User Panel
Posted: 4/20/2022 9:59:54 AM EDT
Thinking of getting some pet medical coverage for my two pups. There seem to be quite a few options out there.
What company are you using? |
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I got it for "free" with a shelter pet I adopted. I do not remember the company. The dog had parvo, so I ended up spending a bunch of money (only because the dog was "insured") and the insurance carrier initially denied the legitimate claim. While i was fighting with them over the claim, their condescending sales people kept calling me at work to tell me how stupid I was for not renewing the policy. The culminated in me yelling (in the center of the cube farm) "I f#%king know how insurance works!" In the end, they paid $500 I think.
short story: I do not buy it for my dogs. It seems much less regulated than traditional insurance and the people that end up working at pet insurance companies are unimpressive, even by insurance standards. The policies, in my experience, have onerous exclusions and caps that render them effectively useless. |
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Quoted: I got it for "free" with a shelter pet I adopted. I do not remember the company. The dog had parvo, so I ended up spending a bunch of money (only because the dog was "insured") and the insurance carrier initially denied the legitimate claim. While i was fighting with them over the claim, their condescending sales people kept calling me at work to tell me how stupid I was for not renewing the policy. The culminated in me yelling (in the center of the cube farm) "I f#%king know how insurance works!" In the end, they paid $500 I think. short story: I do not buy it for my dogs. It seems much less regulated than traditional insurance and the people that end up working at pet insurance companies are unimpressive, even by insurance standards. The policies, in my experience, have onerous exclusions and caps that render them effectively useless. View Quote I've seen people run the numbers in various hunting groups, and it rarely works out. If you take that same monthly payment and just put it in savings most of the time you can handle whatever you need to. In the case of a dog, if they are extremely sick (like cancer) you are money ahead by just having them put down and buying a new pup. |
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I use nationwide, which is pretty good. Like most insurance they won't cover pre-existing conditions. Also, nothing routine, so vaccinations, dental cleanings, annual wellness exams aren't covered. I think there's a $500 deductible yearly and I think it covers up to $5000 annually in treatment. It's saved us quite a bit on our dog. They'll also pay the cost of putting an animal down, cremation, and reimburse at least $150 for the cost of the dog. Another one that I've heard is pretty good is Lemonade. Weird name for a pet insurance, but supposedly they're rated the best in the market.
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Trupanion was good for us. More than paid for itself. Good if expensive vet bills would break the bank. Our last dog lived to almost 17 so yea it covered a lot.
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I bought a rather expensive veterinary medical insurance for my new Border Collie pup. When I took him to the vet for an exam, some really big vet tech grabbed him, flipped him onto his side and laid on him to pin him to the table...all before the vet even came into the room. It frightened my dog so much he expressed his anal glands...I was furious.
I spoke with the owner of the clinic, (and it was the same person who sold me the insurance) and told him about what just happened. I said I can terrify my dog for free without paying the insurance or coming to this clinic, and I damned sure aren't going to pay someone to terrify my dog, especially when he is just learning about vet visits. I cancelled the insurance, and put bad reviews (just telling the truth) on all the social media and related sites I could think of. We never went back to that clinic or any other of their subsidiaries. I found a great vet (Gladstone animal clinic in Gladstone, OR) that was able to complete the exam and vaccinations that we had initially gone to the other clinic for without any drama. My dog actually liked the second vet, allowed the vet to poke, prod, give shots, take anal temperature and do all the rest of the visit without any stress. The second vet said that all it takes is a little patience and love, rather than trying to show the dog who is dominant right from the beginning. I suppose my posting is more about carefully choosing your vet/clinic rather than about the vet insurance. I keep in mind that all insurance is set up to make money for the insurance company rather than saving you money...I would carefully examine the policy, what it covers, doesn't cover, and try to find out if just putting an equal amount of money into savings would be better than paying monthly premiums. |
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I have aspca, its a 200 yearly deductible (the rolling year actually starts with your first claim), 90% repayment on claims with a $7000 yearly max benefit. Doesnt cover preconditions, and its exponentially cheaper the younger you enroll the pup. Is about $28 a month. Also covers chipping at 100%, doesn't cover annual exams or flea/heartworm meds.
Edit: I had nationwide for a previous pup, they are a more expensive, but there repayment is faster/easier and almost all employers have them as a payroll deduction benefit. All pet insurance are reimbursement plans. You're gonna pay the vet first no matter. |
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Nationwide for two of my dogs. About 150/month.
