pet insurance

[Jodi and Stella]

I'm looking for some advice on pet insurance for 11 week old Stella. Any recommendations of companies and plans? We took her to the vet today because she was drooling profusley and had diarrhea. She must have ate something in our yard and she is ok now, but...$250 later...

[Joe R.]

Jodi, Do a search in the forums. Tons of information. We ended up going with Pet Plan Plus.

[Jacque Reynolds]

We researched the plans and decided that Pet Plan is the best. It doesn't cover routine things, but you usually want insurance for the emergency and out-of-ordinary things. In fact, if you get Pet Plan there are no pre-existing conditions and they have a variety of plans, co-pay and coverages. This is the only plan that will cover genetic issues, that I know of.

[Lee Seidman]

I have VPI, it is ok, the annual cost is reasonable, but there is a deductable and a lot of exclusions for routine cost. Lexi had a UTI and had blood work, cultures etc. We had a $500.00 visit. I am curious to see what VPI pays on that one. I may change to Pet Plan if I do not get a good coverage figure.

[Leslie J]

Here's a link of a recent thread on this topic:

http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/pet-insurance-6?commentId=...

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

I just finished researching pet insurance last week. I printed out all the forums and discussions for the past 3-4 years regarding insurance on DK. It came down to three companies and I went with Embrace. Pet Plan and VPI were the other two I was considering. I didn't go with VPI because they did not cover genetic/hereditary conditions. I felt that coverage was important since Poodles/Goldens/Labs can have genetic issues. In all the insurances you can pretty much pick your plan. You can pick the deductible, co-pay and annual benefit. I went with the $500 deductible, 80% coverage and $10,000 annual coverage (beginning next year up to $50,000) lifetime coverage. VPI did not cover genetic/hereditary conditions and they did not pay a percentage based on the total vet bill. They pay on a "benefit" schedule which can be way off from the amount your vet is charging you. All vets have different prices and it varies by location. Rather than get paid on a straight across the board schedule, I would rather the pay 80% of the total of my vets bill. Pet Plan I immediately ruled out when I found out that the deductable, regardless of the amount you chose, was incident specific. This means that if you take your Doodle to the vet for $1000 worth of surgery for fox tails (as I did), you would pay to satisfy your deductible and then the insurance company would pay 80% of the balance. Then, if you took your Doodle in a month later for eating a sock (as some Doodles have done!!), you would AGAIN have to pay your deductible again. It is incident specific and it is not accrued for the year. Most insurance companies that I know of start paying once you have satisfied your deductible and that is good for the entire year. When you renew your insurance then you again have to satisfy your deductible. I sent e-mails and made phone calls to the companies to inquire about various coverages. The deductible good for a year, 80% of actual vet bills paid and genetic/hereditary coverage were the deciding factors me.

I noticed that the majority of DK people had picked Pet Plan and I was ready to go with them just based on the numbers of people. The deductible PER incident killed it for me instantly. I didn't want a high montly so I went with the $500 deductible and then the 80% coverage of vet bills. Just signed up last week. Plus, with an office visit and a quick orthopedic exam faxed to them from the vet, they will waive the 6 month waiting period for orthopedic related problems or issues. Hope this helps!

[Suzann, Rosey & Bandit]

THANK YOU Nancie, this is the some of the best info on this. VPI was on my list too but I rejected for the same reasons as you. I enrolled in Pet Plan but didn't realize it was incident specific until a few days ago... I didn't read all the fine print, and just assumed the deductible was like most other insurance, annual. I just wanted them enrolled in something quick after Bandit incident.. I had too much going on to do proper research but I will re-research and look at Embrace more closely..

Thanks again!!

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

Suzann...check with your insurance company because Embrace has a 30 day money back cancellation with no questions asked. Full refund.

