Pet Insurance in US

[JaneB]

I have never before had insurance for any of my animals but think it might be a good idea given the health "issues" our little guys are sometimes facing. I have been doing some online research and have come across a company called Pets Health Plan. petshealthplan.com From the surface, the plan looks pretty good. Has anyone had any experience with them - good or bad? Also, are there other companies I should be considering? I'd really appreciate any input from the gang out there.

Thanks.

JaneB

[Roxanne]

I have pet care insurance . www.petcareinsurance.com on 3 of my dogs .
I think its a EXCELLENT idea !!! ESP with the possible health problems in cavaliers ! I will have a policy on Colby before he comes home !

I dont know anything about the company you posted but I REALLY like petcare insurance and have had them for a few years . They pay well and they cover patellas ( some companies like VPI dont cover that ) and they also dont drop you or make your rate go sky high if you use your plan ( another thing VPI does ) In my opinion VPI ( veterinary pet insurance ) sucks ! They dont cover any hereditary illnesses , so MVD or SM would not be covered ...so DONT waste your money on them !!! Pet Care insurance covers ALL of that !!

I think its a great idea !

[Karlin]

I believe Petcare is the only US company that will cover SM and MVD (but ring them to find out about onherited conditions and terms of coverage. Be sure to read all the small print). Keep in mind that they can change policies at any time and once a dog is diagnosed with a condition and treated, the company generally will no longer cover any related issues or repeat issues in future years of the policy. This is pretty standard with insurance. If you don't get insurance early on, just about anything you have ever had the dog or cat treated for, no matter how minor, will be excluded.

With cavaliers or any purebred, I feel insurance is well worth the annual charge if you have one or two dogs, maybe three. If you have more than that, you really want to consider putting money yourself into a fund that can be used to treat the dogs, unless you really want to cover for any eventuality. It begins to bget to be really large amounts that you are putting away each year for multiple animals, where the likelihood that all will need expensive treatment is lower.

[Cathy T]

I have VPI and couldn't be happier. I knew when I got the policy that it would not cover patellas or mvd. So, no big surprise. But they have covered pretty much everything else. Especially Jake's cancer! The bills ran close to $3,000 and I paid a total of about $400, all of the rest was reimbursed. The one time they have denied a claim my vet wrote a letter asking them to reconsider the claim. They denied it again but wrote a very detailed letter explaining why they denied it and how to correct the problem so the issue would not be excluded. It had to do with Jake and diahhrea and stuff.

[Roxanne]

Cathy , How long have you had them ? Did you know that they UP the premium according to how often you have to use them ? Its on the back of the policy . To me that is so unfair ! My Vet was telling me the other day that one of her clients had VPI ........and yes, they paid for his problem , but when the policy renewed the following year .......they wouldnt cover the problem he was seen for the year before !! They said it was pre-existing icon_yikes The dog did not have this problem when she got the policy ...so it was not pre-existing . That is just NOT right ! Thats the whole reason we buy insurance ! I hope your experiences will be better

In the Cavalier they have such a high risk for MVD , patella problems and SM...god forbid ! I have to go with an insurance that will cover those issues just in case

[Cathy T]

Hmmmm...gonna have to pull out my policy and look that up! No, they won't cover a problem they've already treated for a year afterward. I was aware of that. The main reason I got the insurance was for cancer and accident. We lost out cat in 03 to cancer and it cost us a small fortune.

[Roxanne]

Look on the back , in fine print ( of course LOL ) It says something like ...If you dont use your policy they give you a 5% discount the next year,If you use it 1-3 times you are charged 10% more...3-5 times 15% more ect ....those numbers may not be correct , going on my memory , which is not what it used to be !

Also ..... just curious , but why would you want to stay with a company that doesnt pay for the things our breed is most likely to get ? and will not cover you for a problem that may occur ( except for the year they get the problem in ) ????? For almost the same premium you can get a policy that will cover for the heriditary issues, plus will continue to cober your dog if they get a chronic problem , and doesnt charge a surcharge for using the policy . I am not trying to be mean or a "know it all" I just didnt know if you knew all of these things and know that there is a better plan out there. You might want to kill me by now LOL I know , I have a big mouth ! But I just want you to be aware and if the premiums are comparable ...why not get something better ?? JMO

Forgot to ask .... what if the cancer returns ? ( god forbid ) They wont cover it right ?? thats not good

[Cathy T]

Actually, you've really given me something to think about. I'm going to pull out my policy tomorrow and review it and look at the others that are out there.

[LindaK]

I came close to starting a thread exactly like this a few days ago.

What is the best (and lowest priced) way to go? So far, Petcare seems the best option. No others will cover SM and MVD?

[Roxanne]

Yay Cathy !!! I swear I dont work for Petcare Ins ROTFLMBO
Let me know what you find out K?