Hello,

I recently got a french bulldog puppy named Walter. So far he is doing amazingly well and has had no health issues but I would like to get some pet insurance for the future, since he is still little and this is the perfect time to get it, when he has no pre-existing conditions.

my question is:
what is everyone's experience with pet insurance? What company do you use? (PetSecure, VetInsurance, etc.)
is one type of policy better than others?

Thanks in advance!

I have both a pug and a french bulldog/boston terrier. When we got our pug we put her on PetSecure for a while, which we did use. But we found that it wasn't really necessary as she didn't need to use it anymore..and especially because we got our second dog and we didn't really want to pay the amount of money it would be to have them both on. We decided just to set money aside in a seperate bank account in case anything happened so that we could use that money. Now with our second dog I totally wish we had put him on insurance...he has had so many issues and we could have saved so much money...and he still has issues that are going to cost us a small fortune but now they would not be covered because the problems have already been identified. I would suggest maybe putting your dog on pet insurance till he is about 8 months old or so....thats when all our problems have come up with our dogs basically. If there are problems found before that point then it may be better to keep him on it until you feel like nothing else will really come up. I really really regret not putting him on it....especially because now I am told he probably has allergies and that can be very pricey to figure out the cause. Also has cherry eye so he will probably eventually need surgery on that....which again would not be covered because it has already been diagnosed.

We use Vet Insurance and it has been really worthwhile as both Sam and Belzie needed it for major surgeries in the 4 years we had them. They are a Canadian carrier so in some ways they mimic our "universal" system. Basically pay a monthly premium and they'll cover what they cover (some exclusions so should read the fine print) up to $20K at any time.

The total for the 2's bills in surgery alone costs more than $15K, so having most of it covered was a god send!

What company did you have the coverage with?

Vet Insurance... I think in they are called Trupanion now...

As our vet suggested we have just opened up a savings account for our Frenchie and add 60$ a month rather than getting insurance. We haven't had to dig into it for any emergency thank goodness but it's a great little nest egg incase anything ever happens.

Ya we did that too but not quite so much a month only $40 but...shortly after we started that we got into his problems and drained it already and haven't been putting into it due to vet bills costing a fortune. It is a good idea though just if you end up having a ongoing problem you kind of wish you had pet insurance....however if you dont have any problems then atleast your not wasting money on monthly premiums and the money stays in your account....tough decision.

We have Vet Insurance. The only drag is with our vet (had him for 5 dogs & many years) is that we have to pay the vet up front even tho the insurance company would allow the vet to bill them & they would pay. For small things this is OK. But I shudder to think if I ever have to pay $10,000 for a major operation FIRST then get it back from the insurance.

So far we have not needed it for our Frenchie. It is good to have insurance in place tho when they get older.

I like the idea of saving a bit for them too.