Pet Insurance

The other thread has inspired me to ask this

What IS a good pet insurance company?

There are so many and so many of them seem to be worthless.

What is a good one? Do you use insurance?

A good one for a household with one dog? A good one for a household with multiple dogs? and of course a household with multiple PETS (mixture of dogs and cats)?

Good thread Sparks. I am curious about this too. And how about pre-existing conditions? If a dog is already known to have hip/shoulder displaysia, is getting pet insurance going to be a problem?

jThanks for starting this. I am interested in it to.

how about mortality and loss of use, especially for the working and breeding dogs? something along the lines of what is available for horses.

Good questions

who knew pet insurance could be so confusing. that's why I don't have it yet. There is so much to learn about it and it seems by the time you learn it.... it changes LOL.

I used this website to figure it all out:
http://www.petinsurancereview.com/

Down the left side are all the pet insurance companies available in the US (though not all of them are available in all states) and if you click on them you get a little blurb about them, a link to their website, and customer reviews. There's also a comparison table on there of different plans, but it doesn't include all the companies, so it's of limited utility, but good just to get a general idea.

Pay attention to the reviews because these companies thrive on FINE PRINT (some more than others), and it's only when you hear the problems that people have had when they didn't read the FINE PRINT that you get the full picture.

I do have insurance. I use Pet Plan USA, which is a relatively new company here but is an old one in the UK and Canada. I chose them because they cover genetic and hereditary problems and I live in fear of hip dysplasia with Conrad, they don't exclude ACL/CCL surgery (you'd be shocked how many companies do), and they don't stop covering a chronic illness after one year (again, MANY companies do--read the FINE PRINT!). There is no limit on what I can claim broken down by treatment or illness--I get a flat amount of money I can claim per year , it doesn't matter what for (I think dental work is the only exclusion).

I just took the policies out over the summer and fortunately I haven't had to use them at all, so I can't personally speak to their claims process, though the customer reviews on the above website seem to indicate they have a hassle-free and quick claims process. My customer service interactions with them have always been very positive.

Thanks houndlove

A word on pre-existing conditions. As far as I know, no company will cover those. It doesn't mean you shouldn't get insurance because something else could happen, but it is something to consider, definately. Also, older dogs can be a problem. My company requires blood panels and such before they'll insure an older dog (I forget what the cut-off age is, but Conrad is 7 and it wasn't required for him, so older than 7).

Be aware, however, of how many companies define "pre-existing condition". In many cases (not my company, but many), say your dog develops diabetes after you got the policy. So that's not a pre-existing condition and is covered. Then you renew your policy for another year and guess what--the diabetes is now considered "pre-existing" and will no longer be covered. How's THAT for shady? As I say, not every company does that, but a lot do.

So I'm probably screwed as far as Charlie's hip/shoulder dysplasia. That's pretty much what I figured.

An alternative for exotics or animals with PRE-EXISTING CONDIITONS (it's more like a pet HMO): http://www.petassure.com/pa/index.asp

I've also heard not sure how true this is, but they will NOT cover any diseases or conditions that a breed is prone to have..

The only thing with MOST pet insurances is that they will not accept dogs with prior illnesses... so someone like me is screwed. that's where savings and a dog-only emergency credit card come in for us as we don't qualify for pet insurance.

That's the "genetic or hereditary" clause. Many carriers do not cover that, but some do.

Yes thats what I meant...

I havent seen any that do...

Mine does (Pet Plan USA) as does a company called Embrace. When most people think of pet insurance they're usually thinking of the big companies--VPI, AKC, SPCA--and those are actually the worst ones out there.

VPI screwed 2 people I know pretty big. Kept denying they were receiving one friend's claims. She started sending via registered mail they kept turning it down claiming they never got it. She'd paid for the top of the line plan..

The other has been screwed too, but she's gotten enough out of them to more than pay for her plan. Dog got hit by a car on their property.. She paid the deductible, the bill was huge, they in the end covered 1000 of about 5000..

No insurance exists to pay you. It exists to make money. I'm sure there are better companies, but don't ever think they exist to make you happy.

Oooh speaking of biggie companies... anyone ever look at what AKC healthcare won't cover?

Well, it's the same with human health insurance, but I'd never be without it. Any insurance company is basically a company gambling over how health you will be. They gamble that there will be enough healthy people paying in to the plan who rarely or never need it to pay for the unhealthy people who do and still make them a profit in the end. Same with car insurance, same with homeowners insurance.

But totally agreed, VPI is the suckiest of companies and it took me approximately 3.07 seconds on their website to realize it's basically a scam.

Houndlove,

I'm on Petplan USA's site and I cannot seem to find a monthly premium.
I'm thinking this and our carecredit card is going to be the BEST way possible to go for Ella.
I'd get the gold plan.
Ella's fairly healthy, but she has skin issues.

What I hate about pet insurances is that you have to pay upfront for EVERYTHING, then you file a claim and get reimbursed.
It's like, if I had the money to pay upfront, it wouldn't be a problem.
I wish it could be like human insurance where you pay your co-pay and you're done worrying about it.
Or you pay your deductible once for the year, and then either the insurance covers the rest or you pay your percentage of what the insurance company DOESN'T cover.

Their premiums are based on age of dog, breed, etc... so you have to fill in some info before you can get a premium. Click on the "quote" button and it will take you through the process.

It does suck having to pay up front, but we have a credit card for that and as long as the insurance company is fast enough (ie, good customer service) you shouldn't have to carry a balance for more than a month.