Ninso Posted July 18, 2011 Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 This is a public service announcement . . . With three dogs, I had looked into pet health insurance before and it never seemed to be worth it. It seemed like it cost too much and covered too little. All the people I had talked to seemed to think the same. I figured my dogs were pretty healthy and I had some money saved, and the money I would pay in premiums for three dogs would be better off in my savings account. Then last week I almost lost my dog Lok after a (simple) obstruction surgery which led to a major infection, 4 nights in the ICU, a second surgery, a bunch of meds . . . needless to say, the bill was quite painful. I found out after the fact that there actually ARE some pretty good health insurance options available for pets, and I just wanted to post a link a friend sent me so that others can avoid my mistake! You never know when your healthy dog is going to go blind, get epilepsy, get liver damage, almost die from a simple surgery, etc (yes, that is all one dog, and in less than 4 years). So here is the link: Pet Insurance University I found what I was looking for with Embrace, and though Lok has lots of pre-existing conditions, anything new will be covered, and my other two healthy dogs are totally covered. I can't believe I had no idea this was out there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barefoot Posted July 18, 2011 Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 This is a public service announcement . . . With three dogs, I had looked into pet health insurance before and it never seemed to be worth it. It seemed like it cost too much and covered too little. All the people I had talked to seemed to think the same. I figured my dogs were pretty healthy and I had some money saved, and the money I would pay in premiums for three dogs would be better off in my savings account. Then last week I almost lost my dog Lok after a (simple) obstruction surgery which led to a major infection, 4 nights in the ICU, a second surgery, a bunch of meds . . . needless to say, the bill was quite painful. I found out after the fact that there actually ARE some pretty good health insurance options available for pets, and I just wanted to post a link a friend sent me so that others can avoid my mistake! You never know when your healthy dog is going to go blind, get epilepsy, get liver damage, almost die from a simple surgery, etc (yes, that is all one dog, and in less than 4 years). So here is the link: Pet Insurance University I found what I was looking for with Embrace, and though Lok has lots of pre-existing conditions, anything new will be covered, and my other two healthy dogs are totally covered. I can't believe I had no idea this was out there! Having worked in the veterinary industry I have discussed pet insurance with many of the reps out there, and I would agree on Embrace. They are a second generation pet insurance company that, in my opinion, simply has a better product than the other companies out there. Most other companies reimburse funds based on a scale they design that is completely unrelated to what you may have actually paid. For example, say your dog tears an ACL, and you have it repaired. Most companies have a static coverage cost for that surgery; say $1200. It doesn't matter if your vet is twice as expensive and the surgery costs you $2,500. You're only getting $1200. Embrace pays on % basis, so as the price goes up so does your coverage. Other companies will also destroy you with what they term things like "genetic pre-disposition". So when your lab tears an ACL, they won't pay anything because they've determined that the lab is genetically predisposed to torn ACLs. If your Boxer becomes epileptic or develops skin allergies, you won't get anything either. Forget about heart treatments for you Cavalier Spaniel. Embrace doesn't play that game, and they have a lot of different programs as well. I guess I should state that I am in no way affiliated with Embrace, I just found all other comanies I talked with pretty shady in comparison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alchemist Posted July 19, 2011 Report Share Posted July 19, 2011 I think if you do a search on pet insurance you can find some past threads on this topic. I know I posted a few links when I was looking into it a couple of years ago. I've heard good things about both Embrace and Trupanion. We ended up going with Embrace. Haven't made a claim yet so can't tell you how it's gone. In my next life I'll sign up the day we bring a new pup or dog home. My husband had read that you should just sock away the money in a T-bill or some such instead of paying for pet insurance, but that presupposes that problems only develop with old dogs. The very first week we had our pup we had over $1,000 in vet bills from a GI bug that necessitated a 2-day hospital stay and tons of tests. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timberviewfarm Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 My working dogs both have 24petwatch insurance and I have made a claim with them. They are very easy to work with, paid out up to my maximum with very little question and the checks go to me quickly. It was great to have it when my dog was unexpectedly injured. I recommend it to anyone that wants to know about it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luv2napp Posted August 6, 2011 Report Share Posted August 6, 2011 I'm glad I ran across this thread. After spending major money trying to save Lacee, we started looking into pet insurance for Danny. My husband researched long and hard and decided Embrace was the way to go. It will be nice to know that I won't have to go through worrying about how to come up with money if Danny needs it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C Crocker Posted August 7, 2011 Report Share Posted August 7, 2011 I don't know if all ins cos are the same in this instance, but I just put in the specs for my 7 yr old Border Collie bitch and she is over the age limit for a new policy to qualify for the illness coverage. So maybe it's a good deal for a dog to be enrolled at a younger age, but not so good at her age. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninso Posted August 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2011 C Crocker, check out the Pet Insurance University link in the first post which gives reviews, comparisons, and links to several different companies. They are not all the same--not even close. I think Embrace does have age limits to enroll, but others don't. Hopefully you can find something that works for you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordyn Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 A few years ago I never thought much of pet insurance but after both my boys (a Sheltie and a Cocker) developed extensive medical issues, I decided to get PetPlan. I chose it mainly because it covers hereditary conditions and continues coverage over the lifetime of the animal. The other companies we looked into will either A.) not cover hereditary conditions or B.)those that do will only cover treatment for one year after diagnosis and consider it a pre-existing condition thereafter. My dogs being mainly rescues and obviously having no history of healthy parents this was a big plus for me. A few months later my lab Hailey developed Gastroenteritis and was in the ICU at a speciality clinic for a week. They did everything from bloodwork to a barium study and petplan covered everything (minus my deductible) which was well over a thousand, four hundred dollars in treatment and diagnositics. They were easy to file a claim with, very professional and timely with the pay-back too. Couldn't be more pleased. There are many plans available, you just need to find a company that offers the coverage you want with decent premiums. Here is a site that helped me choose (you can compare rates and look at reviews): http://www.petinsurancereview.com/dog.asp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeri Jessee Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 Good to hear that about PetPlan. I just signed up my 4 month old puppy as well as my 11 year old dog on PetPlan. Fortunately I have not had to use it but I am glad to be prepared. After spending thousands of dollars when Reno was sick, I feel much better about having it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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