Insurance for puppy- information overload!

[Stephanie and Ragley]

So I am bringing home my little girl in less than two weeks and I am definitely feeling the pressure to start making decisions on all these things I have been researching for so long: food, toys, shampoos, and insurance among others. I think I have a handle on pretty much everything except the insurance choice. I know it is imperative to get going on that ASAP and even though I have spent an embarrassing number of hours researching the subject both on DK and outside sites, I still feel lost. The main understanding I have gained is that different plans work for different people. I completely get that and I know I need to find what works best for me. My main problem is I have no idea what "works best for me"! What things should I be basing my decision on? Is there a list somewhere of characteristics I should be looking for? I know such a list of guidelines exists for things such as picking out what dog breed is best, picking out a puppy, choosing a breeder, etc. but are there certain criteria I should be focusing on when deciding what options work best for my lifestyle and budget, etc when choosing pet insurance? I'm not really looking for which insurance company is "best" (although all suggestions are welcome) because I am capable of putting in the legwork to look up the facts and figures on things like satisfaction and payout; I am moreso looking for guidance on how I should be judging what I need. So many of you say you chose plan x with company z because that is "what worked best for you." How did you judge that?

Thank you!!!

[Anita - Thunder, Noodle, Sparky]

I just got our insurance and I went with PetPlan. I checked out a few, but mostly went with the majority here. A huge thing for me was having hips and knees covered. I just went and did a checkup and had his knees all cleared so I will not have the 6 month waiting period. Use Doodle as another discount code and there is a referral program too, so get a code from a current PetPlan user.

[Linda And Loo]

The knees and hips were a major concern for me. I went with Pet Plan! I hope this helps!

[Anita - Thunder, Noodle, Sparky]

Here is the referral code....http://petplan.extole.com/a/clk/1V6HQF

[KLN]

Here are a few things I considered....
- How much a year did they cover? Some of the plans like VPI are cheaper and I believe cover some of your wellness expenses (shots, dental, etc) but their annual payouts were much less than what I wanted. I wanted to pay a little more and make sure that if a major event happened (cancer, major surgery, an accident, etc) that I was fully covered. You'd be surprised how fast vet bills can add up, especially if it's a long term illness or major accident.
- Do you want a plan that covers wellness expenses (dental, shots, etc)? What I found out as I was doing the research is that the additional cost of the wellness plan almost paid for the minimal amount they covered throughout the year so this became less of a factor for me.
- Deductibles/premiums and how high/low they are. I was able to literally choose my deductible and percentage of reimbursement and see how that affected my monthly payment.
- Speed of reimbursement. I had to figure this out by reading reviews.
- What they cover. I was covering a puppy and older dog so pre-existing conditions were important to me. With a puppy, pre-existing conditions matter less BUT as I researched it, I was surprised how much some insurance plans didn't cover. Mine covers (literally) everything except hip displasia and none of the plans I researched covered this. Plus, a lot of the plans do not cover hereditary illnesses, mine does.

There is a site (incase you haven't seen it) that compares each plan side by side. I found it very helpful. I can't remember the web address but you should be able to google "pet insurance comparisons" and find it. I ended up going with healthy paws and am beyond thrilled with the service and plan details. It has already paid for itself this year. I think the big question to ask yourself is whether you want/need this for accidents, catastrophic events or every day vet care.

Good luck!

[Bob Johnston]

we went with pet plan because of the total coverage for the life time of the pet and we got a doodle kisses discount. The pay outs seemed to be mostly great and am very glad because boy have we used it a ton already. I do know the earlier you get the insurance the better it is because nothing is preexisting condition. having eyes, hips, and knees covered is the biggest thing and making sure it says hip dysplasia covered.

[Julie Taylor]

I completely understand your confusion. I was all over the map. Toought I'd go with Pet pan, no VPI, no Trupanion, etc. Then my vet gave me a 2 month free trial with Embrace. They said they enjoy working with Embrace the best.  I'd had enough of the stressing over pet insurance and simply went with them, based on such. So we'll see.. 

[Jess & Stewart]

Stephanie- I'm in the same boat as you. I'll bring my guy home in 18 days. I'm considering Pet Plan. I don't think its best to have wellness visits covered, I'd rather have a large amount of incident coverage. Pet Plan's bronze plan covers up to $10,000. It doesn't cover wellness or anything that the higher plans do (reimbursement on kennel fees etc), those just seemed unnecessary and I'd probably never submit a claim for them. All conditions are covered for life if you keep up coverage every year. 

There's a 24 hour waiting period for accidents, 14 days for illness/conditions & 6 months for hips & knees covered. Like Anita said, you can have your vet do a checkup and put in the medical records that they are clear and then the waiting period will be waived. For a GD, the bronze plan is $17.20 a month & if you pay in full, they give you even more of a discount- it's less than $175 total I believe. A friend of mine gave me a promo code that gives you a % off & apparently they'll send you a gift card for signing up, which is pretty cool! 

I'm also thinking of getting insurance sometime this week or next week, since by the time I'll get him and get a full checkup, the 14 day period will be over or almost over and most everything would be covered. I guess I'm mostly worried about giardia that everyone talks about & having that be labeled as pre-existing. I'm going to check with the breeder about what her vet writes up about the dogs. 

[Linda And Loo]

After looking at all the expenses that my older dog had during her final years, I decided I was going to get insurance for my new dogs. I did not think I would use the insurance until they got older or in case they had an accident. The first year one of the dogs developed a UTI and had crystals in her urine. My reimbursements more than covered the cost of her yearly insurance premium. It was easy to file the claim and I was glad I had the insurance! Having insurance does give you peace of mind and you hope you do not have to use it but it helps if you do need it!

[Stephanie and Ragley]

Thank you everyone for your super helpful responses! It has been quite the journey trying to sort through all of this. I think I have pretty much narrowed it to Healthy Paws or Pet Plan. It seems that everyone on here loves pet plan, but I am a little nervous about the "per incident" deductible rather than annual and also the payout limitations, whereas Healthy Paws has annual deductible and no limits on payout. 

Anita- thank you for the referral info; i will use it if I choose pet plan