They have reimbursed me almost 10k for my Boxer alone on two CCL surgeries and a couple of growth removals. Was way too expensive for my Great Dane and my other large mix dog. Have a Chime account that gets $50/week out of my check as a dog HSA for those two. |
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Quoted: /media/mediaFiles/sharedAlbum/EgcB5I3-51.gif /media/mediaFiles/sharedAlbum/bubbles_zps5bf5952f_GIF-110.gif Insurance for pets? /media/mediaFiles/sharedAlbum/raw-355.gif View Quote Been around for a long time now. Must be cozy under that rock of yours. |
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Quoted: I've seen people run the numbers in various hunting groups, and it rarely works out. If you take that same monthly payment and just put it in savings most of the time you can handle whatever you need to. In the case of a dog, if they are extremely sick (like cancer) you are money ahead by just having them put down and buying a new pup. View Quote We opened a savings account for the dog. We have the cash in there to take care of almost any catastrophic injury or health issue. |
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I had Trupanion for my cat. I'd paid $25/month for 4 years.
She got sarcoma. $800 surgery, and follow up X-rays for 6 months. Died 7 months after the diagnosis. I went back and read the fine print. Cancer treatment was covered - but not for sarcoma. Fuck me. |
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Quoted: /media/mediaFiles/sharedAlbum/EgcB5I3-51.gif /media/mediaFiles/sharedAlbum/bubbles_zps5bf5952f_GIF-110.gif Insurance for pets? /media/mediaFiles/sharedAlbum/raw-355.gif View Quote Why wouldn't that be a thing? Living things sometimes require medical attention, said medical attention can be sudden and expensive. "Fur baby" annoys me...a lot, but pet insurance has been a thing for a very long time. |
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I got a lab pup last year and in November I was hit with a $6500 bill for him somehow finding something with a fish hook in it and eating it. After that I got Embrace pet insurance. Come February this motherfucker eats part of one of his soft toys and it gets lodged in his gut. Another $6k in the hole and I'm sending weekly emails to Embrace wondering where the fuck my money is. So far I can't recommend them!
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Quoted: Another one that I've heard is pretty good is Lemonade. Weird name for a pet insurance, but supposedly they're rated the best in the market. View Quote let's not give lemonade any money. They are strongly anti 2A. "We will exclude assault rifles altogether. We simply don’t understand why civilians need military-grade weapons, and we prefer not to insure them" |
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You may want to ask the Vet if they have a plan themselves.
My dogs are on what they call "The paw plan" It covers everything from check ups to shots to catastrophic injury and all I do is pay 35.00 a month. My one dog has Lupus and needs prescriptions and they are $4.00 a bottle. Would normally be 67.00 a bottle. Only works with your primary Vet though |
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Quoted: I bought a rather expensive veterinary medical insurance for my new Border Collie pup. When I took him to the vet for an exam, some really big vet tech grabbed him, flipped him onto his side and laid on him to pin him to the table...all before the vet even came into the room. It frightened my dog so much he expressed his anal glands...I was furious. I spoke with the owner of the clinic, (and it was the same person who sold me the insurance) and told him about what just happened. I said I can terrify my dog for free without paying the insurance or coming to this clinic, and I damned sure aren't going to pay someone to terrify my dog, especially when he is just learning about vet visits. I cancelled the insurance, and put bad reviews (just telling the truth) on all the social media and related sites I could think of. We never went back to that clinic or any other of their subsidiaries. I found a great vet (Gladstone animal clinic in Gladstone, OR) that was able to complete the exam and vaccinations that we had initially gone to the other clinic for without any drama. My dog actually liked the second vet, allowed the vet to poke, prod, give shots, take anal temperature and do all the rest of the visit without any stress. The second vet said that all it takes is a little patience and love, rather than trying to show the dog who is dominant right from the beginning. I suppose my posting is more about carefully choosing your vet/clinic rather than about the vet insurance. I keep in mind that all insurance is set up to make money for the insurance company rather than saving you money...I would carefully examine the policy, what it covers, doesn't cover, and try to find out if just putting an equal amount of money into savings would be better than paying monthly premiums. View Quote Wow…. That could end very poorly for an adult Border Collie. My old one would Not take shit from an adult. A toddler could hammer fist his eyes and bite him, he would just walk away, an adult though? |
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Quoted: Been around for a long time now. Must be cozy under that rock of yours. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Been around for a long time now. Must be cozy under that rock of yours. Oh, I see you’ve mistaken my post for not knowing pet insurance is a thing. No, I’m well aware it’s a thing and I’m well aware that people actually spend thousands of dollars taking their “fur babies” to the vet. My post was actually because IMO I think it’s a waste of money. And before you say, ‘You must not have pets that you love and consider the, a part of your family so you don’t understand.’ I do have pets that I love and consider part of the family. But I’m not spending a ridiculous amount of money for doctors and insurance for a pet. |
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petsbest insurance on 2 cats. about $140/yr each. they have paid out over $5k and didn't try to weasel out of anything. send them the bill and they reimburse their portion.
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Had Trupanion with 2 frenchies, my ex has them now and continued the coverage.
