Pet Insurance for a Puppy

parker1 on 26/05/2019 - 23:42

Hi guys

I just recently got a little puppy. He's about 10 weeks old.

Any pet insurance you guys would recommend?
I also stumbled across "Greencross Vets" who is apart of Petbarn (great ratings on google!). I had a chat to the lady there, and she was super informative.

They have something called "Healthy Pets Plus", which is a proactive preventative membership as oppose to insurance.
It's 40/pm but it includes, unlimited consultations, vaccinations, microchips (if needed), pet dental checks, and a bunch of pet health screening tests. I figured with just the consultations, it might be worth it already…

But if the pup does suffer from an illness or something, the consultation is free, but if the vets runs tests or gives meds, it's an extra.

Do you guys think its worth it? Or better off to go with normal Pet Insurance instead?

Here's the site with more info on Greencross Vets: https://www.greencrossvets.com.au/healthy-pets-plus/

Pets Insurance Pet Insurance

Comments

  • Quantumcat on 26/05/2019 - 23:56
    +5

    You're better off just putting money on a regular savings account. You'll only get value out of it if your pet gets a really serious illness needing many surgeries etc. And in which case you'll be many thousands out of pocket anyway.

    My sister got good value out of her pet insurance because her German Shepherd got bone cancer and needed radiation, medication, regular blood tests and surgeries including leg amputation. Even after all that he probably only lived an extra, unhappy, year and it cost her at least $10k out of pocket not including premiums.

    As hard as it is to say it, every medical procedure for a pet is a choice. You can always choose to just wait and see what happens, or put them down, if the chances don't look great or the medical costs are too high. Not like a human where you still have to go for the one in a hundred chance rather than give up even if it costs you your house or bankruptcy (like in the USA).

    TL;DR basically you'll never get good value out of it unless your pet gets a terrible illness AND you're many thousands out of pocket so it isn't really worth it. Just save up money regularly so if they do get a bad illness a few years down the track you have a kitty ready to deal with it and aren't forced to give up on your dog because you can't afford to save him.

  • dcuksuop on 27/05/2019 - 00:11

    I believe most pet insurance are underwritten by 1 of 2 companies…
    Pet insurance are for major issues.
    Should get it, and find a local vet for regular check ups/vaccinations.

  • lachhelix on 27/05/2019 - 01:34

    I wouldn't bother with Greencross Vets. Get a second opinion or look at normal pet insurance if you find a really good/comprehensive one. We just got our cat back after 3 days with a diagnosis of kidney stones and were billed $1990 so now figure they're probably going to be unnecessarily expensive

  • crashloaded on 27/05/2019 - 05:55

    I got woolworths pet insurance for my 2 kittens. Haven't had to use it but after my last cat got really sick and passed away, it cost me a lot trying to save him and I didn't have pet insurance.

    The woolworths pet insurance also included 6 months free vet assist.

    • dtaylor4 on 23/01/2024 - 11:43

      Any insurance through a supermarket is just to use their huge customer list and pump out cheap policies that don't cover much. I would advise against Coles/Woolworths insurance of any kind.

      • crashloaded on 28/01/2024 - 07:06

        Disagree. One of these kittens has developed an incontinence issue and Woolworths insurance has paid out on all required medication and treatments over the last 4 years.

        • try2bhelpful on 28/01/2024 - 09:42

          I’m not a vet so I can’t possibly comment on your individual case with any authority. I just thought I would mention my experience. We had a cat that could never form a solid stool. We were continually cleaning her up after she defecated. Eventually we just put her on low fat dry food and that seemed to do the trick. Not saying it will work for you but if you are getting something similar it might be worth a try. The thing to watch is ensuring there aren’t kidney issues down the road with insufficient fluid. Maybe try a low fat can food as well.

          Best of luck with your cat.

          • crashloaded on 28/01/2024 - 09:54

            @try2bhelpful: Hi thanks for that. The incontinence issue is actually her peeing while asleep and not noticing. She uses litter when awake. There is a surgery that can be done but the vet has informed that due to her size (small Devon Rex) it has a high risk.

            • try2bhelpful on 28/01/2024 - 11:23
              +1

              @crashloaded: Sorry to hear that. Poor kitty.

              It is hard when you have a chronic issue to work out the best solution. In our case it depends on how distressed the cat is with this happening. If it isn’t too upset, and it is cleaning itself, maybe looking at bedding with material they use for incontinent people that is easy to wash. Really best of luck.

        • dtaylor4 on 30/01/2024 - 12:54

          To clarity, my opinion is not that insurance from supermarkets does nothing. They have to honor the contract of the policy. I believe you get better policies for better value through more direct insurers, and the service from smaller ones is often much better.

