NCDR TTMA pet insurance

[unaveragejane]

Our dogs are getting old, and the vet says one needs $600+ of dental work. Who has used pet insurance, and is it worth the monthly premium?

[rugger]

My BIL has it for his dog and a couple friends have it for their two pups. Their dogs have health issues like allergies and heart murmurs that lead to multiple vet visits, so for them, the insurance was/is well worth it. I know they've saved a lot with treatments and surgeries.
We've only had to take our dog to maybe 3 non-routine visits in the 7 years of having her, so for us, it wouldn't be worth. But I think if you anticipate a lot of visits, it would be worth it.

Apparently you have to fill out forms and submit for reimbursement, kind of life Aflac, which I find tedious.

[brandiewine11]

Absolutely 100% yes. Although it likely will not cover the dental work since pre-existing conditions are excluded.

My girl (a rescue newfie) is about 8-9 years old. Her premiums are pretty high, but so far we've come out ahead. They cover her hypothyroid medication and all testing, they paid for thousands of dollars in tests when she had food allergy problems, and most recently they paid over $6k for her surgery for oral melanoma.

So yes, I will never have a dog without insurance.

The top 2 rated companies in the newfoundland dog groups are Pet Plan and Embrace. Stay away from VPI and the like. Feel free to PM me if you want more details. Unfortunately I'm pretty well versed in this stuff.....

[rrrrrachel]

I've looked into it many times (we had four dogs now three) and it's just so expensive. It always seemed like I would be better off putting that amount away each month (ha).

[esd]

A good friend of mine had it for her dog - he recently passed away but they covered 100% an emergency visit, oxygen treatments, and transfer to a cardiologist. All on a weekend. So worth it. They do not cover pre existing conditions though so probably not worth it in your case.

[nanaosaki06]

Look into anesthesia free teeth cleaning. Often times it's gentler on the pet and cheaper

[unaveragejane]

Jan 22, 2015 15:51:38 GMT -5 nanaosaki06 said:

Look into anesthesia free teeth cleaning. Often times it's gentler on the pet and cheaper

She's got to have some teeth removed. Can they do that without anesthesia?

[esd]

I would seriously question a vet that would remove teeth without anesthesia. I don't see a way that could safely be done.

[meesh]

Unless they're really rotten and could easily be pulled

I'm guessing, jane, that for $600 it's some major stuff. The vet I worked at charged about $120 for a regular cleaning.

[nanaosaki06]

Yeah, tooth removal can't be done without anesthesia. If it was just cleaning then looking for a gentle anesthesia free tooth cleaning service would be cheaper and better for your pet.

[kmmd]

We just recently got pet insurance for our dog. It doesn't cover anything pre-existing (which is nothing for her). It costs us $29 a month (in Canada) and she is a healthy 3 year old. But we get $2500 coverage per illness and per injury per year. I think it's worth it.

[DVMmomma]

Hi! Certified vet tech and soon to be veterinarian here. Please don't get dentals done without anesthesia. I honestly can't even imagine this. Unless you mean sedation and just not general inhalent anesthesia? Which frankly still frightens me because it means the animal wasn't intubated and the airway wasn't secured. Recipie for aspiration pneumonia.

As far as the $600 price tag, that's pretty standard for a few extractions and full cleaning. In fact that's about $300 less than my hospital would do it for. Insurance would have been worth it to cover annual cleanings because pets need those as much as we do! As PPs said, insurance probably won't cover your current situation though.

I'm mobile right now so I'm going to stop typing but I'm happy to help if you have other questions!

Edit- phrasing