dog/pet health insurance....

greenpenquills

My mom had insurance for our family dog and she recommended it to me. I signed up with PetPlan last week after I adopted my dog. It's the minimal premium (I'm paying $16/month for 80% coinsurance and $200 deductible). I figure that even if I only get a couple big vet bills in his life, those years of paying a few hundred dollars a year will be worth it. Plus, it gives me piece of mind knowing I'd never have to put him down in the event that I couldn't afford an expensive surgery at any given moment. As a student with only a couple thousand in savings, it makes sense for me. It may or may not pay off over time, but I doubt I'll be losing much money on it. I do wish it covered routine stuff, though.

ScentHound

I put money into an account each month for a pet emergency fund. I don't believe in credit cards, and pay for everything with cash. So far my dogs have always had the best care that can be given. When I have a short month, I just eat a little less or don't go out as much.

oliwa

That's exactly how I feel about it...it's peace of mind and it makes me feel better to know that if Snickers needed an expensive surgery I just have to pay $100 and they cover 100% of the rest.

You may want to look at increasing your coinsurance to 100% because the deductible is the part that really jacks up the price. Going from 80% to 100% coinsurance cost me like $40 or $50 a year (something small), but going from a $200 deductible to $100 cost like $150 or something.

There are companies that cover routine visits, spay/neutering, medications, etc, but they are very expensive. All of those things are considered wellness and are not really what insurance was designed for.

I did a quick search and found 2 companies (there are more) that offers coverage for everything. VPI Pet Insurance will cover everything for Snickers including heartworm prevention and dental, but they exclude all congenital conditions. Embrace Pet Insurance is another one that offers full coverage, but that plan is $92/month.

If you're considering pet insurance, or already have it, I highly suggest taking a look at pet insurance review.

greenpenquills

I chose PetPlan because it had the best reviews and a reasonably priced policy. I also like that they don't exclude hereditary conditions. If you have a higher deductible, it doesn't really make sense for it to cover check-ups because you won't get any money back anyway, right?

I may increase the coinsurance. You're very right about increasing the deductible making the premium much higher. Do you think it's worth it to have a higher coinsurance and pay a bit more? I can't decide if that will pay off in the end (although you never can know for sure). I'm new to all of this insurance stuff.

oliwa

My claim has been received, and after 24 hours it's still in a "Pending" state. I will keep you all updated with the outcome.

So after my previous post I did some more reading and I found a Trupanion which looks to be a very good insurance provider...so good in fact I am seriously thinking about switching.

Well, I read the fine print (believe this over what the person on the phone tells you). I really like how Pet Plan offers 100% coinsurance, a $100 deductible, and the maximums are yearly and NOT for the lifetime of the pet (like several other companies)...but there is a caveat in the fine print. Pet Plan's insurance policy states the following...

So I called my vet and asked about some common expensive issues for Bassets and slipped discs are at the top of the list. In fact, my sister in law put her Basset down for a slipped disc. Here is a worst case scenario...

• Vet exam: $40
• Cat Scan/MRI: $2000
• Surgery: $5000

Here's the catch...my vet can't do #2 OR #3...they would have to refer me to a specialist and that would mean my 100% coinsurance would drop to 70%! Trupanion doesn't care about referrals...their coinsurance is locked at 90%. Here's a breakdown...

With Pet Plan

• Vet exam: $40
• Cat Scan/MRI: $600
• Surgery: $1500

With Trupanion

• Vet exam: $40
• Cat Scan/MRI: $200
• Surgery: $500

That's a difference of $1400! Plus, my deductible with Trupanion is $0 so they will cover ear infections which Bassets suffer from A LOT! An ear infection costs about $30 to treat so Trupanion will cover $27 of that!

My Pet Plan monthly premium is just over $36 and my monthly premium for Trupanion would be $38.

Yeah, I think I just convinced myself...I'm switching.

oliwa

Absolutely correct. A high deductible results in a cheaper policy because the majority of issues are NOT expensive ones. How often will your pet need surgery for gastric torsion? Compare that to how often they need care for ear infections.

I would recommend the highest coinsurance (100%) and then setting the deductible to the lowest you can afford. A deductible is how much you have to pay until your insurance kicks in, and coinsurance is how much the insurance company pays after you pay your deductible.

For example, gastric torsion can cost $4000 (guessing, just an example).

With a $200 deductible and 80% coinsurance you will pay $200 + $760 (($4000 - deductible) x 20%).

With a $100 deductible and 100% coinsurance you will pay $100 and the insurance will cover the rest.

When I signed up for my plan, the deductible really affected the premium whereas the coinsurance affected it slightly.

I just went to Pet Plan and got a quote. For their Gold Plan (highest coverage) the premium was $23.15 per month with a $200 deductible and 80% coinsurance. It was $28.44 per month for a $200 deductible and 100% coinsurance. It was $49.60 per month for a $50 deductible and 100% coinsurance. As you can see, the deductible is really what drives the premium.

oliwa

2 more things I forgot to mention...

I just found out today that Pet Plan charges different rates based on the age of the pet so the insurance will go up as the pet ages.

Trupanion has a Breed Guide that discusses a lot of the common health issues based on breeds. I think this is a great resource regardless of what insurance provider you choose (or just for education reference.

fawkese1

thank you so much for all of your input Oliwa... great resources...

greenpenquills

The only caveat with Trupanion is that they only cover up to $20,000 throughout the life of the pet, whereas with Pet Plan, the most basic plan covers up to $8,000/year. Something to consider.

oliwa

Well I finally got my claim processed by Petplan. I submitted a claim for kennel cough on March 3rd. It took them 2 days to get it into their system. After that the claim was in "processing" status for 21 days! I wasn't too happy about that! They were missing medical records so I had to call 2 of my previous vets and ask them to fax in Snickers' medical history. This took another week of calling my vets with repeated requests. After another week of Petplan getting the records into their system they processed my claim and I had a check in 2 days.

Every insurance company requires a 2 year medical history so this was all on me. It took some time getting in contact with my previous vets to get the records faxed.

What was all on Petplan was the 21 day processing time which I thought was excessive. They said they had a lot of claims and that 21 days was not "excessive" to them.

All in all, I did get a reimbursement check and future claims should be processed faster because I only have to get up to date records rather than a full history.

One great thing was that since I'm switching to Trupanion I requested Snickers full medical history from Petplan and they emailed it to me within 20 minutes.