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I self-insured my previous cat. About a year after she passed of cancer, when I felt I was ready for another pet, I did the math for insurance. I would have pai
by zargon 3y ago
I self-insured my previous cat. About a year after she passed of cancer, when I felt I was ready for another pet, I did the math for insurance. I would have paid a lot less with the insurance plan I found. So my new cats have insurance.
The costs for my previous cat were heavily skewed to the end of life period. But if there is ever an an accident or other emergency situation during their youth, the insurance would work out even more favorably. If I never end up having to use it, all the better.
- latchkey 3y agoYou can't get insurance for an end of life cat. The comparison doesn't work against a young healthy pet. If you never have to use it, you've just wasted a bunch of money. Don't think you can outsmart rooms full of people who are doing the math against much larger volumes of input data.
- zargon 3y agoMy comparison is to a young healthy pet who reaches end of life, as pets tend to do. I did the math, including interest on self-insurance savings and deductibles and co-pays. In my circumstance, insurance would have saved me thousands of dollars. Of course, I might not have needed it. Or it might have saved me $20,000. It's risk management. Pay a medium amount to hedge against the possibly having to pay an exorbitant amount.
- latchkey 3y agoNo $25/mo insurance is going to pay out $20k, they all have maximum caps. That's also 800 months of payments and your cat isn't going to live to 66 years old.
- zargon 3y agoMy insurance policy does not have any maximums. Your second sentence is nonsensical.
- latchkey 3y agoWhich insurance is it? 20000/25=800 800/12=66
- zargon 3y agoI have mentioned it elsewhere in the thread, so I feel slightly uncomfortable mentioning it repeatedly because I don't want be a walking advertisement, but it's Trupanion.
- latchkey 3y agoDefinitely not an advertisement. For me with my dog there is no $25/mo plan. The lowest it goes is $60.95/mo, with a $1000 deductible. Trupanion covers 90% after the deductible. A $3k bill would still require me to pay $1300 ($1700 savings), which I could have just saved myself by stocking some money away. $1700/$61=28 months. I've had my dog for more than 28 months and haven't had any $3k bills. Of course, if my dog has a $20k bill, it makes more sense, but the chances of that are pretty low given how I know my dog. It becomes an emotional decision, which is my point and what they are counting on.