Your Pet Insurance Guide

Holiday Health Tips For Your Pet From PurinaCare Pet Insurance

Dr. Bill Craig recently wrote an excellent article on the PurinaCare blog that might just save some pet owners from a trip to the emergency clinic during the holidays, and therefore, also save them a nice chunk of change. Dr. Craig is one of the veterinarians that I converse with via e-mail quite a bit about PurinaCare's pet insurance policies. He has always been extremely helpful for which I am very grateful. Read more →

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. Read more →

Healthy Paws Pet Insurance Now Offers Unlimited - No Caps Coverage

Healthy Paws used to have a $25,000 lifetime limit (cap) on coverage in their policies. Recently, they eliminated that cap. Therefore, their policies have no per-incident, annual, or lifetime cap on benefits. The only limits are the deductible and coinsurance you choose with your policy. Read more →

Detecting and Treating Cancer in Pets

Cancer is one of the more frequent diseases that veterinarians see day in and day out. One of the keys to successful treatment is early recognition - just like it is in humans. Diagnosing and treating cancer can be expensive and pet insurance can certainly come in handy. Most pet insurance policies will cover cancer, but make sure you get a policy that not only covers chronic diseases, but has adequate coverage. A reader sent me a link to an article on the National Canine Cancer Foundation blog. It gives an excellent overview of cancer in dogs, especially how pet... Read more →

The Best Way To Obtain A Quote For Pet Insurance

After answering the question, “Should I purchase pet insurance,” the next question pet owners wrestle with is, “Which company and which policy is the best one for my pet?” I frequently see this question asked on pet forums. Some of the answers given are good advice and some are bad advice. The better question would be, “How do I go about determining which company and policy is best for my pet?” The first step in answering this question is to obtain a quote from every company that sells pet insurance in the U.S. There are about a dozen companies that... Read more →

Insight Into How Pet Insurance Companies Set Premiums

This is an interesting article because it gives us some insight into how pet insurance companies use actuarial data when setting premiums for their policies. I don't actually know a lot about it, but when I've asked questions of pet insurance company representatives about their company's actuarial data, they are usually very secretive when it comes to discussing specifics. In fact, companies use this data to adjust premiums from time to time. If you receive a notice that your premium is going up or down, this is probably the reason. I've read in the past year that some pet owners... Read more →

Factors That Affect The Cost of Pet Insurance

Pet insurance premiums are what many pet owners focus on when investigating whether to purchase pet insurance for their pet. There are many factors that affect the cost of pet health insurance. 1) Geographic location Where you live affects the premium you will pay to insure your pet. For example, pet insurance premiums are generally higher in California than in Tennessee because veterinary fees are higher in California than Tennessee. 2) The breed of your pet Certain breeds of dogs or cats are known to have more health problems than other breeds, so the pet insurance company calculates this factor... Read more →

Embrace Pet Insurance Claim Example - Cushing's Disease

Cushing's is a chronic disease and this pet owner will be facing ongoing monitoring and lifelong medication to keep the symptoms under control. The good news is that pet insurance will pay most of the expense! I ran across this claim example on the Embrace blog. There are a couple of lessons to learn from this example. Make sure your pet insurance policy has coverage for chronic illnesses beyond the intial year when it is first diagnosed. With some companies, this is optional coverage. Also, make sure their coverage for chronic diseases is adequate. Embrace makes coverage for prescription medications... Read more →

How to Handle Pet Insurance in a Divorce

I have to admit that this is something that has never crossed my mind. Perhaps it's because I've been happily married for 37 years! Thanks, Cindy. But, apparently it's not that uncommon of a problem for insurance companies and pet owners to have to deal with. This is particularly important because one reason that claims are denied sometimes is because of a lapse in coverage that the pet owner wasn't aware of. I came across this excellent and detailed blog post by Laura Bennett, the CEO of Embrace Pet Insurance Company, that pet owners whose pets are covered by pet... Read more →

Switching Pet Insurance Companies In Midstream - Part 2

Merrick, thanks again so much for sharing your story with the readers! If you read my previous blog post, "Switching Pet Insurance Companies In Midstream," then you know what I went through in order to determine which pet health insurance company I felt was best for my 10yo dog, Frida. In this “Part 2,” I want to share with you the process I undertook to make sure, in advance, that I wouldn't get surprises after I had signed up. I asked for an Underwriter's Review or Medical Records Review. This is something that the pet insurance companies don't always offer... Read more →