  • altomic on 27/05/2019 - 06:50

    it is really worth your time to read some of the previous posts on ozbargain where users have asked your exact same question.

    here is a link to those past posts

  • 2jzzzz on 27/05/2019 - 08:33
    +1

    I'm that guy that has got value. Spent about $40k on one dog and $12k on another. Bowwowmeow have been fantastic. Only annoying thing is sub limit on cruciate and capped consultation limit.

  • aspirepranesh on 27/05/2019 - 08:40

    Pet Insurance Australia and Bowwowmeow are the best rated ones in the market based on google reviews, productreviews.com.au and online forums. I did a lot of research before I took up PIA! Flawless…everything can be managed online and claims get approved very quickly.

    I highly recommend get Pet insurance. Our pup fell sick eating something and cost over $2000 in the first six months and an other six months later he got bit by something and was in emergency care for 5 days (cost over $6000). All within the first year… So glad I took up insurance!

    During our emergency, our Vet couldnt fully identify the problem, took him to emergency care and even the specialists couldnt idenfity why he fell sick to the point he almost died! So your $40 per month option would no way have covered if something like this were to happen!

    PIA and Bowwowmeow both cost about $50 per month for top tier cover.

    • dtaylor4 on 23/01/2024 - 11:44
      +1

      Be careful with reviews, these companies incentivise people to give good ones. Best to look at the bad reviews and see if the people seem reasonable, or just unhappy they chose the wrong policy.

  • orangetrain on 27/05/2019 - 09:03

    You're paying $480 per year, but what's the excess?

    Are any conditions excluded or is there a list of conditions only included?

    Edit: Do they have a list of approved vets? Check the reviews of some closest near you. A bad vet is more likely to sign up.

    • dtaylor4 on 23/01/2024 - 11:46

      Excess is really less relevant, unless you know you're likely to make a claim, then choose the higher excess and lower the cost of your monthly payments. Excess doesn't change the policy coverage in any way.

      Also, all pet insurers cover all vets. There is no such thing as list of approved vets. Thankfully insurers in Australia don't have a grip on vets (yet)

  • try2bhelpful on 27/05/2019 - 15:33

    If you are looking for Pet insurance make sure you are covered for chronic illnesses. Some pet insurance places will cover for the first year then call it an existing illness for the subsequent years. Our old kitty burnt through $12,000 in her last year of life and we only had to cover $2,000 of it due to having health insurance. The problem is it can cost $1000/$2000 just for an initial diagnosis before you work out if you want to continue treatment and then medication is not subsidised. The decision to treat or euthanise is a problem when the pet can have good quality of life as long as treatment occurs. However, if an animal is suffering, and you can’t afford to treat it, then put it down don’t let it suffer because you can’t make the decision.

  • parker1 on 27/05/2019 - 22:12
    -3

    So - I ended up going with Petbarns / Greencross Vets Pet Care Club.
    I've got a tiny Chihuahua pup (under 1kg), so the plan includes:

    • 2kg royal canin delivered to my door every 2 months (i chose to get it every 2 months, as i figure he won't be eating all that much anyways)
    • puppy school ($150 value)
    • all vaccs (3 x about $100 per vac normally!!)
    • microchip
    • 25% desexing
    • FREE unlimited consultations, dental checks (if my pup falls ill, and the vet recommends a particular med for him, i've been advised to get the prescription and goto your local chemist, as it's alot cheaper!! e.g. my aunt had to get eye drops for her dog; to get it from the vet, it was $100, but to get the same thing from the pharmacy it was $20!!)
    • free nail clippings (haha i'm petrified to do this!)

    I realise this is not gonna help if he falls really ill, but it's a nice peace of mind kinda plan, and figure, I can get insurance as an extra a few months down the track.

    • sunnyc on 15/08/2019 - 21:59

      My dog fell from my 5th level balcony at 10 weeks old. I had healthcare with bestfriend pets which is similar to greencross healthy pet plus. $12k in hospital bills. Go buy insurance as well.

  • Repstar on 18/06/2019 - 14:24
    +1

    We use RACQ with the TLC option. 2 x dachshunds is approx $90/month. Very competitive prices when I was looking around.

    • TheLurker on 23/06/2019 - 13:47

      +1 got RACQ. Near half price of other companies underwritten by Allianz or Hollard. Great support and TLC is worth it. Hope you never need to claim anything big, but friends have spent $6000 just getting multiple repair surgeries, and then surgical removal of a dew claw. Can cost a fortune so shop around.

      • Repstar on 23/06/2019 - 13:49

        The insurance didn't cover the $6k bills?

        • TheLurker on 24/06/2019 - 11:48

          They had issues with their insurer who didn't want to approve their claim. They didn't deem it a necessary medical procedure or something like that. We use the same vet and I know they (vet) had to write letters to their insurer to convince them to cover it. From memory they only got $2500 back. I don't know who their insurer was though sorry.

