Canadian Pet Insurance - Lottery or Scam? Is it the same in the US?

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

I came across this article on pet insurance in Canada and found it kind of alarming. Apparantly all insurance companies in Canada for pets are underwritten by the same company and they go to great lengths to make it impossible to get any reimbursements. The article claims pet insurance is like buying a lottery ticket, the occassional random person might luck out, but the odds are stacked against you.

http://trueler.com/2011/01/25/pet-insurance-review-complaint/ 

 

I know there have been discussions on here before about whether or not pet insurance is worth the money, but I have never seen the 'cons' laid out like this before. I'm starting to question whether or not I should be investing in this insurance. I have PC Pet insurance for Sophie and Penelope (Penny) and wanted to add Winston on too. However, according to this article it is a big scam. They are saying that there is this thing called co-insurance, which will limit the amount I get back and I didn't know about this before.

I haven't yet received any reimbursement from them so it's tough to say at this time how I feel about it. I have submitted the same claims for Sophie 4 times now and they only finally acknowldged receipt of the claim, but it was super annoying that they kept claiming that they had not received anything. That being said it does seem like I will be getting some reimbursed for the giardia, the UTI and the ear infection from the spring, minus the $100 deductible (the deductible is per year and is not per illness). 

 

I also still have confusion about what is covered. I was told that the coverage I have is good for hip displaysia, however this article claims it will not be covered. The insurance company just told me if I want coverage for hip displaysia then I woudl need to go to the higher plan. I don't know what the truth is, and I guess I need to read the policies carefully, but I find this stuff so confusing! Another annoying thing is that every time I talk to them they try to sell me an upgraded policy.  I know they are just doing their job, but it is so annoying to be given a sales pitch every time I call so I am not confident I am getting accurate information.

 

So all this to say, I'm trying to figure out what level of coverage I need for Winston, and questioning whether or not I have the right policy for Sophie and Penny, or if I should be cancelling my policy all together and putting my money in a savings account for them.

 

Here is what I have for Sophie:

Value Plan:

 $2,000 per incident on veterinary services

$2,000 selected illness* over the pet's entire lifetime

$350 for alternative therapy and medical devices per year, per category
  ($100 one-time deductible per year)

Premium

^$ 22¹⁰

monthly

 

I figured since she is young it is much less likely that she will develop any serious illnesses so I can get away with a lesser coverage plan. However, if I were to go up a notch, which is what they are trying to sell me,  this is what I would get:

 

Choice Plan:

$2,500 per incident on veterinary services

$2,500 per illness, per year

$350 for alternative therapy, behavioural therapy and medical devices per year, per category

Premium

^$ 36 ⁵⁵

monthly

 

Ultra Plan: 

$5,000 per incident on veterinary services

$5,000 per illness, per year

$350 for alternative therapy, behavioural therapy and medical devices per year, per category

Premium

^$ 46 ¹⁶

monthly

Priced it all out and if I were to go with the value plan for both dogs, then coupled with the cat's insurance, plus tax, and then minus the 10% discount for insuring 3 or more pets, my monthly cost would be $62.36/month (748.32/year). If I were to put both dogs on the Choice plan: $86.35/month (1036.20/yr), and the Ultra plan would be about $107/month ($1248/year).

Now, I already know I should have gottent the coverage for Winston prior to getting his blood work done so then I would have had his thryoid meds covered, but that is water under the bridge now. Given that his meds are going to cost me about $16/month for the rest of his life, and then add on annual shots, heart worm preventatives, etc, then on top of that is it really worth putting the additional money into insurance coverage?

Would I better off if I were to put $100/month into an emergency savings account for my furry ones? That way I can gaurantee excellent customer service, no hastle with claims and annoying sales pitches, and 100% coverage. Even if I don't have enough in my account at the time of a sudden emergency, there are always other sources, including gong into debt. Would the interest payments on a line of credit be so much worse than years of spending money on the insurance and only getting partial reimbursement?

I am not a mathematician or an economist, so figuring this all out is so difficult - my head hurts!!

Which is the bigger gamble - throwing away thousands of dollars to an insurance scam, or the possibility that one of my dogs will have an $8000 vet bill and I've only got $2000 in my emergency fund?

What do you think? Lottery/Scam or worhtwhile investment?  How do I know?

[Chelsea and Bailey]

I think it may have been pet plan ... but honestly im not sure.  I tried doing a general search on plans available in Canada and I barely found anyyything. I dont know if I am looking in the wrong place?

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

It was probably Pet Secure. There's also Trupanion, and PC Financial, and according to this article above CAA and HBC also offer it. I think I called HBC in the beginning before Sophie came home with me and they had high prices too. I have found that PC has the best price.

[Stella]

We are in Canada.  We have insurance through PC financial and have had no problems so far with them.  We pay around $28 per dog per month for their middle plan, which covers emergencies and illnesses but not routine healthcare.  We have made one claim so far for $550, we have a $100 deductible and we got 80% of it back very quickly after sending in the claim forms and info from the emergency vet.  They also replied to my email enquiries very promptly.  I figured that although it is a lot of money every month, if one of them got hit by a car or something we would need thousands of dollars and we wouldn't have that much saved if we paid the premiums into a savings account instead.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I really don't know about the Canadian end of things. I picked a plan that people reviewed positively on DK. I chose a relatively high deductible and plan to never use it except, hopefully never, for catastrophic illness. There was some talk that this plan would be available in Canada, Pet Plan, but I don't know if it is.

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

There is no Pet Plan in Canada anymore. The company is now called Pet Secure, and it is not affiliated with Pet Plan. They are underwritten by the same company but their prices are almost twice as much as PC for the same coverage with a higher deductible. So, needless to say, I won't be going with them.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Sorry to hear that.

[Sue, Lola, Pongo & Hubby]

Keep us updated on this, Sherri. We have had HORRIBLE luck with pet insurance in the past. We got it when we first got Lola, and EVERYTHING we submitted was denied (we got her with quite a few infections and problems in general). We canceled it right away since we were paying for nothing. It was really frustrating.

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

Thanks Sue, what was the company you used?

[Sue, Lola, Pongo & Hubby]

We used "Vetinsurance" (I think they're somehow affiliated with trupanion). Our vet recommended them to us, and we were like deer in headlights the first few weeks we had Lola because of all the problems that came up, so we agreed to everything our vet recommended. Clearly, a big mistake.

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

I am of the opinion to save money for if and when the need arises.... but what happens if that need arises before I can save a few thousands of dollars....

This is why I have yet to get insurance - I have never needed it for my 2 older cats (though they are inside cats), in 8 years they have had fleas once and possibly tapeworms once. But Cooper is clumsy and I just know she will break a leg at some point. Im tempted to get insurance til I can save money (which will take even longer)

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

This is exactly why I got it. If for nothing else, then the peace of mind.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Interesting. In Canada, people have health insurance but it's a problem finding good insurance for pets. Here, it's the opposite. Pet insurance is no problem, but humans can't get affordable coverage, or in many cases, any health insurance coverage.

I think I'd be happy to trade, lol.