Pet Insurance Help

[Sam, Risa and Archie]

I have seen some people talk about Pet Insurance, but there have been some skewed numbers I have seen based off of quotes I have gotten via the internet for two Insurance companies.

I have done my research, and basically its down to PetPlan vs. Healthy Paws.

Is there anyone out there that has tried both and has reviews for me?

Based off my research I like that there is no annual $ limit for Healthy Paws (regarded as the best)

But with PetPlan I feel like the Offic visit & exam fee coverage is great.

Right now the plans I am leaning towards are....

1. PetPlan

• Silver 90% reimbursement @ $100 deductible. ($27.10/month)
• Bronze 100% reimbursement @ $100 deductible ($32.23/month)
  • And yes both these prices includes the "Doodle" and Register online discounts!

2. Healthy Paws

• 80% reimbursement @ $250 deductible ($29.36/month)
• 90% reimbursement @ $100 deductible ($35.90/month)
  • Does Healthy Paws have any discount rates?

Please help me out with some ideas here as to which Insurance and Plan I should take? 

Healthy Paws is significantly higher, but people say its better? I like PetPlan though because its cheaper and I would hope to never have to use it (fingers crossed) Also, isn't $10,000 or $14,000 annual limit pretty high? What are chances of actually going over?

Please help me make some decisions! Thanks!!! 

[Sam, Risa and Archie]

Healthy Paws seems to be the top choice with PetPlan following it in the US.  I am leaning towards PetPlan too. I will do some calling to both to get verbal answers

[Oliver & Elizabeth]

Have you looked at Trupanion? I was looking at Healthy Paws and Trupanion (they have really similar policies), but decided that Trupanion better fit my needs. I like the idea of unlimited benefits, being able to get Oliver a really expensive treatment is the reason I have insurance. As Oliver is young and basically healthy, I selected a higher deductible ($500), when he gets older and is prone to more illnesses I'll look into decreasing his deductible.

You might want to look at waiting periods and how the deductible is applied. I think that some companies have waiting periods for hip dysplasia coverage. Also, with Trupanion the deductible is per incident, whereas, most companies have annual deductibles. Per incident deductible means that if Oliver gets a chronic illness that spans his whole life (like Addison's disease) I only pay the deductible once for all treatment related to that condition. This has it downfalls because if Oliver never gets a serious illness but gets lots of little ones, I may never satisfy my per incident deductible. 

I hope this helps!

[Sam, Risa and Archie]

Yeah, Trupanion sounds like PetPlan which is what I think I a going to end up doing. its per incident deductible and is cheap if I start out with the high deductible as well... like $17 a month. Archie is a year old, so I don't see us needing a $50 or $100 deductible right now? Maybe when he's like 6 or 7 I could change to a higher deductible.

[Jordan & Daisy]

We narrowed it down to Trupanion and Petplan and ultimately decided go to with Petplan. We chose the bronze plan 10,000 limit per year, 200 deductible, reimbursement 90%, and it is costing us $290 for the year (we live in Mass, I am guessing we are paying more than many others).

I did like Trupanion, it was just more expensive. For a policy with $250 deductible and 90% reimbursement it was $450 for the year and it just didn't seem worth the extra money. 

With Petplan, I also liked that Daisy was protected against injuries after 24 hrs and illnesses after 14 days vs Trupanion which is 5 days for injuries and 30 days for illnesses. 

Sure it's nice to know that Trupanion does not have any "limits" as far as coverage amounts but I am praying that Daisy will be healthy and that 10,000 will be more than enough.

Good luck! Also, if you are willing to pay the whole year upfront or even quarterly they knock some $$ off the policy price. :)

[Sam, Risa and Archie]

Thanks! I too went with PetPlan and the same plan. How funny!? LOL.  I think we both made the right choice. Ours in Baltimore is only $202 a year with my 10% discounts...

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

You should be able to get 15% in discounts.  Lots of ways to do it.  Web, multi-pet, microchip, use code "doodle", etc.

[Sam, Risa and Archie]

I have the Web and "Doodle" code discounts...I can't get to 15% because they no longer accept microchipped discounts or referrals. I tried both LOL. 

[Jordan & Daisy]

I also tried for 15% and only got 10! (5 for signing up online and 5 for "doodle")

[Sam, Risa and Archie]

Yup, exact same thing for me.  Weird, they don't have discount for either microchip or referral (especially referral)....

[F, Calla & Luca]

They did discount for microchip in the past.

[Sam, Risa and Archie]

F, I know.  I said that to the customer service rep I spoke too, but she said that was a previous discount.  They no longer offer that....ugh! LOL or referrals. 

[Jordan & Daisy]

We got the 10% too, maybe we need to move to MD though!! MA is so expensive for everything :(