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Is SM considered at congenital defect? Health Insurance

parousia15

New member
I'm new to the forum as I've had my 4 month old Cav for a week now. I'm looking into pet insurance plans.

I'm curious about coverage for SM? Trupanion seems to be the only company that covers hereditary or congenital defects, and it seems to that SM is a congenital defect? Or is the Chiari Malformation the defect and SM the illness?
 
I'm so pleased that you are considering insurance for your puppy - sadly our beloved breed is affected by many health problems so insurance is essential. You may have seen from a few threads lately that difficult situations arise when people have not taken out insurance or taken it too late.

This post refers to a site about insurance http://www.cavaliertalk.com/forums/...but-will-also-help-others&highlight=insurance


SM is not currently considered congenital to my knowledge [Congenital means they are born with it. Something can be congenital and hereditary - ie present at birth AND inherited, or just hereditary. ]

Research has show that the majority of Cavaliers sadly have the malformation at birth, but not necessarily any syrinxes.

There is lots more information about SM on these sites

http://sm.cavaliertalk.com/

http://www.veterinary-neurologist.co.uk/

and in simple terms, here http://cavaliermatters.org/




I think I would contact the insurance companies direct and ask them to confirm [in writing] which conditions they specifically exclude for the breed - some people on the board have had a good experience with Petplan I believe.
 
some people on the board have had a good experience with Petplan I believe.

I chose this company because they cover SM. There was no problem with them covering Shelby's MRI. A great company and very responsive.
 
I know I have posted about this a few times but since it was asked.... I have trupanion and they have been great, do the zero deductible and it will cover everything at 90% minus office visit, no limit per year or lifetime! So far covered MRI, spinal tap, many many medications and bi-annual bloodwork for CM/SM. PM with any questions
 
As far as I know, in insurance as well as researcher terms, SM actually is considered congenital as it results from the malformation (CM) in cavaliers -- and almost every cavalier has the malformation from birth. SM can also be trauma-induced for example (not congenital), or result from malformation in the spinal cord in some other breeds (also then would be congential).
 
I am kicking myself for my choice in insurance (VPI). I got it for my french bulldog, Mooby, when she was a puppy and now with congenital issue after congenital issue I wish I could go back and change it. I hear Trupanion is great.
 
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