Pet Insurance Feedback?

[Mary, Scrappy, Sully and Olive]

I've done my research and have narrowed down my choices in pet insurance.  We have a 7 month old rescue who I'd love to start off with some kind of insurance. Learned our lesson big time with Grover, who we lost almost a month ago.  I'm pretty much making car payment size monthly payments for our bill :(

Anyway, I would love to hear any feedback on plans.  Most specifically.....what the ideal options might be.  Do I add an RX plan? Is there an ideal maximum payout and deductible? Is the wellness option worth the cost?  Thinking others that have used it will have some valuable advice. 

Currently I'm leaning towards Embrace.  My brother in law is pushing Nationwide, but I don't like the pay schedules.  I'm still open to others though.

Thanks for any and all experiences...positive and negative!!

[Stacy]

I just enrolled Maggie with Healthy Paws. I was torn between them and Pet Plan, but when I googled the different insurance companies Healthy Paws was consistently rated #1. I haven't used it, I just got an email saying that our 2 week waiting period was over, so I can't give you any feedback on that. But Ava's vet bills were also huge, and anything that will prevent that from happening again is worth it. 

I don't know about Embrace, but I did look at Nationwide because I get a discount through work and they will deduct it from my check like health insurance. The thing that kept me from going with them was the annual 7,500 maximum. We far surpassed that amount in the last year. I try not to add up her bills, but the one bill from the two days she was hospitalized was 4,300. And then we went back the next week for labs and that was another 900. And that was just those two visits. 

For Maggie's insurance I went with the $250 annual deductible and the 80% reimbursement. I did not do a plan that covers wellness (the normal costs of dog ownership is not the problem!) She is 1 1/2 years and her monthly premium is 32 dollars. That's 385/year in premiums. Plus 250 deductible. If (dog forbid) she had 10,000 in vet bills that would come out to 2635 dollars. That is a much more manageable number. The peace of mind I feel by having it is priceless. If I spend 4000 dollars on insurance over the next 10 years and never need need it I will still consider it money well spent. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Amen. Double amen. 

[Mary, Scrappy, Sully and Olive]

Amen to the sentiment, or Amen to Healthy Paws? lol.  

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Actually both, lol. But the last sentence in particular. :)

[Stacy]

Yes! I haver a prayer in for a long, healthy, medically uneventful life!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

My goal is to see the vet once a year for an annual check-up, and maybe for an ear infection once ina  blue moon. And that's IT. 

:)

[Stacy]

It's a good goal. It's okay if the vet doesn't name a wing of the hospital after our dogs!

[Mary, Scrappy, Sully and Olive]

Thank you for the feedback, just what I'm looking for.  

I agree, Nationwide isn't a good choice for us either.  Grover's bills added up to almost 12,000 in the last 2 months of his life.  That was over a weeks stay after emergency surgery with many many complications and some follow ups to his recent heart issues.  Nothing of that was optional for us, honestly.  We never even got a chance to decide on chemo because he didn't make it that far.  So, yes, it does add up in emergencies.  

I'm thinking wellness isn't something we would add because, as you said, that's not the problem when it comes to their care.  Or even the added RX plans.  All of that is manageable...it's the unexpected I'm worried about.

Thanks again!

[Stacy]

No, it's not optional. Even knowing how things would turn out, I would do it all again. I don't know how I would live with the thought that if only we had done more she might have lived. I still wonder if there was just one more thing we could have done that would have saved her. Maybe one more second opinion or one more test, though I don't know what it would have been. But at least I never had to turn down treatment because it was too expensive. And having insurance means that Maggie will never be in that situation either. 

Congratulations on Sully! He looks like a wonderful boy. May you have many happy years together. 

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

I had Pet Plan for Roo and Tigger.  It was not for check ups but the 80% coverage and Rx.  Roo's Addison's was not covered. I had coverage for seven years for both dogs.  In the seventh year Roo developed congestive heart failure.  In that year and the next we averaged over $500 a month for Roo's vet bills and medication.  What I collected from the insurance company did not amount to the total of his covered years.  Then for monthly charge for both dogs doubled in the eighth year because of their age and Roo's health.  I quit all coverage.  I would have been way better off just putting the monthly cost for each dog in a savings account. So I do that.  Pet Plan may be an exception, but I kind of doubt it. 

If you can be disciplined enough put monthly amount away for each dog, I think you will be better off than with insurance. At least be aware that as your dog ages and or acquires covered illnesses your plan payments may go up dramatically.  Read the whole contract.

[Mary, Scrappy, Sully and Olive]

Thank you, I've heard the same from many pet owners. I'll read carefully. One of the reasons I like Embrace is that they do cover genetic conditions. 

Good idea on the savings account option!

[Stacy]

I'm curious, why wasn't the Addison's covered? I read the fine print on Healthy Paws website and it doesn't restrict coverage to anything except pre-existing conditions. Now, I certainly can't vouch for how the claims go, but from what I have read it should cover everything. It says it covers hereditary, congenital, and chronic problems as well as a lot of other things.