To me, Insurance is a safety net and my boy is worth covering. I prefer not to get blind sided by some random string of bad luck accidents totaling 10k++ at who knows what time in my boys life. My insurance will directly send payment to the vet the same day. I love my aussie! :D
@@aaacl08 No! The vet has to have Trupanions software and very FEW vets do PLUS if iTs your first cliam they need your medical history first so only in rare situations would they pay even if they have tHE insurance software and its yoUR first cliam. DONT BE DECEIVED BY PET INSURANCE COMPANIES!
My partner and I decided to not get pet insurance when we got our golden retriever puppy. We had the money upfront to afford first year expenses (vaccines, neuter, checkups). We pay ourselves $100 month into a seperate savings account for our dog. We will dip into this if an unexpected expense comes up. He is almost 2 now and we have about $2000 saved.
For labrador retrievers pet insurance is ~$30 per month which totals to ~$3,600 over 10 years. By "self insuring" and not investing in pet insurance, I've saved over $29,000 for the 8 labs I've had over the past twenty years
@@analarson2920 For labrador retrievers pet insurance is ~$30 per month which totals to ~$3,600 over 10 years. By "self insuring" and not investing in pet insurance, I've saved over $29,000 for the 8 labs I've had over the past twenty years
@@RetrieverTrainingAlone are u saying u actually saved as in you haven’t touched it it’s in a savings account or are you just saying u don’t have a pet insurance?
I really appreciate what you do! I have wanted an Aussie for a very long time and I’m very close to convincing my parents to let me get one! Also do you think an Aussie would do well with other dogs?
I don’t know why this is still a debatable question. You get a pet therefore you get insurance, period. Simple as that.You can’t run from vet all his life bc you’re afraid of costs.And have a credit card designated for the upfront pay. Don’t get only emergency, it’s useless believe me , I know it’s cheap and tempting but it’s useless. Get sicknesses too.
I currently have pet insurance and their policy on what is considered a "pre-existing condition" is any illness, disease, injury, or change to the pet's health that occurs or shows symptoms prior to getting insurance or during the 14 day waiting period before being covered. I think most pet insurances are like that too. The one I have covers even for microchip and holistic treatments (for example acupuncture) for your pets, behavioral treatments, and even the burial or cremation of the pet. They also cover microchipping (of course you have to meet the deductible first). They do offer to cover prevenative care for an extra cost a month (wellness exams, vaccines, spay/neuter, dental cleaning, etc.) but personally I don't find it useful since I have access to that cheaply through a rescue clinic. However, I did suffer a house fire in 2021 and my cat was in it the whole time. He survived but the vet bills were over $2,000. Luckily I had a savings at that time but I could've used that money to help with other things since I lost my home and had no job because it was during covid. If I had pet insurance, it would have helped me that year. I get that it is a little bit of a gamble. You could go a whole year and nothing happens to your pet and that is money spent and unused and YES you can create a savings instead BUT what happens when something occurs sooner than expected and you didn't save enought money yet? You could find out that your animal has cancer. Treating cancer could cost up to $10,000 depending on the cancer, the severity, the treatments, and the animals. You would have to be putting aside $834 a month for a whole year to cover that. There are some pet insurances that do pay the vet directly or give your money in a matter of days instead of 30 days. It is a lot more affordable for someone to pay a pet insurance company $30-$50 per pet a month than putting aside $834 a month. So yes, I am paying $1,000 a year for both my pets but if something severe happens (like the cancer treatment I mentioned above) I don't have to save $1,000 for 10 years. I can get it covered immediately after my 14 days and my deductible. Also keep in mind that with most pet insurances you can customize your plan. For example, you can choose the deductable (can be as low as $100), you can choose your reinbursement % (up to 90% and some offer 100%, and you can choose the annual cap (some have unlimited). Obviously the lower the deductible, the higher the price and the higher the reinbursement % and annual cap the higher the price but you can find a happy medium and adjust as needed. So while your pet is young and healthy you can choose a higher deductible with a lower reimbursement rate and lower annual (banking on they don't experience an accident) and then as they get older and could develop issues you can call the insurance company and change your plan to have a higher reinbursement and annual cap.
@@magnumpi28 Actually it has been a great experience. My dog is a rescue and I found out she had heartworm. The insurance has covered all the treatment. My dog had a bad reaction to the 2nd injection and had to go the ER which cost almost $3,000 and guess what? insurance covered. I think pet insurance is great
Thank you for the great content! I was unsure how beneficial pet insurance could be and your video helped a lot. I think it’s probably better not having to deal with insurance companies and build up a savings account for the dog that hopefully, won’t be used :)
You can set up a savings account to withdraw a certain amount of money automatically each month and just never look at it. Since you have to pay up front anyway, this is the smartest choice in my opinion and what I have done for my service dog. I have many thousands of dollars for him if I need it and it gains interest, which doesn't happen with pet insurance. Pet insurance is just too shady for me. If it was like human insurance then I'd go for it but it isnt.
