Pet Insurance?

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#22
I thought that too but where Bailey had her leg surgery, the longest they had was 6 months... for any amount. At the clinic I used to work at, it was up to 18 months based on dollar amount. I only had six months for Bailey's veterinary behavior appointment (less than $500) at the University, so I don't know how long theirs can be for.
Hmmmm...maybe it depends on the place, then? The most I've ever charged was just under $250, and that was six months. I remember when I took Sassy to the emergency clinic they had a brochure that I was flipping through, and it had a table with amounts charged and repayment times.

But I'm scared. This is too much like signing up for a Credit Card, lol.
But it's totally not. It's not like you're going to be in Barnes & Noble and be like "Oh, I'll buy $150 worth of books with my credit card and think about it later." The impulse-buying aspect isn't there, since you can ONLY use it for medical expenses.
 
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#23
Care Credit offers several repayment plans, but each clinic chooses which plans they will offer. So the specific terms of repayment may vary from clinic to clinic even if they all accept Care Credit as payment.

But I'm scared. This is too much like signing up for a Credit Card, lol.
It's a line of credit, though, that you can only use at specific places that accept it. You can't really abuse it. I first opened my Care Credit account when I had a dog diagnosed with lymphoma and I had decided to do chemo. I applied for a ridiculously high amount and got approved. I still keep it open for emergencies but I've very rarely had to use it. After Roxy's chemo, the next time we used it was a few years ago when one of our cats had severe pancreatitis and he was hospitalized at a specialty practice for almost a week. 0% interest repayment for THAT sucker of a bill was much nicer than even my lowest interest credit card.

I find that it's just a nice safety net and I really can't say enough good things about it. It kind of has a reputation for being a "last resort" for people with financial problems, but IMO it's a great thing for anyone to have in their back pocket as an option for emergencies and I recommend it all the time.
 

Emily

Rollin' with my bitches
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#24
Wow, for some reason I mistakenly thought that you had to apply for Care Credit for a specific expense, like, "Please gimme Care Credit cuz my dog's leg is broke." I didn't know you could just open a line of credit to have.

*goes to apply right now*
 
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#25
Wow, for some reason I mistakenly thought that you had to apply for Care Credit for a specific expense, like, "Please gimme Care Credit cuz my dog's leg is broke." I didn't know you could just open a line of credit to have.

*goes to apply right now*
Nope. That's often how it is presented at vet clinics because it's so easy to get into a situation where someone IS faced with a specific big expense, but you can do it any time you like. A lot of dentists take it, too, and you can use it for that - the line of credit isn't specific to your pet.
 

Southpaw

orange iguanas.
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#27
Is there an annual fee or anything? I don't want to have to pay for it if I haven't put any charges on it, ya know...
 

crazedACD

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#28
Thanks everyone :). I think I decided not to go with pet insurance (as I do everytime). I may look into some different credit cards.
 

maxfox426

My dog tickles my soul
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#29
I've also gone the CareCredit route, and have been perfectly pleased with it. You just have to be well aware of the pay-off deadlines, or they will charge you interest out the wazoo. I think with my plan, anything under $300 is 6mos with no interest, and anything $300+ is 12mos with no interest.

There is no annual fee for it.

I highly recommend against ever only paying the minimum monthly payment, though. That's where they get you on the interest. Like I said, it's interest-free before the deadline, but always ASK the vet what that deadline is when you use it.

For example, when Morgan had his blockage surgery a few years ago, we put it on CareCredit. It was about $1500, I think. The minimum monthly payment was something like $6. Yeah... that wasn't going to get paid off by the 12mos interest-free cut-off. lol So we did $1500 divided by 12mos (rounded up) = monthly payment.
 

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