# Should I get pet insurance?



## Marofthehood (May 8, 2016)

I'm looking into welcoming a pair or rats into my home soon but not without doing a lot of research so i can give my future rats the best possible home. Pet insurance is something I'm still trying to figure out. Does anyone on here have their rats insured? Any insights onto whether it is a good investment?


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## Slimke (May 4, 2016)

Can you even insure rats?
Here in the Netherlands it is only possible for bigger animals like cats, dogs and horses. Sometimes a parrot or bunny is also possible, but not rats. 

I don't know about the vet costs in your country, but I have the general rule of 200 euro's per rat in its lifetime. Sometimes this will be higher or lower. 
I now have 2 rats with myoplasm burn ups and therefore paid in a little less than a year already 230 euro's for 2 rats. So when they will become 2 years old, 200 euro per rat is pretty accurate.
But then you have really cheap and really expensive vets also, so it is may be dependent on your vet costs.

I f I would want to have an insurance, it should have enough costs covered and shouldn't be too expensive.
If you still have to pay your appointment at the vet and it does not cover emergency vets (who are really really expensive), then I think it would be less expensive in most cases to not have an insurance, especially when you have a lot of rats (6+).
This because most prevention measures are not covered with a cheap insurance. Therefore if you want to spay or neuter rats to prevent tumors, you probably have to pay this yourself.
It might be covered when your rat gets an uterus infection and therefore has to get her uterus removed. But I think a lot of things still need to be payed by yourself. 

I personally would not see the point. But maybe the costs in your country are different.


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## LoveOurBabies (Feb 20, 2016)

Marofthehood said:


> I'm looking into welcoming a pair or rats into my home soon but not without doing a lot of research so i can give my future rats the best possible home. Pet insurance is something I'm still trying to figure out. Does anyone on here have their rats insured? Any insights onto whether it is a good investment?


I'd say, if you can afford pet insurance - for any and all pets - definitely, yes.


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## Slimke (May 4, 2016)

But still: can you even insure a rat?
With the short lifespan they have, I could imagine it is not possible or really expensive.


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## moonkissed (Dec 26, 2011)

Yes in the US you can insure rats.

I've looked into it and honestly i wouldn't do it. Rats just don't live that long, and while yes vet bills can be crazy expensive for them it is unlikely to get up into the thousands like it could for a serious dog/cat surgeries. And it doesn't transfer to another pet.

I'd rather just take the money I would have spent and put it aside in a savings account for vet care. That way if your current rats are healthy and dont need it you can use it in the future.


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## Skyerobin (Mar 31, 2016)

yeah, i thought about insurance myself, but ended up just having a savings account, which money goes into every month for vet bills, and it has since i took them in (end of 2014). it ended up with a fair amount, with me also using it as my 'save the change' account, and putting in little bits when i have a bit extra. though it's on the low side now (a good chunk going for x-rays), with both having congestive heart failure and respiratory infections. and with a vet giving me a rather overpriced medication, without confirming the cost with me, that didn't help ripley anyway. but yeah, i recomend just saving money where you can for potential vet bills - seems better than insurance imo.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

I would just put $20/rat each month in a separate saving account if you think that a $200+ vet bill all at once might be an issue for you. You can also apply for CareCredit.


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## Marofthehood (May 8, 2016)

Thank you guys for the advice. I think I'm going to go with a saving account with the vet money.


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## jlhummel (Oct 23, 2014)

moonkissed said:


> Yes in the US you can insure rats.
> 
> I've looked into it and honestly i wouldn't do it. Rats just don't live that long, and while yes vet bills can be crazy expensive for them it is unlikely to get up into the thousands like it could for a serious dog/cat surgeries. And it doesn't transfer to another pet.
> 
> I'd rather just take the money I would have spent and put it aside in a savings account for vet care. That way if your current rats are healthy and dont need it you can use it in the future.


I agree with this but also have something called CareCredit. It has saved my life several times when there was an emergency. If you're like me and have a steady job, and are responsible with making payments on things this might be a good option if it's available in your area. It's a credit card for you and your pets. It lets you charge a larger expense and then gives you a certain amount of time (depending on the amount charged) to pay that balance without interest. 

http://www.carecredit.com/

I've used it for emergency vet bills AND for my own Dentist bills when i didn't have dental insurance. Highly recommend.


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