          • Repstar on 24/06/2019 - 14:09

            @TheLurker: Oh okay I thought you were saying RACQ refused to pay up. Thanks!

  • SlavOz on 06/07/2019 - 13:57

    You may or not benefit from pet insurance. Like any insurance product, it's a gamble, one which the insurance company usually wins. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't buy it.

    Pet insurance is about $500 a year. Look at the maths - I have a German Shepherd with an average life expectancy of about 9 years. 9 years of pet insurance is $4500. It's very likely you'll spend more than $4500 at the vet over 9 years. A single accident can cost you triple that.

    A vet visit from something as simple as an infection can cost you $500. If you have pet insurance, you'll get back at least $400 of that. That means you're only paying $100 for your policy. That's not much for the comfort of knowing you won't have to watch your pet die due to inability to afford treatment.

    Ignore the little things like standard vet visits. The main thing is if your pet has a big accident or injury or gets really sick. That's when you're well and truly screwed unless you have pet insurance. A snake bite will cost you thousands of dollars in treatment. If your pet swallows something and it gets stuck, you're looking at about $4000 in surgery bills. These things are actually very common and if they happen to your pet, having pet insurance means you basically make a lifetime of premiums back instantly.

    Even if you do end up saving money by not having pet insurance, how much are you really saving and is it worth the extra risk? Probably not. If you spend $2000 in vet fees over your pet's lifetime, that means you would've been better off not having pet insurance. But then again, is the $2500 saving really worth risking your pet's life for?

  • tomrackies on 16/09/2019 - 18:19

    You could try getting Funeral Plans with Gold Coast pet cremation for your pets in the future. Saving this is not twisted. It's just a logical plan.

    • try2bhelpful on 16/09/2019 - 19:22

      Maybe I’m heartless but I’ve never taken any of my kitties home from the vets after putting them down. I give them a good life, and a good death; I don’t need a piece of them once they have gone.

  • JackJones81 on 24/10/2019 - 12:10

    If you get in as a puppy most of the treatment for accidents and illness should be covered by the insurance.
    The problem comes in when pet owners wait too long, join when the dog is 4 years old and by that time things have already gone wrong and there are pre-existing conditions.
    If you get cover for your pet as a puppy or kitten, and threfor do not have to worry too much about pre-existing conditions, the only other big thing to look out for relates to sub-limits on policies. If you pick a policy with no sub-limits, you should be good as gold.

  • nightelves on 01/03/2020 - 01:22

    Just wanted to ask if Vet report any of your pet existing condition to insurance company? I'm looking to take my pet into the vet to remove a cyst but want to be able to claim insurance. In this case would they know?

  • dtaylor4 on 23/01/2024 - 11:37

    I used to work for an Australian pet insurance company (I won't say which one). What I know is:
    - Most pet insurance is done by Petsure (which is actually Hollard), you can look them up, they'll give the list of their brands, which include most of the ones you've probably heard of. They all have pretty much the same product terms which are not good, they set limits year to year, so you might be covered a lot for the first year when something happens, but if its ongoing you would get less towards that issue. This includes RSPCA. RSPCA the charity = Good, RSPCA the pet insurer = Bad
    - Routine care is a non-issue. If you get routine care then its priced to cover it, so if you're getting it for the sole purpose of it forcing you to take your pet routinely then great, you're a more responsible pet owner than most, but otherwise it provides no real value.
    - All pet insurances rise each year. It sucks, but its common sense, the older you get, the more likely a health issue, this is just the reality. But if they're offering 2 months free or something like that, best believe they are getting that two months back in the next year.
    - Always look at ongoing treatment coverage, many pet insurance products won't cover ongoing issues that can be really costly like epilepsy, or BOAS.
    - The bigger the insurer, the harder they are to deal with. If you go with a smaller Australian owned insurance company, they're actually afraid of the regulators, so they're going honor the policy you have. But its on you to know what you are, and are not covered for. The cheapest insurance won't cover everything, thats why its cheap people.

    MY HONEST ADVICE (disclaimer - you make your own decisions) - Get pet insurance for the first couple of years and after that open term deposit account and put that monthly spend in there. This may seem harsh, but unfortunately dogs and cats are like cars, you never know when you get a lemon. Genetic issues will often arise in the first couple of years, hip dysplasia for example can come at any time, but often as they dog grows, and something like this can cost over $20k over a few years of ongoing treatment.

  • Nucleus Acumbens on 11/04/2024 - 02:30

    Petsonme $50 excess. Fast turnaround on claims. No hassles. Top cover including dental.

    Joined two dogs from 8 weeks old. Both used it for desexing, one used it for $2800 pancreatitis.

    Definitely out ahead for doggie 1. In the hole for other one.

    Also have healthy pets plus.

    Free vet and emergency vet consults. Free vaccinations. Free nail clippings => paid for itself in first few weeks.

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