It was def worth it, one dog needed a $5k MRI and had cancer treatments. Trupanion paid most, but they only pay by reimbursement so you still are on the hook for the money up front + high deductible. I'd do it again if I paid $ks for the dog. |
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Quoted: They're better than 87% of humans https://post.bark.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/iraq-veteran-dog.jpg View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: This is some first world white people thing They're better than 87% of humans https://post.bark.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/iraq-veteran-dog.jpg Love the photo |
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Had some insurance I got thru the AKC shortly after I got a puppy. Whenever the dog got sick they denied the claim because she got sick once as a puppy prior to coverage. Ripoff. It was expensive insurance too.
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Just start a go fund me after you get the medical bills?
It's the American way |
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We have had good results with Nation Wide
We used it when our AB had cancer and needed an amputation. They covered a fair amount of bills running into 5 figures. |
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Pets Best insurance or should I say Reimbursement.
2 dogs Lacey my almost 11 yo Yellow Lab. My Semper Fi Rescue dislocated Lacey's hip and was responsible for her torn ACL. 2 hip surgery TPLO on her knee $11k - $13k out of my pocket. My Semper Fi Rescue had Pets Best insurance the moment I got him being a Puppy. Loki got sick. Throwing up, wretching and not eating. After the 4th visit to the vet I was refer to a dog surgeon. They pulled a huge piece of rawhide out of his bell, a plastic bottle cap and a piece of a rubber toy. Total bill was $2240. Minus my$500. deductible I was reimbursed $1346 dollars. You do rhwmath. |
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Kinda wish we had insurance on our husky the last couple years. That boy has some expensive legs. One bill came due same week I had to redo the roof on a carport. Highest our credit card had been in a while. We ain't ballers.
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Quoted: What company are you using? View Quote A savings account: every month we set a little aside for the pets. When we one gets sick, the money is there. If it’s something crazy like cancer (or other multi $k)… goodnight. |
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My wife tried nationwide when we got our female pup. She had to argue with them for everything and they seldom paid. We dropped it and role with the bills when they come. I would just put some $$ a side each month and you will probably end up a head of the game in the end.
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I've had PetPlan, now Fetch, for probably about 8-9 years now (I'd have to look) on the two dogs I've had most recently, one who passed about 4 years ago. You pay out of pocket and they reimburse, minus the deductible.
The dog that passed away was a lab/pit mix named Pearl. I had decided to get pet insurance on her when she was 8-9. A year later she was diagnosed diabetic. The insulin/needle costs ran about $2500/year. The diabetes also lead to cataracts that required eye surgery, and one eye that ended up with glaucoma that had to have the eyeball internals removed and a silicone ball implanted (the other option was removing the eye completely and I didn't like that thought, especially since I had insurance so no reason to cheap out). She lived another 4 years with diabetes. I estimate that between the diabetic supplies and the two eye surgeries, PetPlan paid out somewhere around $17k. I was out of pocket well under $2k. Her monthly premiums started around $45/month and ended up at about $80. I know for a fact it would have been tough to cover the insulin by myself but I probably could have but, there's no way I could have afforded the eye surgeries she needed. It paid out far more than I ended up putting in. I have it on my current dog, a GSD named Freyja. She'll be 6 in a month. I've had it for her since I got her at 10 months. Her premium has been pretty steady at around $90/month. I suspect it's that high because of some of the conditions they're predisposed to which PetPlan/Fetch does cover. So far I haven't really needed to use it for her as she's been pretty healthy. She did have a fibrous growth removed from a paw that I put a claim in on. Cost was like $300 out of pocket, minus her $200 deductible, I got like $50 back. Initially my vet wasn't sure how to handle the paperwork and stuff for claims with them but they even helped walk her through the process. Hopefully I never need to really use it with Freyja like I did Pearl but, I at least know if I do, they've been great to deal with. https://www.fetchpet.com/ |
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Keep in mind they are not "insurance" per se, but reimbursement plans.
With regular insurance, you pay x premium to get y coverage, with a z deductible. When you need the insurance, you pay the z deductible and the insurance pays the y coverage. You pay only the deductible out of pocket. With these "insurance" plans, you pay x premium to get y coverage, with a z deductible. When you need the "insurance" you pay out of pocket. Then the "insurance" reimburses you, minus the z deductible. So, you will need to still have cash on hand to make the initial payment out of pocket initially.You will need to have (potentially) several thousand tied up for this coverage. |
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I didn’t take a policy but the one discussed at my workplace was basically only accidents. A lot of disease and deformities are excluded if they are well documented in your breed of cat or dog.
My vet had a clinic plan. $500/yr covers most everything except boarding. |
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I got a email this morning from USAA advertising pet insurance. Thank fuck they didnt say fur baby..
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