VPI Pet Insurance

[LoveChaCha]

How many of you have VPI insurance for your buns? 

I am thinking about signing up for it. What is the approx cost each month, etc?

When I took my bunny in for her ruptured ear drum, it was nearly 100 dollars

 

[blackfang]

Please go to this website to see the approx cost for VPI insurance.

http://www.petinsurance.com/

Looks like it is asking you for 99 dollars a year. That’s 8.25 dollars a month.

Don’t forget, VPI insurance will cover only one rabbit unless if you willing to pay 16.50 dollars a month fo two bunnies..

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I do not have VPI insurance on my rabbit because I knew that my rabbit will not get illness easily.

He was with me for almost two years. If I have VPI insurance on my rabbit. I would waste 200 dollars (about 100 dollars a year) for nothing!

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My roommate have two guinea pigs. He was thinking about to get VPI insurances to cover his two guinea pigs. I discussed with him that it will cost him 200 dollars a year. Again, he have them for two years, too. His guinea pigs didn’t any health issues.

He would waste 400 dollars for two VPI insurance that do nothing for him!

I suggested him to put 15-20 dollars in pet’s account on his bank account montly as “his own insurance” for his pets. Right now, he told me that he have almost 1,000 dollars in “his own insurance” to cover his guinea pigs anytime in future. So that means he wont waste any of his money.

If one of his guinea pig get injury or sick, he will use “his own insurance” money to pay off.

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ALWAYS REMEMBER!!

VPI insurance will NOT cover all cost of your vet bills. Sometime, VPI insurance company will reject or pay half of your vet bills. Therefore, that means you’ll have to pay MORE if you have VPI insurance!

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On the positive side, it is okay to get VPI insurance IF you have a rabbit that get sick very often like cancer or tumor.

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100 dollars of vet bill is nothing compare to wasting your money on VPI insurance if your rabbit dont get sick or injury for long time..

 

[wendyzski]

Pepper is the poster child for VPI.  Without it, she’d be my $3500 bunny.  She developed chronic pasteurella and spent nearly a year on various antibiotics before we hit on one that worked.  Even so, she’ll be on and off them for the rest of her life and since she’s only 5 I intend to have her around for a good long time yet.

It’s a gamble – if your bunny stays healthy then you “lose money” – but we maked out Pepper’s $2000 annual benefit one year.  I like the peace of mind knowing that if I think something is not right with her that I can take her to the vet without worrying about how I am going to pay for it.

There is a $50 per condition deductible per year, and there are things that aren’t covered or aren’t covered in full, but in general I have found them quick to respond and to pay claims promptly.

[KatnipCrzy]

I have VPI pet insurance for my bunnies- and it is a gamble either way if you will save money or not.  If your bunny does not get ill- then you are out the premium.  BUT if your bunny does get ill and it is NOT a pre-existing or genetic condition (like teeth malocclusion) then you will almost certainly be reimbursed MORE than what your premiums were.

There is a $50 deductable like Wendy mentioned.  And a vet bill of $100 is actually pretty cheap for a bunny.  When Schroeder was ill I spent just over $600 on him- and had about $300 reimbursed.  When Griffin was ill- I spent about $225 on him- and did not have him enrolled for insurance yet.  But Cotton has had insurance since she was about 5 months old and had no claims.  It is like any other insurance- you cannot expect that you will always SAVE money by having it- but in case of a “accident”/illness- it sure can make the difference in being able to pay the expenses.

And I have to say it is ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE to predict that ANY pet will not have any major health issues so insurance will be a waste of money.  But yes, you could set x amount of money aside each month for a vet bill fund.  Whether that pays off in the long run if you have just a few bunnies- you would need a crystal ball and an accurate fortune teller to determine that.

In Sarita’s case- where she had up to 9 bunnies- I can definitely see doing the setting x amount of money aside- it would almost be like “self-insuring”.  The money is set aside and used to pay vet bills and vet bills only.  In that case where premiums would have been crazy expensive per month due to the higher amount of animals insured and the age of the animals (premiums ARE based on age) then it makes more sense to not have insurance and to have a vet fund instead.  Though it is completely possible that you could have one sick bunny and spend the whole fund on one bunny- one episode of illness.

You really need to weigh the odds and analyze your personal situation.  If you are absolutely not able to get treatment for your bunny if it becomes majorly ill- then pet insurance is a good idea.  A major illness can end up costing $600 up to $1500- and it racks up quickly.  Yes, you are NOT going to get all of that reimbursed- but it will sure help paying off your credit card or however you paid for the bill.  It is not like human insurance where the company is billed- YOU pay the vet bills and submit to insurance and get reimbursed.  The vet office does not bill the insurance company.

[MissKris&Koji]

For me, this is the bottom line: the company would not be in that business if they were not turning a profit. In order for them to turn a profit, that means that on the whole people have to be “losing out”. Yes, of course, insurance companies make some of their money by investing premiums held until they have to pay out too, but probability says you will pay more in premiums than you will get in benefits.

