We have a bunch of animals... currently six dogs and now six cats (again). Had four cats but just adopted two more stray kittens that we found on our property. We have insurance on many of our pets, but there are a couple that have pre-existing issues that we couldn't get insurance on.
We decided to get insurance on the others after dealing with a host of issues with our 10 year old Miniature Schnauzer and our 13 year old cat / mountain lion.
Our Schnauzer has had 40% of his stomach removed due to a tumor, is diabetic, has immune mediated poly-arthritis (IMPA), and has had cataracts removed in both eyes, but ended up losing vision in his left eye due to a detached retina. He takes an expensive medication for his (IMPA), about $200 a month, plus he must take medication for liver issues. We've spent almost $40,000 so far on all of his treatments, hospital visits, etc. He is one expensive ass dog.
Our cat mentioned above was a 22 pound mountain lion mix who only had one kidney due to an accident many years ago. About 6 months ago we found out he had lymphoma of the stomach. We started chemo right away, hoping for the best but preparing for the worst. He ended up passing away a few weeks ago weighing less than 8 pounds. Total cost for him (including the kidney operation) was approaching $10,000.
Two of our other dogs have had cataracts removed (over $2500 per dog).
We've spent a fortune on our animals... we decided to get insurance just in case we have any future issues. We bought it from VPI Pet Insurance (
http://www.petinsurance.com/). I certainly recommend it.