Your Pet Insurance Guide

Cancer Treatment Often Successful And Expensive: Pet Insurance Can Help

Cancer is a common problem not only in people, but in our pets as well. If diagnosed early, treatment can either cure or achieve remission giving the pet a longer and good quality of life. The mainstays of treatment aren't much different from those recommended for people - surgery, chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. While the costs of such treatments are nowhere near the cost in human medicine, it can still run into the thousands of dollars. Most pet insurance companies cover cancer treatments as long as the condition wasn't pre-existing. 

Some pet owners have reservations about treating their pets for cancer just as some people have concerns about treating themselves or loved ones for cancer. Here is an article answering questions about cancer in pets and also includes the top 10 types of cancer that VPI received claims for.

Pet Insurance Guide Podcast - Episode 3

In this episode, I interview Dr. Carol McConnell at VPI (Veterinary Pet Insurance). Appropriately, this podcast is being published in the month of VPI's 30 year anniversary of offering pet insurance in the United States.

In this podcast, we'll discuss:

• Dr. McConnell's background and what she does at VPI.

• Who should purchase pet insurance

• VPI's coverage of exotic pets

• Pet Insurance vs. a savings account to pay for a pet's healthcare needs

• Differences between pet health insurance and other types of insurance e.g. human health insurance, auto insurance, etc.

• Lloyd's Banking Group in the UK recently getting out of the pet insurance business leaving thousands of pets without insurance that were previously insured- could such a thing happen in the United States?

• An explanation of why VPI uses a benefit schedule vs. paying a percentage of the veterinary invoice.

• Details about VPI's policies

• VPI's underwriting process and how this determines if any pre-existing conditions are present.

 

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

Right click to download episode

Links:

VPI

Pet Insurance Toolkit

Subscribe to podcast via iTunes

 

Top 10 Most Expensive Pet Health Conditions

I received this information in an e-mail today. I appreciate the fact that pet insurance companies have a database of information that allows them to search for statistics such as this. This information can be helpful to pet owners who are contemplating whether to get pet insurance.

Nation’s Largest Pet Insurer Reveals Most Common $1,000+ Claims

Brea, Calif. (June 28, 2011) — Few pet owners imagine they will ever have to spend more than $1,000 for treatment of a single pet health incident or condition. Unfortunately, data from Veterinary Pet Insurance Co. (VPI), the nation’s oldest and largest provider of pet health insurance, reveals that $1,000 veterinary bills may be more common than expected. 

Reassurance For Superstitious Pet Owners

When I saw this article, I was reminded of something that happened my senior year in vet school when I was on the large animal rotation. Isn't it weird how you never forget some things? Anyway, the large animal clinician took several of us out to a farm in Alabama on a call to castrate a pig. When we arrived and informed the farmer why we were there, his reply was, "You'll have to come back some other time; it's a full moon." Really?

VPI analyzed their claims records and came up with the 10 most dangerous days for a pet in 2010. Surprisingly, days of a full moon and Friday the 13th were below average for claims.

VPI's New Policies Gain Approval

I just heard this week from a veterinarian on VPI's staff that their new policies are operational in about half the states in the U.S. and have received approval in all states except Alaska. They are hopeful that the policies will be operational in all states in the next couple of months. Depending on the state you live in, the new policies may or may not be operational just yet. Look at the names of their old and new policies below so that when you go to their website to obtain a quote, you'll know which plans are available in your state. 

The old policies are named "Standard" and "Superior." The new policies are named "Medical" and "Major Medical." Another new addition is a Feline Select policy which covers the 15 top diseases/problems that cats get based on their claim experience with cats over the years. While this policy is designed  specifically for cats, the coverage is somewhat limited compared to their other policies.

The new policies are an improvement in that they have eliminated the per-incident deductible and copay. You now have an option of selecting from 4 different deductibles. The Major Medical plan now includes limited coverage for hereditary conditions. They have also added an Accident only policy if your pet doesn't qualify for illness coverage because of age or pre-existing chronic conditions.

Be sure and read the details of coverage and if possible an actual sample policy prior to purchase. VPI still reimburses based on their benefit schedules with the new plans.

Hambone Award Winner - 2010

I have written about VPI's Hambone Award and the 2010 winner was recently announced. Nominations for the 2011 winner are underway!

2010 VPI Hambone Award

Last year, I encouraged readers to vote for the pet of their choice to receive the annual VPI Hambone Award. I must say that the pet I voted for won last years award. Each month, a pet is nominated by employees of VPI -- selected from the thousands of claims that they receive. It is usually a pet that found itself in an unusual and sometime humorous situation requiring a visit to the veterinarian for treatment. For example, the award is named after a dog that was trapped inside the refrigerator and ate a ham leaving just the hambone.

The time for voting on this year's award is August, but you can get a head start reading about the nominees. Enjoy!

VPI Hambone Award

Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI) is offering its first annual Hambone Award to the pet whose owner submitted a claim for the most bizarre accident or illness during 2008. The award is named after a dog who got stuck in the refrigerator and ate the Thanksgiving turkey before being found.

 

I went to the website and read the stories of the nominees and then voted myself. You may vote until September 14. I urge you to read these stories to realize why pet insurance can come in handy and while you are there, be sure to vote!