In my opinion, it’s much wiser to put what you would pay in premiums into a money market (I like ING) and keep it as your emergency fund. Set up an automatic withdrawl every month and let it sit, grow, and accumulate interest.

If you are the very worried type, the peace of mind may be worth paying more. But for most of us, it just doesn’t make sense.

[Andi]

If i had saved up an ’emergency fund’ even for $10 a month like the insurance company is charging (where abouts) the $120 saved would not cover 2 visits nevermind medications.
I have to many rabbits (and to old as well) to get medical insurance for them, but one day when i have say just two, this is something I will seriously look into. I have spent WY to much on Vet bills for my animals (especially the diabetic dog) an to have had insured my pet(s) would have saved me a lot of money.
As long as you pick the right coverage for you, I see it as more of a money saver then taker.

[Sarita]

Another option is Care Credit if you don’t want to do insurance. See if your vet takes this – this is what I have had to use since I don’t have insurance for my costly vet bills – of which I had tons the end of last year, the beginning of this year.

When I get Pepe’s teeth trimmed every 6 weeks the bill is around $200.00 or more each time so even if it’s not a major illness and just an ongoing procedure like a tooth trim, the costs add up.

[LoveChaCha]

I’ve looked more into it, and your guys’ advice has helped.

Chacha is doing better from her ruptured ear drum. No more head shaking.

I’ve decided to put money into my savings each time I get paid – twice a month in case something were to happen to her

[BinkyBunny]

The only problem I have with savings accounts is that it is much easier to dip in for other emergencies, but if someone is very strict about not touching it than that is a good option. Life always gets in the way…car breaks down, job loss, whatever, and all of sudden that account looks mighty attractive if you don’t have another savings account for “other” emergencies.

For me what I have gotten back from VPI is far more than the premiums I have paid and so I am paying for that peace of mind. There is actually another thread where we went into detail about our bills, I will try and find that.

I think it’s very smart to keep an account though that you know you won’t touch —-or use VPI to help with some of the relief for some common illnesses like GI problems. In another thread, others were asking advice on how much to save. Really the more the better. I think if you are able to save $500 at least, you have a good start, but I would continue add to it since emergency vets and treatments can get very very expensive. (Example – Bailey had an abscess on her back $800, Jack had bladder stone $1300 -$1600 and he never had health problems that needed to be seen by a vet before that) So you can’t depend on a bunny always being healthy even though he’s always been before.  (Especially as bunnies age)

Good for you for planning for the future

[jess&peter]

I was so grateful to have VPI when Peter’s GI issues occurred earlier in the year. I recouped about 400 of the 900 spent. It’s pretty shocking how expensive emergency (or even routine) care can cost — as I think most of us have unfortunately learned at some time or another. VPI did ask for supplemental information before providing the reimbursement checks — basically copies of the medical records and a letter from me with background info on him (both proving that it wasn’t a pre-existing condition). All in all, I think they have really great customer service — I called them a couple of times after submitting the original paperwork and they talked me through the next steps. It was a pretty easy claims process, and knowing I had insurance during his illness provided one less thing to worry about.

[RabbitPam]

I’ve had VPI since I got Samantha, pay $12/mo. and find it a painless way to save.

Last weekend I came across an article in the Sunday paper about pet insurance. It posted resources to get comparisons and advice, so, though I haven’t looked these sites up yet, I thought I’d post them here.

petinsurancecomparison.org

humanesociety.org/animals/resources…g_pet.html

[BinkyBunny]

Oh, and now VPI offers the ability to check the status of your claim online. They are pretty quick about paying back (a few weeks) and you can see what stage your claim is in online.

[skunklionshow]

I have VPI for my rabbits & several of my cats.  I really see it as an investment as they age.  Max Cat (who passed away at 15 y.o. earlier this year) developed hyperthyroidism, skin problems, and eventually cancer.  Had I had insurance on hiim those final years would have cost me very little.  Dealing w/ his hyperthyroidism cost thousandS of dollars.  Each med he was tx’d w/ caused complications & eventually I had to get him the radioactive iodine tx which cost $2000!

My cat Wolfgang had some major diagnostic work done last year…..THOUSANDS of DOLLARS.  He now has a diagnosis of early kidney disease & everything is covered through insurance.

Jessica rabbit has had her teeth done, head tilt, and now bunny attack injuries…all covered!  My only problem was when I took Leo to the emergency room, he had insurance, so I was willing to do whatever I needed to do to save him.  Unfortunately, I did not have the money to pay upfront for the recommended tx.  I’ve always been happy with my decision to get insurance on my pets.  The last thing I want to worry about is not being able to pay for extensive tx.  I have a diabetic cat.  She has had diabetes for about 2-3 years, if she was covered all her testing & insulin would be covered which costs me a pretty penny.  If I put $12 aside a month, it wouldn’t pay for a yrs worth of insulin, check ups, & needles.  

 

As an aside, I did enroll my cat in the CVS diabetes support program.  I get coupons & double CVS bucks on diabetes products.  I highly recommend looking into this if you have a diabetic pet, especially if you get your supplies from the human pharmacy.

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