I purchased pet insurance somewhat dubiously, mostly because of bad things I had heard about the various methods whereby an insurance company would pay laughably little of a claim. While Petplan is not perfect, in my case I came out way ahead in terms of costs.
My cat, Garfield, got really sick one day. At first it seemed like some relatively benign illness, but then I noticed a large lump near his hind legs. He was livid when I touched it, suggesting extreme pain. I took him to the regular vet where he stayed overnight at a cost of around $900. 100% of this was paid, except the deductible.

The regular vet then referred him to a veterinary oncologist. At this point, without insurance, I would not have been able to try and continue to safe his life. I took him to the oncologist where I found out there wasn't much of anything that could be done for him. Petplan paid for everything except cremation and the 30% coinsurance that is required to see a specialist. That bothered me a little - the specialist did not cost all that much more than the regular vet, so the cost difference isn't really warranted. If I understand correctly, however, they will waive the 30% if the treatments saves the pet's life. Unfortunately, Garfield was not so lucky.

I think Petplan is very much worth the money, however there are a few things you need to keep in mind: first, you have to pay everything out of pocket and then seek reimbursement. This means that you really need at least 2 or 3k you c