VPI Pet Insurance Review - Is it worth it?

If you're like me when you first got your pet you argued with yourself over getting pet insurance. On the one hand, a puppy quickly becomes part of the family and is definitely worth any cost. Then again we all hate dealing with insurance companies, and are suspect that we're being ripped off, so is it really worth the extra headache or do you just want to pay for any health issues out of pocket? Do they even cover anything?

We did the whole err on the side of caution' thing, and got Finn pet insurance. They did reimburse us after we got him neutered and had a check up, but not for the full amount. Filing the claim wasn't that hard, despite many online reviews that say they request too many forms, we simple sent n everything possible and let them sort it out. For our most recent visit to Brentwood Pet Clinic, our vet helped out by filling out the vet required part and faxing it to VPI for us. We followed up with VPI a few days later to make sure everything was in and now we just wait to see what's approved. Finding out how much you are qualified for is nearly impossible without some help, unless you are a fan of reading legalese, but the staff has been very helpful over the phone. Check ups and vaccinations are easy enough, you say what they are, they pay you the set amount. Other, unforeseen, issues are a bit more cryptic. Our policy has a laundry list of things that aren't covered, one of which is anything to do with Finn's hips due to his breeds susceptibility to hip dysplasia.

We've have been lucky that Finnegan has been relatively healthy and haven't had much need for the insurance. This most recent visit we took him in for something we saw in his poop (thinking it was tape worms), it turned out not to be but he did have Giardia. Because Giardia can be spread to humans I was warned by the vet not to eat Finn's poop, as eating poop is likely how Finny got it and could pass it along. The treatment consisted of a 3-day powder medication that we added to some wet food for him.

The vet also said he had an ear infection despite our fairly regular schedule of cleaning his ears. His ears get dirty all the time though, from things like rolling in the lawn, so it's not that much of a surprise they got infected even if were are still concerned. They gave us some medicated drops for a 3 week treatment and then we'll just make sure to keep the ears extra clean and be on the lookout for any inflammation.

As far as the insurance goes, we have no idea if/what/how much of the trip will be covered. Finn did get vaccinations while there, and he was due for a checkup in a few weeks anyways so we should be reimbursed for those. Having to wait to find out what is covered is the worst part, and if it's not a significant amount we may rethink the insurance overall. At about $40 a month, I do wonder if it has been worth it and I think we may let it lapse. We'll still save some money just for Finn but that $40 a month could go a long way to paying most of these bills.

If anyone else has experiences with pet insurance, please let us know your view in the comments.

Pet Insurance, Is it a good thing?

We are thinking of signing Finn up for some pet insurance and I am writing this to see if any other dog owners have it, or have thoughts about it. Please leave them in the comments, any insight would be greatly appreciated.

We plan on using VPI, which is the largest provider of pet insurance. And what's more we are going to go for the VPI superior plan.

I have tried to find reviews for these and they are all over the board. At one site VPI has 15 reviews totalling a .5 on a ten point scale. However most sites with more than one review there are getting low numbers and I assume it because people don't tend to go searching around for sites to review something if they are happy with it and it does what it is supposed to. Then of course there is an About.com article which puts VPI comparable or better than most of the alternatives. Epinons has some pet insurance reviews but the first negative one is from someone who has only had coverage for less than a month, and how can you review an insurance company after a single month?

I called our vet and she didn't give a real endorsement one way or the other. Her opinion seemed to be, it might help/it might not. Although not very helpful her advice did let me know that either way I should make sure to be as diligent about Finn's health as I am about any human member of the family.

The ten pet insurance questions posted at About seem good but nothing helps as much as a personal opinion from a real customer. So again, please, if you have ever had pet insurance or have personal experiences with it please share. I just want to make sure Finn is always active and happy, and causing my action shots to be blurry.