I got the same insurance Pat did, Pets Best...I decided (all a result of the cancer with Magic...although I had cancer and kidney failure with OJ and didn't get ins. on Casper the Ghost) to get the top plan offered and I paid for a year and I added the "wellness" benefit that I probably won't add next year.  It has reimbursed me for the vaccines that had not been given yet (unfortunately I had already done a bunch), only paid 100 toward the huge cost of his neutering (full blown abdominal surgery and hunting for the elusive ball) and won't pay for the gastropexy I just had done (preventative surgery)....I just sent in four claims so we will see what happens with them.  One was a quick trip to the emergency room (stuck rawhide) that I had actually taken care of before we got there....so I paid to say hi to the doc and the tech who didn't speak english and then came home!  But boy, paranoia seems to reside in my brain somewhere lately!!!  They will pay for the kennel cough vaccine I think...and then I guess my hope is that I paid all that money for absolutely NOTHING.  which is of course what we all hope with ins.  I had tried to figure out if I had paid the insurance premiums on Magic for the 11 years he spent with me, would the insurance have paid off and I actually think it would have...especially if they had paid for all the chemo since I did the experimental one too...It is a tough call...I know a lot of folks recommend you take money each month and throw it in a savings account and that is probably a great idea....IF you do it.  I might be able to at this stage of my life and responsibilities, but not in the past...it was pay the bills and wait for the next check!  And if you have a savings acct for something like that, it is sometimes difficult NOT to dip into it if you need some extra money.

Comet, from what I understand the time to get insurance on a dog is when they are young, so it's cheaper

 

We were late bloomers!  I don't walk out of the vet's for less than $500 except for toenail clippings so surprisingly we still come out ahead!

jerry said
Hi Shanna, 

This was just discussed a couple of weeks ago, I'm glad you brought it up her so we can update this topic. Here is the post:

"Looking for Health Insurance"

It's super smart of you to plan like this. More people should. We recently met a friend of Luke Robinson's who runs "Trusted Pet Partners" and he has something for exactly this situation, a legal pet care trust. We hope to have him on Tripawd Talk Radio real soon.

I'll go visit the links.  We actually are placing our entire assets into a living trust that can be administered by a trustee if we were to meet with an accident. The trustee will know what our desires are for the dogs and have responsibility for getting the dogs to their new locations.

And, wow Joan, thank you for the input.  That is quite impressive service from an insurance provider.  And I really like that you don't have to pay up front for the service.  Both the folks taking a dog are wonderful dog people, but not wealthy and we don't want this request to become a burden for them.

I did look at the FAQ and am considering it. The trust we are working on is a revocable living will that allows either of us to make changes as needed. I like the idea of having everything covered in one document.