Health Plans (again)

[Frank and Pippa]

I know we have been through this before but I never got a solid opinion on these plans! My wife wants me to get set up on a plan as soon as possible and I am stuck between 3 companies .. Healthy Paws, Pet Plan and Trupanion. What is your experience with these? Did they pay your vet directly? I love my Pippa immensely and would do anything for her but I also don't want to be slapped with a 10 thousand dollar bill and no way to pay it.

[Amy and Annabelle]

Annabelle is only 2. I have had Healthy Paws since she was about 7 months old. I have never had to use them. I went with them because there is no cap on claims and the deductible is annual instead of each instance as some were. They don't pay for office visits, which I am ok with. I got this strictly for the major medical. With my vet though, you still pay the bill yourself and then are reimbursed for the amount your plan is for. My vet won't let you walk out the door without the bill being paid. I have no experience with how quickly they pay. When I went with them they were rated #1 so I imagine it is quickly. I have their app on my phone where I can take a pic of the bill and send it to them while I am still at the vet. I have a $250 annual deductible with 80% coverage for less than $25/mo.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Although I have Pet Plan, I think I would advise staying away from them right now.  They just got a new underwriter and things are a little up in the air right now.  I have not gotten my renewals yet, but from what I'm hearing from some, they aren't real happy.  I don't know of anyone that is unhappy with Healthy Paws and we have a member that just used Trupanion for their Doodle that went through Cancer treatments to the tune of over $20,000 and she was very happy with them.  I think for you it is just a matter of going onto the two sites and building your plan the way that it would work for you and then decide.  For the most part, I think all (don't quote me on that) policies are going to require you to pay the bill and then submit for reimbursement.  The first claim normally takes the longest as you have to turn in a copy of all the previous Vet records for determining any pre-existing conditions.  After that, they have a pretty fast turn around.  There are some slight differences but I believe all three cover the big stuff.  Healthy Paws doesn't count the office visit charge towards the deductible and they don't reimburse it.  Pet Plan does.  I'm not sure about Trupanion.  HP will cover two torn CCL's  where Pet Plan it has to be a year between them.  Things like that.  The bottom line is just to have it cause you never know when you will need it.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I've been really happy with Pet Plan.  I've had some large claims, and they paid promptly.  It is true that as your dog ages the rates increase pretty significantly, but I expected that because most of the larger claims are with the older dogs.

[charlotte bednarsh]

Hi, I had Trupanion for my beloved labradoodle Paz, who was diagnosed with T Cell Lymphoma in November 2015...Paz crossed the rainbow bridge on May 31, 2016, however, he received the best state of the art treatment which got the disease into remission for 6 months.   I had Trupanion Insurance for Paz, and they were absolutely wonderful;  Paz's treatment cost in excess of $20,000 (chemotherapy, radiation and hospitalization) and Trupanion paid almost 90% of the treatment costs as soon as the bills were submitted; Trupanion has no cap on the amount it will pay annually, or on the lifetime of the policy.  In my case, Trupanion arranged to pay the veterinarian directly (Blue Pearl Animal Hospital, NYC) which made it a lot easier.   Trupanion's customer service is absolutely wonderful and my experience with Trupanion was truly great.  I'm getting a new doodle puppy in November, and I'm going to be immediately covering my new doodle with Trupanion.  The other policy that is highly recommended is Healthy Paws, who also has no cap on their coverage.  If a beloved doodle requires extensive medical treatment, the costs can be astronomical, so I highly suggest either Trupanion or Healthy Paws.

[Jarka, Monty & Auggie]

We have Healthy Paws and could not be happier. They covered 90% of  two knee surgeries ($4000 each) and 32 weeks of rehab ($2000). I have $250 annual deductible, with 90% coverage and pay about $35 a month per dog. Both of my boys are around 80lbs and we are in Colorado.

They way it works is you pay the vet, send Healthy Paws the claim and they mail you a check. We got our checks within a week of filing the claim. They even send an email asking me how Monty was doing after the surgery.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

I would also not be able to recommend Pet Plan at this time. I have had no problems with them in the past, but they are changing things up and I feel it is not fair for those of us who have been with them from the beginning of our dog's lives. My dogs are 6 and 7 and have been to the vet for minor things, but if I start over with another company I am afraid of running up against things not getting covered and labeled pre-existing conditions. I feel as if we are stuck with Pet Plan, but I will not recommend them in the future.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Laurie -- We haven't renewed yet (March and May next year for us) but I would think that if you haven't had anything serious, that you should probably be able to send their files to Healthy Paws and have them review them and document what would be pre-existing conditions before you decide if you want to switch.  Might be worth looking into.

[Frank and Pippa]

Thank you all for your responses. I signed up Pippa with Healthy Paws. They seem to offer all that we need. I hope never have to use them but from all the fears I have heard about ear infections that I may. Thanks again DK family.