I wish I had acted about 4 days sooner because Foxy Gracie Doodle is back out at the Dog Ranch for 8 days while we are here in Boston and Vermont. I am a nervous wreck worrying about her. As it is, the 14 day waiting period is not over while she is there so if anything happens to her I either have to hold off like 4 days before taking her to the vet and with fox tails that is not a good idea, at least if there is swelling and an infection like she had. I went with the higher deductible because I only wanted coverage for the big things like her fox tail surgery and I knew I could afford the once a year deductible and at the same time keep my monthly payments down. All the companies offer different deductibles and percentages of coverage. They all let you sort of play around with your numbers to find what works for you. I opted out of the dental and wellness plans because my obligation to having a dog was that I knew I could afford "wellness" care so why add it to the insurance and have my monthly go up. I also liked that a quick orthopedic check up with requires no x-rays or blood tests would gain Gracie instant orthopedic coverage rather than waiting the 6 months. The way she chases tennis balls and her legs go flying in all directions, I felt that coverage would be important. I know she will pass the inspection because she has been checked before for all joint and hip issues and has a clean bill of health!

I did check other companies as well such as ASCPA but really liked Embrace. They are not a new company so they have a track record and they got the highest marks on the overall Insurance Company internet comparison list. I ended up signing up on the phone rather on line only because I made a phone call to ask questions and at the end of the conversation I had my mind made up. I went with the monthly deduction from my AMEX rather than the yearly one time payment. It was a 5% savings to have it paid all at once but it was only a $12 or so savings which wasn't enough for me to have it all dinged to my card at one time. Also, if you have your pup microchipped and spayed then you save another 5%.

Hope all this helps you. Good Luck and be sure to call Pet Plan and see if you have a 30 day period for cancellation. Kisses on the noses of Rosey and Bandit!!!

[Suzann, Rosey & Bandit]

I will check into it tomorrow, I know we had a 30 day but even if I pay one month and cancel and go back to another company it may be worth it. We were at the vet again today because Rosey has an ear issue, itch itch itch until she had sores that were bleeding:( But that was $70 applied to nothing! If we had an annual ded at least that would help!! Too bad Rosey and Gracie can't meet, Rosey is a ball addict as well, we taught her paw tonight using this ball she found in the lake last summer, which is a higher reward than treats... go figure!! Thanks again for the info, I will keep you posted. And we will keep Gracie in our thoughts that her stay at the ranch is a healthy - no fox tails - vacation!! Gotta go, Rosey's ball is under the TV stand.. and the girl is demanding my retreival! LOL!

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

Yes, keep me posted. One thing to watch out for and it is the same with all of the insurance companies from what I can tell, is the pre-existing condition. If Rosey is under treatment and has not been declared healed, then if you were to change companies, it would be considered a pre-existing condition. When her records are reported you want them to be "clean" with no "on-going" medical problems. The ear issue could be a problem. To be sure, you can always call the insurance companies and ask.

[Suzann, Rosey & Bandit]

Hi Nancie, I looked at Embrace again today and I remember why I didn't chose them, was that they only cover 25% of the cost for any chronic condition or serious illness in a 12 month period of time. So if the dog gets cancer then they will only pay for $3000 in treatments which wouldn't seem to go far. I am going to call petplan and maybe switch to zero deductible.

[Dr. Judith P. LaVorgna]

Hi Nancie...The Doodle Messenger is just about ready to "reach out" to the pet insurance companies for a donation or sponsorship of the very sick doodles...if you have a moment, would you go to the resource index there and make sure we have listed all which you found in your research? We so rely on volunteers and this is an area in which we could really use a hand since our letters are so close to being ready and we don't want to offend one that we might not have listed. Just scroll down to Pet Insurances in the Resources index and see if we have missed one or two which should be there? Thank you so much. for your help. I know we found one out of business not to long ago, but I cannot remember which one, we took it off though. Judy http://doodlemessenger.webs.com .

[Debbie and Toby]

We have PetPlan. We have had 2 claims in 3 1/2 months, both required hospitalization. We received reimbursement checks within three weeks for the total amounts, minus our deductibles. It sure helped us with unexpected expenses. After paying our $200 deductibles for each incident, we have now switched to the $50 deductible, per incident. A little more each month in premium, but better in the long run. So far, we have been happy with them.