Switching Pet Insurance Companies In Midstream

This is the second installment of guest posts by readers of this blog detailing their journey of researching and finding a pet insurance company and policy for their pet. In this story, Merrick decided to switch companies when his dog was 10 years old. This can present some challenges especially when considering the presence of pre-existing conditions. I greatly appreciated his willingness to share his thoughts during the research process and even now. The opinions expressed in this blog post are those of the author. Every pet owner's situation is different and may have differing opinions and/or reach different conclusions.... Read more →

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... Read more →

PetPlan Claims Experience

By Desiree Nascimento, June 2011 My Kerry Blue Terrier, Kieran, was a healthy dog all her life so when I enrolled her with PetPlan in October 2009. I wondered if it would be worth it. At the time Kieran was seven years old and her last physical gave her a clean bill of health. Three months later in January 2010, Kieran started intermittent vomiting. I thought perhaps her food was the problem so I gradually changed her kibble, but the vomiting persisted. Around the same time Kieran began having seizures. They were short, lasting only a few seconds and afterwards... Read more →

A Dog Day Afternoon - Pursuing Pet Insurance

I am so grateful that a reader of this blog has agreed to write a couple of guest posts about her experiences in selecting a pet insurance company and policy for her pet. I hope that it will be an encouragement to everyone else who reads it. By Desiree Nascimento In October 2009 I took on the task of purchasing pet insurance for my seven year old Kerry Blue Terrier. As I conducted research over a two month period I found the variables of pet insurance vast, the comparisons between companies confusing, and the task daunting. Yet I tackled it... Read more →

Pet Insurance Company Statistics Can Serve As Helpful Reminders To Pet Owners

I've been posting lately several articles that are very informative that arose out of statistical analysis of pet insurance claims. Today's article has to do with claims for foreign body ingestion. It is amazing what pets can and will swallow. There have actually been contests in veterinary journals where veterinarians send in x-rays of some unbelievable things that pets have ingested. This should serve as a reminder and warning to do your part to prevent your pet from swallowing something that could cause you to make a costly visit to your veterinarian or local emergency clinic. Even then, accidents can... Read more →

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... Read more →

Pet Owner's Opinions About Pet Insurance

I really hesitated to even bring this article and all the comments that follow it up for you to read or discuss, but it runs the gamut of pet owner's opinions about pet insurance. Since I visit pet forums frequently, I've seen all this before, but it might be interesting reading for some of you. Some pet owners point out in the comments what I will say below, but you'll find that some people think that all insurance is a scam, especially pet insurance. Granted, the customer service by this company left a lot to be desired, but as is... Read more →

Pet Insurance For The Accident Prone

I ran across this article today giving some statistics about breeds that seem to naturally be accident prone and warrant emergency visits to the veterinarian. One thing to note from this article is that these visits can be quite costly. Read more →

Pet Insurance Can Come In Handy For Older Pets

The title and content of this article reminded me of something that I often tell clients when discussing a diagnostic or treatment plan for their older pet. Pet owners of older pets tend to think that because their pet is older and has a serious condition that it isn't worth pursuing treatment. What they don't understand is that every pet as they get older will eventually develop a chronic disease (just as humans do). This chronic disease can often be treated alleviating the symptoms and giving the pet several more years of a relatively good quality of life. But, it... Read more →

PetPlan Reimbursement Over $25,000

I just read an article about a $25,000 reimbursement by PetPlan over a 3 year period of time for a dog with hip dysplasia. This is considered a hereditary problem and not covered by all pet insurance companies. PetPlan is one of several companies that do now cover hereditary conditions. Read more →

Pet Insurance Claims for Cancer Treatment

Today, I'm writing a teaching post. I am including a couple of claims from Embrace for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Although we think of cancer as being primarily a problem in older pets, notice that both of these pets were young. The thing I appreciate about these examples is that Embrace gave detailed information about the claim and how much the pet owner was reimbursed. The first claim was on Maggie, a 2 year old Dachshund with a rectal tumor. The second claim was on Coney, a 3 year old cat with lymphoma. Both pets are doing well... Read more →

Healthy Paws Comes Through With Claim Reimbursement

Here's a story about Bu's patellar luxation and how having pet insurance with Healthy Paws helped pay for the surgery. It seems that a day at the park aggrevated Bu's patellar luxation. What makes this significant is that Healthy Paws is one of several companies that now cover hereditary and/or congenital conditions. Some companies catagorize patellar (kneecap) luxation as either hereditary or congenital and don't cover it. This brings up once again the importance of getting a policy that does cover hereditary/congenital conditions and preferably from a company that offers more than token coverage. With most companies, the policy must... Read more →

