December 19th, 2009 → 7:07 am @ admin // 8 Comments
I’m more interested in quality than a bargain. But it would be nice to find a company that can offer both. I have two pets, a cat and a 76 pound dog. The cat is a domestic short hair. The dog is a Siberian Husky mix. I’m not sure what she is mixed with. I want some personal opinions on some companies. Thanks
Anonymous
8 months ago
I know it is very confusing when shopping for pet insurance. There are too many information out there and cause a case of information overload.
No pet insurance are the same and you need to find one that tailors to your cat’s need. You have to be careful when choosing because some insurance company place a low cap on their reimbursement even though you are paying for higher premiums. Some will have low deductibles but will not cover much illness or low coverage for accidents and diagnosis. Many insurance companies will not cover pre existing conditions.
I cannot recommend one that stood out from the rest because what my cat needs might be different from what you need.
However, there is a site with a lot of good and useful reviews on the insurance available that you can look into.http://www.petinsurancereview.com/http://www.pet-insurance-info.com
Some guidelines:-
How old is your pet? The best time to purchase a pet health insurance policy is when your pet is young. Most pet health problems happen in the last two years of your pet’s life. So, the younger your pet is, the better
Is your breed prone to medical problems? While policy premiums are generally not based on breed, certain hereditary conditions are excluded.
For instance, Persian cats are prone to polycystic kidney disease (PKD). You can still buy pet insurance for your Persian; just don’t be surprised if it fails to cover related issues (some pet insurance policies may cover this, so check with your provider to make sure before you buy).
Is your pet already sick? Most pet insurance providers won’t cover pre-existing conditions. However, if you can prove your pet had a condition that has been cured, that may be covered.
Can you choose your own veterinarian? For many pet owners, vet choice is key, and for good reason. Some pet insurance companies require you to use veterinarians on their own network. Others don’t. As always, check with your provider regarding your choice of veterinarian.
What is your pet’s lifestyle? If your dog or cat spends most of his time outdoors, that will increase his/her risk of illness or injury.
What is covered? Many pet owners purchase pet health insurance policies to protect themselves from the high cost of future medical problems. Others want regular pet care such as annual physical exams and routine checkups and cleanings.
Just be advised that most standard pet insurance policies cover catastrophic accidents and illnesses. Routine vet visits tend to come as add-ons and/or riders.
What State do you Live In? If you are searching on the internet for pet health insurance, you need to check this. Just because a provider does business online doesn’t mean it services your state.
Check The Insurance Company’s Track Record
Every state in the U.S. has an insurance commissioner. If the insurance company you are considering has had legal/ethical issues that should cause you concern, the insurance commissioner’s office in your state or province should know about it. Check with them before you buy.
Stacy K
8 months ago
We have had a good experience with Trupanion pet insurance. My sister’s dog was diagnosed with diabetes and the insurance is going to cover it for life. They cover 90% of the medical bills and the nice thing about Trupanion is that they don’t have annual limits and you won’t get penalized with higher premiums for filing a claim.
You can enroll your pets up to age 14 but with most companies, it’s best to enroll them as early as possible because then you don’t risk any accidents that won’t be covered, and the premiums would be a little lower.
It’s a good idea to read some review websites, I have left a link below that talks about all the major companies. Good luck!
MamaBas
8 months ago
I absolutely have to agree with Becky on this one. What finishes me with Insurance companies is the excess – usually £75 in the UK which normally speaking, is way above what most of my routine vet visit costs are – which of course, is why they pitch excesses at this level! I guess over the years I’ve been lucky in having minimal vet bills (my line of Bassets has happily been free of any major problems) and for sure, because we kept numbers, insurance wasn’t really on the agenda. However, I did recently investigate the possibility of insuring our puppy Whippet – and for a breed with no, or very few, inherited problems, the quotes I had were ridiculous. As for my last Basset, if I could get a quote for him at 11 years, they were more like buying the Company!
No, I prefer to save (even with today’s low interest rates) my money on my own account.
Your choice of course, but personally I think this is a scam.
Steve S.
8 months ago
A great site to use to compare 5 of the top pet insurance plans – benefits and premiums – is here:http://www.pet-insurance-information.com
They also offer a free pet insurance guide and you can get quotes from each of the companies on their comparison grid.
Dolly
8 months ago
Don’t bother with pet insurance, they find any reason not to pay. All you should do is open a bank account just for this reason and put so much in there every month to cover the animal bills. I do this and I save so much more money.
LG
8 months ago
Everyone I know has pet insurance through the ASPCA. They feel secure about what is being offered and they also know that their money is being sent to a worthy corporation.
Anonymous
8 months ago
Don’t buy pet insurance. Build a nice bank account and be your own pet insurance. If you read the policy you will find a long list of what is not covered. That should be enough to keep you from buying.
sweet.mi
8 months ago
I can’t answer from personal experience yet, however I just got my first dog and researched it extensively- I have found much dissatisfaction with most companies, namely some of the biggest like VPI. Upon many glowing reviews I went with petplan (http://www.gopetplan.com)- their prices seem quite reasonable as well. 1 downfall though is that they do not have monthly payment plans like a lot of other companies- you have to pay the plan in full. That made me not be able to get the higher plan I had wanted for now, but I still got very good coverage and you can make one upgrade or change in coverage per year so I can upgrade when I can afford it.
They seem to cover almost everything, depending on the plan of course, except routine wellness care, shots, basic stuff, etc. They do not have ‘per incident caps’ but rather 1 max annual cap for all claims per year, I see this as a good thing. Their choice of coverage percentage and deductibles is fantastic- you can actually get 100% coverage per incident (up to your yearly cap of course) with only a $50 deductible if you want to pay the highest rate per year- most companies would not even offer this option. Obviously there are many other options to choose from and it all depends on how often you think you will need the coverage and what you might be able to pay out of pocket vs what you want to pay per year. 1 BIG plus for you will be that they cover all hereditary conditions (not to be confused with pre existing conditions which NO company will cover not even this one), which most companies don’t- Siberian huskies (great dogs btw) are prone to hip dysplasia later in life, like most big dogs. This can be quite costly and most co’s don’t cover it but this one will. That was a big selling point to me. I went with just my dog for now since dog vet care can be very costly compared to cats, but they do give a small discount for having other pets and I will consider putting my cats on in the future. However I have 7 cats so that is a little more then I want to spend at the moment- but it would have been a big help when one of my cats had Cancer a few years back to the tune of $5000- so for 1 cat probably makes sense to go for coverage on both your cat and dog.
Bottom line- They seem to have the most extensive coverage for a reasonable price with many great reviews found online, unlike ALL the other co’s I researched. If and when you enroll, you will need to have your vet do a few checks within 30 days and write into the notes so they cover certain things, dental and something with the back legs- make sure you do that or else those coverages will be excluded and you should be good to go! Best of luck!