Do you have pet insurance for your pet?  Do you think it's worth the cost?

Nope. Never have and never would. It's money you've paid out that you will never see again.

Instead put money each month into a savings or separate checking account that you ONLY touch when you need it for vet bills. If your employer offers direct deposit you can even split your net pay between the two accounts.

I had a cat that lived to 22 years, 7 months. Other than her annual vet visits she NEVER had any health issues. Had I paid for insurance all those years I would have spent nearly SEVEN THOUSAND in health insurance premiums and never would have used it!

I did have one cat that needed surgery on her tail that amounted to $2K. But had I paid insurance for all the years I've had her then I would have paid at least $4K in premiums.

If you're poor enough to need pet insurance, then you probably can't afford pet insurance.

Nope. I save money and have care credit. I have heard too many stories about how insurance sucks so I don't want to mess with it.  

if you are poor it is a good idea as if the pet gets sick or has an accident most of the costs will be covered. if u have money it is a good idea too as u won't miss the money.

No.   Over the years, with the numbers we used to have, it really wasn't feasible and we only had bigger bills for things that weren't covered, usually, by insurance (eg whelping complications).  We also had a vet who would allow us to stage-pay if we hit a bad patch, knowing we'd clear our bill before putting food on our table!!

Hindsight is a great thing because I now wish I'd had insurance on one of my hounds who I dread to think how much he's cost me in vet bills over the time we've had him.   He was a buy in, at 4 months and came to us with Giardia, which I'd never had in any of our home-bred hounds!  He came from a fellow-breeder I'd known for as long as I'd been around the breed, so not an known BYB which is why I was so surprised to find out what was producing his bad stools from day one!

Overall however, as insurance companies aren't there for our benefit, I still prefer to keep my money in my bank account (even with interest rates so bad right now).   I think what puts me off is the excess insurance companies insist on - other than for emergencies, you end up paying the vet bill + monthly premiums!!

No, I don't have it. I never have. Mind you, in the first 20 years or so that I had cats and dogs, there was no such thing as pet insurance, so people had to do without it.

I've had pets for over 40 years now and have only once or twice had a very large vet bill. That is because I look after them well so they're less likely to get sick or injured, and maybe I've also been lucky. All I have paid in vet bills over the years is far less than I would have paid for insurance.

Whether or not it's worth it depends on you. You're almost guaranteed to spend more in total on health care for your pets if you have it.  It's like that with all insurance. Some people never end up using it so they don't get their money's worth, some people get all their premiums back, other people end up with a large claim that's worth far more than all the premiums they'll ever pay , I've been paying car insurance for 44 years and never once made a claim, but there's always the possibility of ending up in a position where half a million won't cover the damage. I made a $600 claim on my house insurance back in about 1981; other than that, I've been paying for that for over 40 years and got nothing back. But I know a guy whose house flooded from a faulty plumbing fitting a few months ago. He'll be getting at least $100,000 out of his house insurance.

If you're in a position where a $5,000 vet bill means you'll be out on the street if you pay it, get insurance. Or get a credit card in case the worst happens, and pay it back over time. At least that way you won't be paying for something you didn't use. Until the worst happens, set aside as much as you would have paid for insurance every month. Maybe by the time the worst happens, you'll be able to just pay.