Your Pet Insurance Guide

Pets Best Pet Insurance: Claims Paid

I thought I'd continue the theme of giving examples of claims paid by pet insurance companies.

The Pets Best Insurance Blog recently did a series of articles on common toxins that affect pets. It's worth the read if only to make you aware of potential toxins that you probably have in and around your home so you can take steps to make sure your pet doesn't have access to them. Otherwise, you could face a rather expensive trip to your veterinarian or an emergency clinic for treatment of a preventable and potentially life-threatening condition. At the end of each article, several examples of actual claims that Pets Best paid for the treatment of that particular toxicity are given.

Coincidentally, my son called me Saturday night saying that his Border Collie had eaten a whole bag of Gobstoppers while they were away from home for awhile. Fortunately, the candy doesn't contain xylitol which is one of the toxins covered in the Pets Best series on pet toxins.

You might also consider listening to the podcast interview I did with The Preventive Vet, Dr. Jason Nicholas where we talked about some of these common toxicities that veterinarians see all too commonly. He also gives some excellent tips on things you can do at home to prevent these toxicities in your pet. Following his advice could potentially save you thousands of dollars.

Pets Best Offers Cancer Only Pet Insurance Policy

Here's an article announcing new cancer-only policies by Pets Best.

Most people would be better served buying more comprehensive accident and illness coverages that also includes coverage for cancer. However when I interviewed Pets Best Founder and President Dr. Jack Stephens for a podcast episode, he alluded to their research that some pet owners were more concerned about cancer than any other illness their dog or cat might experience, so that's the reason for the cancer only policy. 

They are in the process of getting several new policies including the cancer-only policy approved in all 50 states, so all of them may or may not be available in your state yet. You can get a quote to find out which policies are available for your pet.

Pets Best Offers "My Vet Knows Best" Discount

Pets Best is offering a 10% discount on any pet insurance policy upon enrollment and every year thereafter that a pet remains insured with the company.

Known as the "My Vet Knows Best" program, it is offered by Pets Best's new underwriter American Independence Insurance Company. While it is available in many states already, it has to be approved state by state.

Depending on the policy you select as well as your pet's breed and how long your pet is insured with a Pets Best policy, the savings could be $500 to $800 over the life of your pet.

The normal waiting period for a policy to become effective is 3 days for accidents and 14 days for illnesses, but with this program, the waiting period is reduced to 0 days for accidents and 7 days for illnesses.

Here are the steps you can take to qualify for this discount:

1) Get a quote for your pet. This will help you decide if you are interested enough in Pets Best policies to apply for coverage. You can also use the Pet Insurance Toolkit to obtain a quote from all the pet insurance companies that offer policies in the U.S. and then compare all the companies side by side to select the best one for your pet. If Pets Best is the one you select, proceed further to qualify for the discount.

2) Download and print the My Vet Knows Best Discount Certificate.

3) Have your veterinarian examine your pet and fill out the Certificate.

4) Fax (1-877-893-6410) or email the Certificate to Pets Best.

5) If you call (1-866-609-7387) and enroll within 10 days of your veterinarian's examination, you'll qualify for the discount and reduced waiting period. If you don't call them, a Pets Best representative will likely call you to remind you of the 10 day limit and answer any questions you have and even enroll you with a policy.

Eventually, veterinary hospitals who have decided to recommend Pets Best insurance to their clients will have these Certificates available to fill out on behalf of clients who are interested in pet insurance.

As many of you know, I've remained refrained from recommending one company over another because, in my opinion, each pet owner's needs and preferences are different. That's why I designed the Pet Insurance Toolkit to help pet owners compare companies with one another objectively and make their own decision about which company and policy is best for their pet.

Pet Insurance For Adopted Rescue Pets

Today’s article is a guest post by Donna Baker, the Education and Community Awareness Manager for the Delaware Valley Golden Retriever Rescue (DVGRR). She is a subscriber to my blog and has adopted several older Golden Retrievers who were surrendered to their organization. She shares why she ultimately decided to purchase pet insurance and why she enthusiastically recommends pet insurance to all the new owners of pets adopted from DVGRR.

With the continued economic downturn, DVGRR (like many other rescue groups) has seen an increase in dogs surrendered because they developed an expensive medical problem that their original families couldn’t afford to treat. It’s heartbreaking to see a family give up a beloved pet due to financial constraints.

Pet Insurance Guide Podcast - Episode 5

In this episode, I interview the person who started the very first successful pet insurance company in the United States - Dr. Jack Stephens. We talk about:

• A famous TV star who was the first dog insured in the United States.
• Why some pet insurance companies fail and why VPI was successful.
• What are the factors today that have led to the recent explosive growth of pet insurance that weren't factors when he started the first company in 1982.
• Claim reimbursement that are paid based on a percentage of invoice versus usual and customary or a benefit schedule.
• The likelyhood of new pet insurance companies entering the market.
• Why pet insurance companies change underwriters from time to time and what this means for policyholders.
• Pets Best new policy offerings.
• Pets Best direct deposit program.
• Medical record review to determine if there are any pre-existing conditions that will be excluded from coverage.
• The National Pet Health Insurance Association and its purpose.
• The future of pet insurance in the United States.
• Filing claims, sending medical records, and receiving reimbursements electronically.
• Why veterinarians shouldn't fear pet insurance turning into managed care like the human health insurance model.
• The Skeeter Foundation.

 

Click the Streampad player below to listen to the podcast on this page.

 

Right click to download episode

Download Transcript of Interview with Dr. Jack Stephens

 

Other helpful links:

Pets Best pet insurance company

Getting A Quote From Pets Best - Part 1

Getting A Quote From Pets Best - Part 2 

A Dog Named Buffy Launches Pet Insurance In the U.S.

Pet Insurance Toolkit

Subscribe to podcast via iTunes

How To Evaluate A Pet Insurance Policy

Hi, everyone. I just uploaded my latest video to my YouTube channel. Although a Pets Best policy is used in this video, the principles can be applied to any pet insurance company's policy. In every pet insurance policy regardless of the company, you'll find several things that you'll want to call the company for further explanation.

Pets Best Pet Insurance Announces Latest Winner In "My Vet's The Best Contest

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post on a similar contest sponsored by Trupanion pet insurance company. Pets Best is encouraging pet owners to nominate their veterinarian in the My Vet's The Best contest. The story detailing their latest quarterly winner demonstrates a special veterinarian who went above and beyond what was expected to care for one of his client's G. Dane.

Pets Best New Direct Deposit Program

I am posting a link to a press release by Pets Best about their new direct deposit program to speed up the filing of claims and reimbursement processes. I believe that other pet insurance companies have also implemented the ability to do this, but may not be as fully automated as Pets Best yet. It is worth asking your pet insurance company about this. Dr. Jack Stephens, the President of Pets Best says that he believes that this is the direction that pet insurance companies are headed. I think this is beneficial to pet owners and veterinarians alike.

 

Pet Insurance Allows Pet To Get Needed Surgery

This is an illustration how pet insurance is supposed to work. Pet needed expensive surgery. Because the pet's owner had pet insurance, she opted for the surgery paying for the bill with a credit card. The dog recovered and she got her reimbursement check from Pets Best insurance company before the credit card bill was due.

The title to the article is a bit misleading. I don't think it means that the spinal problem would have been fatal to the dog, but that the pet owner may not have been able to afford the surgery if she didn't have pet insurance, and might have had to opt for euthanasia.