Pet Insurance

[sunimist]

Does anyone have any recommendations on pet insurance?

[AlisonandMia]

I don't have any ideas on pet insurance myself but if you go here: http://www.petmd.com/blogs/fullyvett...=pet+insurance you'll find (among other things) some articles and discussions on the pet insurance issue.

Alison

[lulusmom]

Shelba, I think the best way to figure out which company has the best coverage is to ask the billing person in your vet's office.

[k9diabetes]

We are trying it for the first time with our dog we adopted two years ago. He is insured with VPI for major medical, not the routine preventative stuff.

Despite his being a young dog, we have filed a couple of claims. The most recent was for a little over $600 in vet visits, x-rays, and a neurology consult. They paid $400 on the claim. I thought that was pretty good as our premium is only about $300 per year.

Of course, we never had insurance before so any reimbursement seems pretty good to us! Our senior diabetic, who passed away in 2008, was costing us more like $500 a month with no insurance to help.

We plan to continue it in case his disk disease problem winds up requiring an MRI or surgery.

I know the ASPCA offers a plan.

Natalie

[Franklin'sMum]

For those in Australia, and thinking about insurance, I highly recommend Petplan http://www.petplan.com.au It doesn't cover pre-existing conditions (as you'd expect), doesn't have sub-limits, and doesn't have breed exclusions.
It doesn't cover routine care, like worming and vaccs, but covers only accident and/or illness (which is the stuff that can cost a pretty penny, as we all know.)

I know that is of no help to those in other countries , but it may help with crossing companies off the list if they don't offer as much coverage. (BTW, I don't work for them, I'm just very happy with their product and customer service ).

Jane, Franklin and Bailey xxx

[Squirt's Mom]

Hi Shelba,

Is Suni needing the insurance? I hope it's just for "in case" and not that she has problems. She is just too sweet and cute, and you deserve a break!

Don't have any other input on the insurance....just this to offer -
HUGS!
Leslie

[Carin]

This thread is a couple of months old, I see, but I thought I'd check again and see if anyone has any more positive or negative experiences to report with the various pet insurance companies. After a veterinary year that's pushing the $10k mark ($4000+ for hospitalization for my middle dog the fall, who didn't make it, and now the same again for Dunc's diagnostics, surgery, and followup), I'm seriously thinking about insuring my healthy 3yo dog while he doesn't have any preexisting conditions!

I've been reading about the various companies at http://www.pet-insurance-university.com/ - recommended by someone on the Cockers list - which I've found helpful. From that and other sites, it appears that people have had very good experiences with VPI in terms of customer service, but that their reimbursement rates are low, especially if you live in a major metro area where vet costs are high. PetPlan seems to have better reimbursement rates, though there seems to be some concern about their change of underwriter and some people have complained about the process for renewing their policies every year. For my money, good reimbursement rates are a good thing, but probably not at the expense of endless bureaucratic hassles. I'd be curious to hear more reports from any of you who have pet insurance, especially since we'd sure be testing their services with our Cushdogs!

Thanks,

Carin
(and Duncan, who's definitely feeling a bit better this morning)

[Spiceysmum]

Hi Carin,

I have had pet insurance for over 13 years and have had more than my premiums back every year. You have to make sure you choose ones that cover ongoing conditions at renewal as some only cover for one year. Spicey was covered from 1 year of age for immunotherapy injections for atopy and then later for her Cushings and Brin has had more than his moneys worth too! Until they were 8 years old we used to get all of the cost back minus a £50 excess but after that we had to pay the excess plus 20% of the remainder which was still worth it considering how much we would have had to pay to treat Cushings without insurance.

I am in the UK so can't really recommend a particular company but Petplan do have a good name, that is not the company I am with though. No company will cover any pre-existing conditions but I would recommend starting insurance for any dog while it is still young and healthy. Good Luck.

Linda

[Carin]

Thanks, Linda. PetPlan here in the US does seem to offer flexible plans, with a choice of deductible and annual coverage maximum. Having read through dozens of reviews it's clear they're among the couple of top-rated companies. (People also seem to love a company called "Embrace", but their track record is much shorter.) And now is clearly the time to insure Harry, my 3-year-old. By the time I first thought of looking into insurance a few years ago (naturally, after another very expensive veterinary year), Duncan was already over 10 and therefore uninsurable under the plans available then, not to mention the fact that he'd already torn an ACL and been diagnosed with two chronic diseases. And my then-six-year-old middle dog had already had allergies, pancreatitis, and numerous infections, as well as congenital eye problems. With Harry, the only thing on record so far is a couple of intestinal parasites :-)

Carin

[k9diabetes]

VPI this year is offering a more advanced plan with higher reimbursement rates I believe if you want more comprehensive coverage.

Natalie