A Recommendation In Favor Of Pet Insurance

I'll let this letter speak for itself. Read more →

Pet Insurance Comes In Handy

I came across a video blog that summarizes many of the points you should consider when deciding whether to get pet insurance for your pet and also how to decide on a company and and policy for your pet. I don't think the intent of this video was necessarily to recommend Trupanion because they didn't look at all the companies that offer pet insurance in the U.S. I think the main take away from this video is to show the importance of getting unrestricted coverage for hereditary conditions. Getting this coverage didn't cost any more in monthly premiums, and paid... Read more →

Top 10 Reasons Pet Owners Take Their Pet To The Veterinarian

The top 3 reasons that pets are taken to the veterinarian according to claims submitted by VPI pet insurance company are often related to the same underlying problem. They are: Ear infection Skin allergy Skin infection/hot spot "I can't imagine how my pet got an ear infection!" is a comment I hear from pet owners. An acute ear infection caused by a foreign body in the ear canal or getting too much water in the ear canal when giving a bath is actually uncommon. Most ear infections seen by veterinarians are secondary to an underlying allergy, most notably something in... Read more →

Top Ten Causes of Broken Bones In Pets

VPI recently listed the top 10 causes of broken bones in pets based on the insurance claims they receive from pet owners whose pets are insured by VPI. As suspected, and as I alluded to in my last post, many of these causes are preventable. One of VPI's veterinarians, Dr. Carol McConnell states, “Injury prevention includes careful management of a pet’s environment by removing possible threats and eliminating situations that might put a pet at risk. Broken bones are painful for pets and costly for pet owners." One of the most common predisposing factors (40%) that led to broken bones... Read more →

The Wise Pet Owner

I have been trying to find a commercial that I remembered seeing years ago to illustrate the reason that I wrote “The Wise Pet Owner.” I thoughtI remembered it being a Midas commercial, but I found an old Fram Oil Filter commercial that illustrated the point and contained the particular words I was looking for. The words I remembered were, “You can pay me now, or you can pay me later.” In the context of the commercial, it meant that you can pay a little for regular maintenance on your engine or you can pay a lot later to have... Read more →

Tupanion's 5 Most Expensive Claims Paid In 2010

I expect that people will react in different ways to the size of these claims paid by Trupanion. What is your comment? Read more →

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. Read more →

Changes Needed for Pet Insurance to Benefit More Pet Owners

Last week, I got a phone call from a gentleman in California whose dog had just had surgery and the bill was $4600. At the time, he didn't have pet insurance, but this episode stimulated his interest. He did some investigation into pet insurance and found out something that didn't make sense to him so he called me with the following question. "Is it really true that I would have to pay the veterinarian and then seek reimbursement from the insurance company? That's not the way my human insurance works, or for that matter, any of my other insurance works.... Read more →

Managing Pet Healthcare Expenses With Pet Insurance and CareCredit

It is common for pet owners to use an available credit source along with a pet insurance policy to help them manage their pet’s healthcare expenses. One such credit source is CareCredit, a health credit card. They offer 6 and 12 month “no-interest” payment plans. This allows the pet owner to file a claim and get reimbursed before the credit card balance is due. Here are some tips (based on my conversation with a company representative) when using CareCredit (any interest rates mentioned are accurate as of 10/2010 and subject to change, so be sure and ask the company for... Read more →

Avoiding Claim Denial Because Of A Pre-Existing Condition

Pre-existing conditions are not covered by pet insurance companies. Pre-existing conditions are problems or diseases that your pet may have shown symptoms of or been diagnosed with before the effective date of the policy. Most insurance companies will use the date you first noticed the problem, not necessarily the day it was diagnosed by a veterinarian. Some companies may cover a problem that occurred previously if it was "cured" and not considered a chronic condition (no symptoms or treatment within the last 6 months). From reading reviews that policyholders write on the various companies, this is a reason that is... Read more →

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... Read more →

Pet Insurance - Good Summary Article

A relative sent me this article that appeared in their local newspaper. It contains a good summary of decisions pet owners make when it comes to paying for their pet's healthcare and how pet insurance can help. Read more →

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! Read more →

Embrace Pet Insurance - Changes To Their Policies

Yesterday, I posted about Embrace's new Wellness Rewards programs. Today I'm providing a link to the company CEO's blog where she outlines recent changes to their policies. At the end of the blog post are other links to even more explanation. They have changed underwriters. A notable change is elimination of the 25% of annual limit on chronic conditions. Read more →

Embrace Improves Wellness Rewards

Embrace recently expanded their wellness rewards package. Be sure and download their wellness reward certificate to get a better idea of all the coverages. You will have to decide if it is worth it. One good thing about their wellness coverages is that they are flexible - there is no limit per procedure, and you will usually get back slightly more than you pay in extra premium if you spend up to the annual limit. As always, I will try to let you know about changes in policies as soon as I'm aware of them. Read more →

