Comments on: Pet health insurance: New programs and news

By: JanetM

JanetM — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 16:13:54 +0000

I would like to get pet insurance for my dog but I’m going crazy trying to decide what company/s are reputable. I don’t want any hassels if my dog becomes ill and they won’t pay. Its my understanding they could come up with a 1000 reasons not to pay. That’s scarey when you can’t afford the enormous vet fees.
Undecided in NJ

By: Jack Stepongzi

Jack Stepongzi — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:46:15 +0000

Pet insurance has been increasing in popularity recently, due in large part to the advances of veterinary science. Vets today can offer treatments and procedures that were unheard of just a few years ago, such as radiation therapy, transplants, and MRIs. However, these new treatments are not cheap; veterinary costs have risen over 70% in the past five years, to over $19 billion last year.

Pet health policies are similar to human insurance policies; annual premiums, deductibles, and various coverage based upon what the owner chooses. Most plans also have co-pays and caps that limit how much will be paid out anually.

Items to be aware of:

Some policies won’t cover older pets
Certain breeds are excluded from coverage
Pre-existing conditions are normally excluded
Mmost insurers offer a multi-pet discount

Policy costs vary widely, depending on the animal and the different packages that the owner can choose. Some packages are comprehensive, including such things as annual checkups and vaccinations, spaying/neutering, death benefits and even reimbursement for offering a reward for lost pets. Other plans cover only accidents and illness.

By: cheryl

cheryl — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 04:06:03 +0000

Erich,
Just wondering what pet insurance did you go with? Petplan or Embrace?

By: Erich Riesenberg

Erich Riesenberg — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 13:57:31 +0000

Sorry, one more thing, with reading Embrace, be mindful of the continuing care option.

Continuing Care Reimbursement Limit
The maximum reimbursement you can receive in any given year for chronic conditions is 25% of your policy maximum. For example, if you choose $10,000 as your annual maximum then your continuing care coverage provides up to $2,500 (25% x $10,000) of protection against any chronic conditions that your pet required treatment for.

That doesn’t seem to be the case with Petplan. I think that is a big difference from human insurance, for conditions which occur while a policy is in force to then be considered pre existing even if the policy is continuously renewed.
http://gopetplan.com/WhyPetPlan/CoverForLife.html

By: Erich Riesenberg

Erich Riesenberg — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 13:49:08 +0000

Also, petinsurancereview.com was helpful in reading comments by other insurance shoppers and it allowed me to get multiple quotes, which helped highlight cost and coverage differences. Embrace might be a second choice, but the price was a tiny bit more for less coverage, at $10,000 per year and a 10% co-pay.

By: Erich Riesenberg

Erich Riesenberg — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 13:28:49 +0000

The cheapest plan I have seen for major medical is Petplan at gopetplan.com It cost about $187 for a year old dog, $20,000 per year, $200 deductible and 0% coinsurance. I am not concerned about a couple hundred dollar bill, it is the several thousand dollar or chronic condition I would want to avoid. My five year old would cost quite a bit more, so not sure if I will get it, but for the cost Petplan still seems the least expensive.

By: Lynn

Lynn — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 23:22:08 +0000

The way I see it, you do need to have the money [or credit card funds] up front, but the insurance is a little back-up that softens the blow of the cost of pet care.

By: straybaby

straybaby — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 21:01:33 +0000

Comment by Christie Keith — January 15, 2008 @ 11:24 am

yeah, age was one of the issues when i was sourcing insurance in the past. i had 5 cats over 8 or whatever the age was. right now i have 3 (15, 15, 8, 4, 2). and my dog is getting close to cut off on some with her ‘real’ age. some of her shelter papers have her listed as 4yrs older than she is, but that will now come in handy to avoid vacs, lol!~ she’s either turning 6, 8 or 10 next month! i don’t think pets best is available here. i seem to remember checking someone out during the recall.

By: Christie Keith

Christie Keith — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 18:26:06 +0000

8. Bone Cancer $1,059

Even if you add a zero, it’s not close to the $14,000 I spent on Raven.

By: Christie Keith

Christie Keith — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 18:24:53 +0000

. I’ve checked into what was available several times since, and always found that the policies were overpriced and had too many exclusions, especially age exclusions. They were cutting off at something like age eight! My guys are just getting started at that age.

Pets Best took my senior dog Rebel when no one else would… he was 8, just turned nine a couple of weeks ago. He’s been insured with them since last March.

I found this out when I went to change my Borozi, Kyrie, from VPI to Pets Best when Pets Best announced they’d waive the deductible for their clients suffering from eating recalled foods. I thought that was classy and checked them out. And found to my shock that they, unlike every other company I applied to even a year earlier, would insure Rebel.