Hello, I’m Dr. Doug Kenney, a practicing veterinarian in Cordova, Tennessee - just outside of Memphis. Welcome to my blog on pet health insurance. I really appreciate your using some of your valuable time to visit. I will always strive to make the information you find here truly helpful as you make decisions about pet health insurance.
How I Became Interested In Pet Insurance
For years, there was only one pet insurance company – VPI, and we had a few of their brochures to give to clients that asked about pet insurance. I had filled out and signed a few claim forms for clients over the years, but like most veterinarians, I knew very little about pet health insurance.
Then I saw a brochure from ASPCA Pet Insurance in a specialty hospital waiting room when I stopped by to check on a case that I had referred there. It was obvious that the plans they offered differed from those offered by VPI. Soon after that I got a brochure in the mail from Embrace Pet Insurance and their plans looked much different from the other two companies.
Now I realized that my clients had several options to choose from. I didn't really know much about any of these companies, but I had a lot of questions. Perhaps you have some of those same questions and that is what brought you to this blog.
When I started investigating pet insurance more closely, I found out that there were even more companies offering policies to pet owners in the United States that I wasn't aware of. Currently, there are about a dozen. I called and asked a lot of questions, and over a period of time, I developed relationships with individuals at each of the companies so that if I had a question, I could just e-mail or call them and get a trustworthy response. Mostly, these individuals are veterinarians who are on the staff of the pet insurance company or the CEO of the company. Thankfully, they haven’t told me to stop bothering them yet. :)
As I started collecting the information about each of the companies and realize fairly quickly that pet insurance is a rather complex subject, I decided that I would share the information not only with my own clients, but put the information in a book and make it available to all pet owners. I decided to write the book from a veterinarian's perspective highlighting several things that I felt were essential in a pet insurance policy considering that you, the pet owner, would be filing claims for diseases and problems that we, as veterinarians, see day in and day out.
You won't see me recommending which company you should purchase a pet insurance policy from. That decision is yours to make. A pet insurance policy is a contract between the pet owner and the pet insurance company. My goal is to give you the information and tools you need to hopefully make a wise choice - one that you won't regret, but rather you'll be happy with.
It isn't uncommon for pet insurance companies to "tweak" their existing policies or even come out with new policies from time to time. One reason I started this blog is that it is dynamic and I can post information as soon as I become aware of it. So far, I've had to update the paperback book at least annually, and yes, it has been updated for 2011. I can more readily make changes to the e-book and worksheets since they are digital products that you simply download to your computer. The e-book is essentially the same as the paperback book except it is more colorful and contains active hyperlinks that are helpful to you when doing your research.
I would really appreciate feedback in the form of comments or e-mails about the blog. I am constantly looking for ways to make it even better and your letting me know what's on your mind lets me know what I need to be blogging about. I will also be glad to try and answer any specific questions you have about pet insurance. So, your help is greatly appreciated!
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