My Experience with GoPetPlan.com

[BB]

I wanted to share my experience with GoPetPlan insurance given how they are discussed in many of the insurance threads.  One day my wife came home to find a little amount of vomit in our dog Jackson’s crate; it appeared he threw up the treat the dog walker gave him some point after she left.  As soon as my wife let our dog out of the crate, he ran to the door and had a bad case of the runs. 

This lasted for 24 hours so we brought him to the vet.  The vet tested for parvo (he had finished his shots only 7 days earlier) and the other standard fecal tests.  They also checked for an obstruction via an x-ray.  All the tests turned out negative, so they diagnosed it as gastroenteritis and prescribed him a round of metronidazole, cerenia, forti-flora, and a bland diet until his stools improved.   They also gave him a shot of liquids to re-hydrate him as well.  Total bill tallied ~$540.  I currently have the Silver Plan, with a $200 deductible with 0% co-insurance.  I submitted my claim online and within 10 days, I had a check for $340. 

Jackson improved quickly after the medication, within 4 days his stools were fine and we started transitioning back to kibble around day 7 or 8.  He finished his medication and within 48 hours the symptoms came back in full force.  We brought Jackson back to the vet and had another fecal test
done along with SuperChem blood test.  The results came back negative. The vet prescribed amforol this time around along with an injection of some medication.  Total bill was ~$320.  I submitted my paperwork online and within 2 weeks I received another check, this time for the entire $320 (I
did not have to pay the deductible as the documentation clearly showed this was a continuation of the initial claim, although I had some doubts that they would do this).  This time around Jackson fully
recovered once off the meds. 

Overall I’ve been very please with gopetplan.com.  I’ll probably update this thread once I have to renew my policy to see how much they increase the rate, but so far I would recommend them.  I believe the claim was painless because I was able to scan in all my vet records and receipts to pdf

format and e-mail together as opposed to having the vet fax in one set of paperwork and then me sending in the other paperwork. 

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

great to know. Hope jackson continues to stay healthy. We have this plan but have not had to use it. Glad to know it works in case we ever do though!

[Lindsey, Lee, Whopper and Simba]

We just submitted our claim for Whoppers surgery. We have the bronze plan with $200 deductible and 0% co-insurance so hopefully we will be getting a check for over $1600 soon! I really like that we can follow the status of our claim online and they seem very quick to update that status.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Great to hear since this is the plan I have! Thanks for sharing this info.

[Kelly & Monty]

I've been thinking about pet insurance for our new puppy. Does your plan cover routine preventative care as well as neutering and dental cleaning?

[BB]

it does not cover routine preventative care, nor does it cover neutering/dental cleaning. To me, an insurance plan like that is just a game of passing the money around. You either pay the vet directly or you pay an insurance company, either way you end up footing the bill. You can get all the details of the insurance off the website, but it basically covers unexpected sicknesses or injuries.

[Kelly & Monty]

Good to know. I'll check it out.

[Kim]

Kelly - if you are interested in low cost Neutering, I got a certificate from Friends of Animals (in which my Vet participated) and this is their cost chart:

http://www.friendsofanimals.org/programs/spay-neuter/index.html

The prices for our low-cost certificates are:

* Female Cat $65.00
* Male Cat $51.00
* Female Dog $90.00
* Male Dog $64.00

there is a lookup on the link as well to see if your Vet participates.

I think there are other programs out there (maybe even cheaper). This is just something to look into.

[Kelly & Monty]

Thank you. Unfortunately, there are non nearby.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

You can add your vet to their website. I added Lucy and Sophie's vet a month or two ago and it hasn't popped up yet so when I saw this response I wondered if that was a problem and I was going to have to select a new vet so I e-mailed them and asked them and here is the response:

If you have made a request, it may take a month or two for you to have visibility on it, since we have to manually enter the information. It does not affect your coverage in any way.

[Joe R.]

Kelly, You might want to check out your local Humane Society. I know our's has a monthly low cost spay and neutering clinic. That's where we had Gus done.

[shelly]

I can't believe this post is here and right now.... Just had to take tori to the vet AGAIN! I swear this dog has a dark cloud over her head.... We got away real CHEAP this time - only $38.oo b/c it was a revisit from a previous one 2 weeks ago that cost over 300.00, not to mention all of her other 'problems' and hospitalizations she's had... I finally convinced my husband to possibly getting insurance. He told me to ask the vet - but I told him "NAH" I'll go ask my 'friends' on DK - and here you are!!!
Do you know how much the rate is? I will go search them NOW! Thanks for the post!!!

[BB]

I think i paid about $250 for one year for my plan, although it varies based on the plan, level of deductible, co-pay % and where you live. Shelly, one point of consideration, given your dog had a few problems, if you get insurance now, those issues will most likely be considered preexisting conditions and won't be covered should they come back again. I don't know what the issues you had, but if it was something like an ear infection, they would not cover it. One of the things you have to do when you submit your claim is provide the last 2 years of vet records, including the doctors written notes.