I've never had pet insurance and we've been lucky.

I'm terrified of my dog eating something or getting injured and needing surgery. I hear it's really expensive, like a couple grand.

How does pet insurance work and how easy are companies to work with to file a claim after surgery?

We don't have any immediate problems, this would just be insurance.

Any recommended companies in Colorado?

Lemonade was the cheapest we found for our Frenchie. I think the more expensive ones covered regular visits and things like the spaying whereas this is for big items only.

I'm debating cancelling it and just putting the money into a savings account. $50/month adds up and I wouldn't spend more than a couple grand to save her anyways. Especially when it's more likely to be an issue after we've been paying for 6 years. Great, the bill is $5k, they pay 80%, and I've paid $3k already. Did I really win?

Trupanion has been good to me.  Had a few big claims and they dumped the cash into my bank account in a matter of days.  Really good customer service.

Nationwide
I get it as a work benefit

The way Trupanion works is, first, pre existing conditions are excluded.  After that, you set your own deductible.  The higher the deductible, the lower the monthly premium.  After you meet the deductible for any one condition, then they pay 90% of all subsequent claims or medication for that condition for the life of the dog.

Claims are submitted on line along with supporting documentation.  They immediately acknowledge receipt of claim, sometimes they call the vet, and usually they directly credit my checking account within a few days.

My dog has had a couple of issues, one of which required a CT scan, which they paid for.  Last time I did the math, I had recovered about as much in benefits as I had paid in over the years.   So it has been break even.  However, it's nice to know that if I do have a problem, I can make a decision regarding what's best for the dog instead of "is she worth the money."

Only a couple?

Knee surgery for one of mine was $4,500.

I've used Healthy Paws, Trupanion, and am currently with Pets Best. I've heard good things about Nationwide, but have no personal experience. Healthy Paws was the fastest to pay claims. I don't believe I ever filed a claim while with Trupanion. Pets Best is for sure the slowest to process claims, but everything else checks the boxes. I wanted a 90/10 policy on my dog (working GSD) and I think Pets Best is the only one of the three mentioned to still offer that. I currently pay about $42/mo. for a 90/10 policy with a $250 deductible.

I went with trupanion for my gsd.  I think I went with them because I got tired of looking at all of the options and just finally picked one that seemed to have the best customer service and covered breed specific issues.  

I got insurance on this dog because of how much I spent on my last two bostons.  One had two mast cell tumors removed at different times and the other had cushings so their vet bills really added up over the years.

For me it was a toss up between progressive, Lemonaid, and Animalia for our Great Dane. Ultimately, we chose Animalia as they had the best rates and the most items covered. Trupanion quote was almost double everything else.

Concur. I got my Trupanion via Veterans Affairs for a real Service Dog. They pay claims for all prescriptions and Office visits immediately. GTG