Great Pet Plan Claim Experience

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I want to share our most recent experience with Pet Plan for those new Doodle owners who are deciding whether to purchase pet insurance and are comparing companies.  We got pet insurance with both of our boys right after bringing them home, and it has paid for itself several times over.  Murph has been struggling with GI problems for years now, but a few weeks ago it escalated and he became very sick.  He started during the night with severe diarrhea and vomiting.  He had been refusing to eat on and off for several days before and was acting like he had nausea, but after a Pepcid he seemed to feel better so I thought it was just part of his regular GI issue.  With the severe diarrhea and vomiting I took him to our vet....it was New Years Eve day and she kept him for the day and rehydrated him.  He perked up but they couldn't get him to eat anything so she didn't want to let him come home.  We had to bring him to a Specialty Hospital about an hour away and he was admitted.  By the next afternoon they felt he was stable enough to come home, and I was able to get him to eat some plain chicken and rice (and it stayed down).  They felt this was either Addison's Disease or an IBD flare.  So we went back to our vet for the Addison's test and the GI panel.  The Addison's result were negative, and the GI panel was borderline for IBD.  While his folate and cobalamin counts were in the normal range....they were right on the line.  So we started him on B12, metronidazole, and cerenia for the nausea.  We decided to keep him on nothing but the chicken and rice for a few weeks and see what happens.  We believe their are clearly foods that aggravate his condition and went ahead with the blood testing for food allergies knowing that the accuracy of these tests is questionable.  To be honest I just really needed a starting point.  It did show that chicken was okay, and our "test" over the past few weeks proves that to be the case.  So we're now at the point where we have to determine next steps.  He is stable and he's just finishing the meds.  My Vet has been in consultation with a GI Internist in a specialty clinic and there is consideration being given to doing an endoscopy.  That requires anesthesia and so there's a lot to consider.  I should have a decision and a more specific strategy for moving forward next week. 

So the point of sharing all of this is that I am very thankful that I had insurance, and to share the amazing experience that we had with Pet Plan on this claim.  I mailed the claim form and vet documents overnight a week ago Thursday.  On Saturday I received an email from Pet Plan saying they received it but one of the invoices was missing.  On Sunday I called them and explained that the Specialty Vet had included two invoices together.  They were fine with that and said they would expedite the claim.  By Tuesday I received a phone call that they had finished the processing and were covering everything but the deductible.  The following day I received an email saying the check for $1400 had been mailed and I should have it by Friday or Saturday (I'm expecting it today).  Basically they settled this claim (which was complicated) and released a check in less than one week.  Additionally, they kept me apprised of exactly what was going on from the day the claim arrived at their office.  When they called to say they had everything they needed and were going ahead with the processing the first thing the Claim Rep asked was how Murph was feeling.  This is fantastic customer service IMO and I just wanted to share the experience.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Thanks so much Ricki.....believe me little Guinness doesn't allow himself to be left out. LOL.

[Jason]

How much does the insurance cost per month?

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

PetPlan has several different options offering different levels of coverage. It also varies with the age of the pet, breed and where you live.  You can get an on-line quote to give you an idea.

https://account.gopetplan.com/Quotes/QuickQuote/?gclid=CLz55pu8rcMC...

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Yes, I selected the option with the $200 Deductible, but we pay for all routine care.  There are several other options available.  It does increase in cost each year as the dog ages, but to me that's understandable.

[Deanna M.]

So good to hear this. I'm in Canada and we don't have the variety of choices for pet insurance that you do in th States and I'm signed up with Pet Plan for both my doods. Hopefully we'll never need it!

Praying for healing for Murphy and that you'll find the best course of treatment soon.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Thank you very much for those prayers, Deanna.

[Wendy and Myla]

What a great post - I think everyone knows that pet insurance is definitely something to get, but once you start looking into it, it is so overwhelming and the decision on which one to go with is very hard!  I've seen so many posts asking everyone which insurance they have, and you can have a lot of answers.  I know that Pet Plan is very popular on DK but to me it is not a matter of the most popular, but the experiences of people that have actually put in claims!  I want to know how quickly the claims were settled, if there was any hassle and if there were any holdbacks or any claims that were denied!

I'm so glad that you were able to have all of the tests done on Murphy because you had insurance.  A lot of times, the quicker the diagnosis, the better and if you didn't have the insurance, you might wait a few days before getting a test, to see how your doodle is doing!  I hope Murphy gets better very quickly!!!  And I'm so glad that Pet Plan lived up to your expectation :)

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Thanks so much Wendy. 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

 Ned was ill a few weeks ago with the exact same symptoms (first time he has ever been ill).  His blood tests were negative so he was put on nausea medications and antibiotics.  He was able to resume eating with these meds, but continued the diarrhea until his metronidazole was complete. I am sending wishes that Murph keeps improving and he recovers fully like Ned has.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Thanks, Nancy.  Poor Murph is not out of the woods yet, and I'll be happy when I know what the next steps will be.  Sorry to hear about Ned, but I'm glad he's fine now.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

So good to hear of your experience with Pet Plan, not so good to hear that Murphy is not well. I hope he is steadily improving and you find the cause soon.  How is he doing?  We have Pet Plan and thankfully only had to use for some small claims, but our experience was similar and I agree, it is a good company as far as I'm concerned as well.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Thanks, Sue.  He's stable right now.  He's been off the meds for two days with no ill effects so far.  We'll know more after our Vet visit on Wed.