For labrador retrievers pet insurance is ~$30 per month which totals to ~$3,600 over 10 years. By "self insuring" and not investing in pet insurance, I've saved over $29,000 for the 8 labs I've had over the past twenty years
For labrador retrievers pet insurance is ~$30 per month which totals to ~$3,600 over 10 years. By "self insuring" and not investing in pet insurance, I've saved over $29,000 for the 8 labs I've had over the past twenty years
For labrador retrievers pet insurance is ~$30 per month which totals to ~$3,600 over 10 years. By "self insuring" and not investing in pet insurance, I've saved over $29,000 for the 8 labs I've had over the past twenty years
Pet insurance is never a good deal imo. I learned this years ago. Pay those premiums to yourself in a savings and you'll always be ahead. Insurance companies have these plans set up in their favor. Insurance is meant for catastrophic events, not bills. Very informative video.
I adopted a 6 year old dog in September 2021 and took out Pet insurance in October with every paw UK i pay £18.00 per month. I December 2021 my dog got very bad ear infection the treatment started incl CT Scan anestasia for far her bill is over £2000 so far my excess is £110 per condition . The insurance paid out the 1st claim no problem and i am sure they pay the rest as well ! PET INSURANCE , YES!
we had pet insurance for a few years, then I was able to build up a savings account and decided that we could use that instead of paying, that and the premium increased so much for my older cat
Okay so insurance is definitely not a wise option for low income pet owners. It's like car insurance. If I get into a accident, I have to pay a Thousand dollar deductible before the company covers any of the collision damages. When my car was broken into (2x) last year- my car insurance didn't cover the window damages. I had to pay out of pocket for that myself. These doctors and insurance companies in general are very expensive. I told the lady I can see why there's so many people driving around with no insurance. Of course she said, "Oh no! That's not a good idea to do that." They have to change something. Because it's really you- spending lots of money every month as long as nothing happens to your pet, or vehicle in the case of Auto insurance, with these insurance companies.
This was the BEST video I've seen on this. You're work and research is so valuable. I think we're going to do the savings account route. But it's those emergencies that worry me. My dog eating something he shouldn't, or if he gets in a fight with another dog (mine is muzzled...so he'd suffer the injuries), etc. Wondering if "Pawp" is a better approach.
If you need that warm and funny feeling then get a ACCIDENT only policy, its real cheap. The key is to be smarter than the dogs and keep him away from other dogs you dont know and dont let him chew on things he could swallow.
Medical costs can go up extremely quickly depending on what you’re dealing with. My last dog ended up being what I call a “nearly $20k” dog (no joke, and I got him for free 😬). So I’m looking to insure my current dog (who is a well bred Mini American Shepherd), anyway. Just not sure yet if I’d want to pay for regular illness and injury or also adding in wellness (he’s a sport dog so he gets chiropractic adjustments and stuff..). At the very least I know I want something to cover injury/illness and of course hope I’d never really need it. But this gave me some more ideas on what to ask about. It’s been so overwhelming! Even with a well bred dog, I know of people who tried the “separate money for dog emergency” fund and then ended up blowing through that money and more, very quickly, for the situation after multiple MRIs and other diagnostics and then surgery.
Thank you for all of this helpful information, great content! I was wondering what your exercise routine is with your Australian Shepherds? I've read some articles that say Aussies only need 30 minutes a day of physical exercise and other sources saying 3 hours a day. Do you keep a strict routine (like consistently exercising for x-minutes every day) or does it vary day to day (like 30 mins on mon-fri, and 3 hours on sat + sun, etc). What amount mental stimulation requirements as well? thank you!!
My Aussie usually gets 3-4 walks a day (ranging from 20-30 minutes each). She also gets longer hikes/walks on the weekend. I would definitely say that 30 minutes of physical activity a day is probably not enough to keep the breed happy. She is also very active inside the house and always wants to play ball or tug-of-war.
@@animalscholar yes so true, my Aussie shepherd border collie cross is my service dog but she alerts, assists and does therapy outside with me, on top of that she trains, walks with family and plays brain games. When the weather is bad we all get buggy with her as she starts poking us all and we have to be creative. Living on a homestead is perfect for her but we have had her in the city too and around heavy equipment and wildlife. So clearly she has lots of training and busy life. Blessings to the journey and good health for all.