PurinaCare Rolls Out New Policies

PurinaCare pet insurance started offering new plans in 36 states earlier this month. They are seeking approval in the other states as well. They are now offering an Accident-Only policy at a very reasonable premium. Of course, it is preferable to get an Accident and Illness policy. But if your pet is older and has a chronic condition that would preclude him or her from getting covered for illnesses, then the accident policy would be available since there aren't any exclusions based on pre-existing conditions. The only significant changes to the PurinaCare with or without Wellness coverage is the offering... Read more →

Wild About Pets Talkshow Episode on Pet Insurance

I had the opportunity last Friday (7/16) to be the guest on Susan Frank's Wild About Pets Radio Show. We had a good discussion about pet insurance. This show airs every Friday and has expert guests dealing with a wide range of topics of interest to pet owners. I encourage you to check it out. Read more →

Trupanion Offers No-Limits Policies

Trupanion recently removed the $20,000 lifetime limit on their policies. There is also no per-incident or annual limit. This makes them unique among pet insurance companies. **Update: Healthy Paws also now offers a no-limit policy. Read more →

Pet Insurance Coverage For Prescription Diets

This is a topic that not many people think about. While it isn't a big factor in the grand scheme of things, some companies do provide some coverage for these diets. These diets are usually more expensive than your pet's usual diet. What is a prescription diet? It is a diet usually available only from your veterinarian for a specific medical condition. There are several companies that manufacture prescription diets like Hills, Iams, Purina, and Royal Canin. Examples of these diets are K/D for kidney failure, S/D and S/O for dissolution of struvite urinary stones, H/D for heart failure, etc.... Read more →

Pet Insurance Claim for Intervertebral Disk Disease in a Dachshund

I ran across this example of a claim for surgery on a condition common in Dachshunds - intervertebral disk disease (slipped disk). Since this is a Trupanion claim, I want to point out several things about it. Trupanion doesn't pay for examination fees. The examination fees in this example are likely from a specialist. Therefore, a strategy that many pet owners who purchase a policy from Trupanion use is to select the lowest deductible they can afford (premium). The pet owner in this case opted for a $0 deductible. Trupanion allows pet owners to select their own deductible between $0... Read more →

Gardening With Your Dog's Safety In Mind

Many Americans like to garden. Dr. Jules Benson makes pet owners who also like to garden aware of potential hazards to their pets. Read more →

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... Read more →

Pet Insurance Claims For Young Pets - Prevention Is The Key

It is interesting what the most common claims are for different age pets. This article reinforces that many problems that young pets get can be prevented. It also reinforces the advice to get pet insurance when your pet is young. Many pet owners don't see the need for insurance when their pet is young and the picture of health. But, you never know... While it's great to have pet insurance when something unforseen and expensive happens, it's much better to prevent it from happening in the first place. The link to insurance comparisons at the end of the article is... Read more →

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... Read more →

Why Buy Pet Insurance?

I ran across an article written by Laura Bennett, the CEO of Embrace Pet Insurance Company, that gives interesting insight on her journey from purchasing pet insurance for the first time to actually starting a pet insurance company. Interestingly, two of the responses to the article were from people who have had pet insurance for a number of years and had negative impressions of the industry. They had purchased a policy from a company that provides limited coverage and/or excluded conditions that many of the newer companies now cover. You must do your research and know what to look for... Read more →

Buy Pet Insurance Early

I recently posted about this subject. Yesterday, I was reading a forum post from a pet owner that had bought pet insurance and when she filed her first claim, the company requested her pet's medical records. After reviewing the medical record, the company denied the claim stating it was for a pre-existing condition. Needless to say, the pet owner wasn't very happy. Embrace pet insurance has a Medical History Review that can give pet owners peace of mind that there won't be any surprises pertaining to pre-existing conditions when you file a claim. Other companies may be willing to do... Read more →

Pet Owner Finally Quits Smoking For Her Dog's Sake

I've told my own clients and have written an article abstract about the effects of second-hand smoke on pets. It causes many of the same health problems in pets that it does in humans. Here is a story that is heartwarming and not only speaks to the issue of the hazards of second-hand smoke, but also the special relationship that exists between some pet owners and their pets. Read more →

Pet Insurance Claim Examples From Embrace

I read pet forums weekly and pet insurance frequently gets negative comments with people saying it is just not worth having. After over two years of researching pet insurance, some of the criticism is warranted because there are both good and bad policies that pet owners can select from. The key is selecting the best ones. I designed the Pet Insurance Toolkit to help you do just that! On Embrace Pet Insurance's blog, they are focusing on the topic of cancer in pets this month. Below are a couple of links to actual claims that Embrace paid for pets that... Read more →