I would save up a nice cushion, tuck it away for feline emergencies and drop the pet insurance completely. However, I don't have the luxury so I keep it for peace of mind.