If you've had a pet that has required hospitalization or had a high vet bill for treatment, you know how costly these things can be.

My dog Haley has Trupanion and it has been a life saver since her diagnosis with Lymphoma. Chemotherapy and treatment for Lymphoma can be very high depending on the route you chose to take. With Haley's plan she can see holistic vets as well as receive conventional treatment.

Her plan has a rider that allows for all sorts of selective treatments. Her deductible is high- $500, but in the end the thousands of dollars we save it's well worth the monthly fee and deductible. The more you pay the better your services are. And the monthly bill isn't even all that high. I think it's about $60.

To lay out how useful it has been for us since April this year with the insurance:

She has had to have blood, urine, and biopsy tests done while they were sorting out her diagnosis. Several of the bills (mind you, we have been to two different vets and now a specialist) have topped out over $1,000. We don't have enough income right no to pay that straight out.

Most insurance companies make you pay up front and then they reimburse you. Not true for Trupanion. They have the option of VetPay Direct. This allows for the claim to be made immediately before leaving the Vet office. In the end our most expensive bill was a little over $200. That's about the amount for routine vaccines and checkups.

We have probably saved around $3,000 so far. Thank God for Trupanion.

Another thing that I can say about Trupanion insurance is that it's peace of mind. Before we got the whole thing straightened out with Haley's chemo specialist we were worried that we didn't have the money to cover the bill because they were not set up for VetPay Direct.

We called in to speak with a representative that was able to resolve the issue. They let the vet know before we got there that for Haley's claim their portion would be paid out immediately. The vet was happy knowing that Trupanion would do that for them and we were happy to know that Haley could get the care she needed and we would be able to take care of it.

Instead of paying almost $2,000 for a single visit to Dr. Post we only paid the 10% co-pay.

Some things to consider:

-The insurance may be something that you pay for and never have to use, but having the experience I have had with Haley I would say get it. As Chris Rock, said insurance is IN CASE SHIT happens. Haley was perfectly normal up to that point and then all of a sudden we needed Trupanion more than ever.

-The company is very understanding. They refer to your pet as family and know that you want them to be treated just as good as if it were your two-legged family member.

-Trupanion is very reliable and available 24/7 so any questions or concerns can be addressed.

If it wasn't for their pet insurance Haley wouldn't have made it this far because there is just no way that we could keep up with the cost of her Chemo treatments without.

If you're looking for insurance for your furry family member I would suggest Trupanion.