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Post by RedSky on Oct 23, 2014 12:18:13 GMT -5
This isn't a medical thing as such be is related to medical care. Does anyone have insurance for their ferrets? Or other 'small' pets, basically anything that isn't a horse, cat or dog? I'm a member on a hamster forum (along with a few other forums) and someone mentioned a company that did hamster insurance. I was interested as I have spend a few hundred on them recently and while the cost never really came into it, obviously it was a small factor that I was lucky enough didn't restrict our options. Anyway, I put in for 3 hamsters (3 is the most you can have on one policy) and it came back with just short of £300 for cover upto £2000 for all 3, or short of £400 for up to £2000 per animal. To be honest I thought it was pretty good in terms of what I had already spent, but I would assume that previous conditions wouldn't be covered so no good for my guys. I then put in details for 3 imaginary ferrets, it will only accept animals upto 5 years of age, but the price was exactly the same. So now I'm thinking when I do get my 3 ferrets I will happy to pay just over £1 a day to make sure cost doesn't have to be a big factor is anything happens to my little fuzzies. I'd rather have it and not use it than not have it and struggle or have to take the cost into consideration when my pets life is at stake. What do you guys think? I'm guessing those with LOTS of ferrets will have a vet money pot and this would be too expensive for any maybes, but for those with smaller businesses?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 23, 2014 14:54:16 GMT -5
There isn't Pet Insurance in the States. We only have Credit Care, which is a credit card for pets. You're Overseas, correct? Let's see what everyone else says. @ninjagoth is on your side of the World, maybe she will know.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 23, 2014 15:02:22 GMT -5
Hi In uk there is only one company you can use for ferrets & small fuzzies & reptiles Here is the link www.exoticdirect.co.uk/I looked into insurance through them when I had only Haggis & Neeps. It is limited. They allow a maximum of £2000 per ferret. I was Quoted approx £26 per month for two young healthy ferret kits - I pay that per month on my car insurance. I decided to put some money each month into a cash Isa I have which I can leave in there to gain good interest but can access Quickly in an emergency. Hope this helps a they can give you a free Quote by phone or through the website
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Post by Heather on Oct 23, 2014 22:16:48 GMT -5
I strongly suggest taking the money you would put toward the insurance and put it in a savings account. This way it's there for you and you cannot be denied because of some technicality because of the illness, or how much you've already spent on a specific ferret or how old your ferret is. I've seen only too often caregivers who have expected their furchild to be covered or at least hoping to get some of their money toward an emergency only to be denied because of some unspecified technicality. ciao
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Post by RedSky on Oct 24, 2014 5:00:03 GMT -5
Thank you for your replies, I didn't realise that there wasn't pet insurance in the US. That's interesting. There is often the argument here that with pet insurance becoming the norm that vets have been able to inflate their prices massively without any repercussions. Yes that is the company I was looking at, I have heard about them a few times before, and never anything bad but I'm not sure how much an appointment and treatment for ferrets are so I would have to look into what illnesses would be covered. That is a good point about some insurances refusing to pay up. My dog is insured with Direct Line, we have never had a problem with them, other than the most they will pay out per illness is £6000, so we went over the limit when we found out he had lung cancer. The vets are still trying to trim down the Chemo bill for us but we are looking at an extra few grand including a few x-rays and lots of blood tests.
I hope to have a good amount saved up before I get my ferrets, still hear just to learn as much as I can until my OH and I are ready to own some. We were hoping to get some about 6 months ago, but with our dog being ill and the house needing more work than expected we have decided to wait until after we go travelling, so could be 5 to 10 years yet. Hopefully I will have lots saved, and be very knowledgeable by then haha!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 25, 2015 11:38:35 GMT -5
Hey guys, I was looking into VPI at nationwide in the US. Does anyone have any experience with them? I called them briefly to get a monthly rate, but I was really wondering what they cover, how much they reimburse, what their deductible is, etc.
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Post by lyles on Jul 25, 2015 15:20:10 GMT -5
Hey guys, I was looking into VPI at nationwide in the US. Does anyone have any experience with them? I called them briefly to get a monthly rate, but I was really wondering what they cover, how much they reimburse, what their deductible is, etc. It is good for physical trauma like broken leg or blockage but does not cover adrenal, tumors, cancers or any other genetic-prone diseases.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 25, 2015 16:06:39 GMT -5
I'm in the UK. I've got insurance on Leo but it's like a year at a time. It's £126 for the year for me... I got it just as a sort of backup in case he needs surgery or anything. I've also got my vet in touch with carefree credit which is similar to a credit card but it's to help with vet bills and is 0% interest as long as you pay it back within the year. On top of that I have his savings account. I have a lot of anxiety so like to have a lot of backup plans. I think the savings account is a great idea, but I wanted to have ways of paying before I had a lot of money in his account as he was an almost impulsive adoption my friend payed for and I had hardly any money saved up for him xx
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Post by RedSky on Jul 25, 2015 16:34:27 GMT -5
I've not heard of carefree credit, might have to have a look into that tomorrow. I too like to have lots of back ups for any bills, I have issues with making sure we have plenty of money. I have a credit card but haven't used it in so long that I've forgotten the pin! So will need to sort that out next week too. Can never have too many back ups.
Just a heads up though if you are paying monthly with exotic direct, I claimed for my ferrets (in fact all three of them) and I ended up having to pay the rest of the monthly instalments for each of them. It's probably in the fine print somewhere but I didn't really look into it too much anyway. They paid out for all three issues (splenectomy and testing, lump removed and tumour, x-rays and medication) without a problem, except for a bit of confusion with the paperwork.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 25, 2015 18:55:53 GMT -5
Ah, yeah I think it's somewhere in the policy... honestly I don't really remember but you're right it's in there somewhere. It's good to know you could claim and get the issues sorted. That's reassuring to me haha. It is good to have lots of backups because it means one less thing to tie your stomach in knots over xx
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Post by RedSky on Jul 26, 2015 10:55:36 GMT -5
My thing is when one of them is poorly I don't even think about the money. It was so hard with Mako as I wanted to have an MRI done but the prices were more than his insurance limit so rather than go right for it my OH wanted to look into it all first. Turned out it would be pretty much pointless so glad I listened to him.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 26, 2015 11:47:50 GMT -5
Yeah I'm like that too. I'd rather have everything done just to be safe rather than leave it to chance if they suspect something xx
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Insurance?
Jul 26, 2015 13:25:18 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by Deleted on Jul 26, 2015 13:25:18 GMT -5
There are pet insurance companies in the U.S., but those that cover ferrets don't cover the most common cancer/genetic related issues.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 28, 2015 9:42:16 GMT -5
Hey guys, I was looking into VPI at nationwide in the US. Does anyone have any experience with them? I called them briefly to get a monthly rate, but I was really wondering what they cover, how much they reimburse, what their deductible is, etc. It is good for physical trauma like broken leg or blockage but does not cover adrenal, tumors, cancers or any other genetic-prone diseases. Thanks Lyles. Piper's turning five this august, and I'm more worried about the old weasel diseases than everyday weasel problems. I'll have to inquire more about their reimbursement strategy to see if it's worth it for her.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2015 15:08:16 GMT -5
So awesome news! We signed up with VPI, and the consultant told us that they do cover chronic conditions and cancer so long as it's not pre-existing. We're paying $12/month, $20 initially to sign up, and it covers up to $7000/year with a $50 deductible per visit. We get reimbursement forms that we get the money back in 2-4 weeks with an itemized receipt from the vet. Might really be worth looking into if your in the US!
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