Guest eaglflyt Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 We've just had our greyhound girl, Ady Bea, for almost 2 months. She's about 21 months old and very healthy. However, after reading this forum nearly every day, I've decided we need to purchase pet insurance for her. If you have pet insurance on your dog(s), what insurance company do you use or recommend? We're currently considering PetPlan (US) and Trupanion. Thanks in advance for recommendations and your experiences. Shelly in OK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BillNY914 Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 I have VPI (Veterinary Pet Insurance), coverage under the Superior Plan is $350.00/year. After the $50.00 deductible, they reimburse 90% They also have a "preventative maintenance" type plan that covers the cost of routine physicals, flea and tick and heartworm medications and a few other things. I personally didn't get that as it would just about even out with what I actually pay for the stuff vs. the premium. Several people I know have this insurance and have been very happy with it, I fortunately have never had to use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest zoolaine Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 Mine are covered under PetFirst. They are awesome. They specialize in multidog households. Make sure you get a policy that pays based on what your vet charges and not a set fee schedule. I made a big spreadsheet and wrote out the benefits so I could see all the different plans side by side. I really like PetFirst and get $$$$ back all of the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest eaglflyt Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 Thanks so much for both recommendations. I'll add both of these on my list to check out and compare. Satisfied customer's recommendations make a big difference to us. : ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cleptogrey Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 i am using aspca. but i only have accident insurance for my crazy pup who runs into stationary objects. that was all that i could afford. fortunately my vet is kind and reasonable. i am on cobra for myself and this is about all i can afford for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MP_the4pack Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 I have VPI. I got it when there really wasn't much choice in pet insurance. They were FANTASTIC in the beginning, but have gotten less user friendly. I can't switch because my Pearl has severe heart disease and hypertension and they really lose a lot of money on her. But when I brought in my Brat, they wanted all her previous vet records. I thought she was healthy, didn't think anything of it, but she had gone to the vet for stitches one time and for an upset tummy another. So lacerations and gastritis are now both excluded. So even though she needed stitches 3 yrs ago, if she needs them in the future, she's not covered. And I've had to fight with them a couple of times, but I guess with the number of claims I put in, eventually there will be something that doesn't go thru cleanly. Sometimes I've been very happy with the claim paid, other times, pissed. But, with the thousands that I put out with Pearl, it's definitely been worth it. Just having insurance has afforded me the luxury of going to specialists when I want to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giadog Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 I use PetFirst for my three younger pups, and ASPCA for the older. We haven't had to make a claim yet, but I've heard nothing but good things about both, and I think it's amazing that I can insure all 5 dogs for under $100/month. If you do a search for pet insurance, someone once posted a link to a site that compared many different companies....I found that extremely helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeofNE Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 i am using aspca. but i only have accident insurance for my crazy pup who runs into stationary objects. that was all that i could afford. fortunately my vet is kind and reasonable. i am on cobra for myself and this is about all i can afford for now. I also use ASPCA. VPI would not insure George because his creatinine levels come back as "abnormal." They're PERFECTLY normal for a Greyhound, but the little blood testing machine doesn't seem to care what breed of dog it's testing. Quote Susan, Hamish, Mister Bigglesworth and Nikita Stanislav. Missing Ming, George, and Buck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UESBrindle Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 We use PetFirst- we have the Basic plan and have been very happy with it so far. It doesn't cover dentals, but I think the next plan up does. So far, they've been great-- we've had William for 3.5 months, filed a handful of claims, and always get the $$ back quick which is nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jeannejj Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 I have used PetCare Insurance for all my pups, and they have been very good about paying. It's only for emergencies, you know, like lacerations, ingestion of poison,etc. It's fairly inexpensive, and has been very prompt about paying. http://www.petcareinsurance.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest eaglflyt Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 Wow, thanks to all of you for sharing your companies and your experiences. I'm narrowing down the options for an insurance company and found THIS pet insurance comparison website very helpful. Shelly in OK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2four Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 Hi, I'm in Canada, so this might not be true in the USA. I had everyone on PetPlan but they only give a LIFETIME maximum amount- or did when I enrolled them. My Labrador just reached her maximum in one category, so now the bills are on us. She had conditions that were covered by PetPlan so I did not change her over to PetSecure, like I did the others. All the others are on PetSecure, level 3 ($5000 max per year per category.) I am glad we have some pet insurance since we are in the middle of having Jamey diagnosed with Osteo. Hope this information helps. Quote Tin and Michael and Lucas, Picasso, Hero, Oasis, Galina, Neizan, Enzo, Salvo and Noor the Galgos. Remembering Bridge Angel Greyhounds: Tosca, Jamey, Master, Diego, and Ambi; plus Angel Galgos Jules, Marco and Baltasar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest trevdog Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 I'm looking as well. I like trupanion, but pricey...PetFirst seems to be the way to go so far....and they don't raise the rates as they age either, until all pets reach age 10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jziegler Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 I have used PetCare Insurance for all my pups, and they have been very good about paying. It's only for emergencies, you know, like lacerations, ingestion of poison,etc. It's fairly inexpensive, and has been very prompt about paying. http://www.petcareinsurance.com/ I have Pet Care for my three as well. But, I don't recommend them anymore. They have been good about paying, but hidden in their terms (so hidden that I haven't found it and will need to call them), they say that if you have a treatment that hits the limit, they will put a lifetime exclusion on that particular category of injury. So Zephyr has had lacerations, and the last time it exceeded the limit ($500) because she had to go to the e-vet. So they paid to the limit, but will not pay for lacerations for her anymore. We got it through the 24petwatch site (the insurance is all the same company) and got a discount since the microchips are registered through them. The plan is slightly different though. But be warned, there appear to be hidden terms to their policies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jeannejj Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 That must be a recent change with PetCare, because I can assure you we have had many lacerations on various pups over the years, and there is no lifetime max. With Quickcare, the only limit is illnesses, not accidents. Just checked the website. So, lacerations are not limited, except to payment amount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jziegler Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 That must be a recent change with PetCare, because I can assure you we have had many lacerations on various pups over the years, and there is no lifetime max. With Quickcare, the only limit is illnesses, not accidents. Just checked the website. So, lacerations are not limited, except to payment amount. And this was the third time, and they placed a lifetime exclusion on the policy, and I can't find anywhere in the policy documents where they will do this. I do still need to call them (I only got the paperwork informing me of the exclusion recently), but it does bother me that they send this out when it appears to be against their policy documents. If I had seen anything about an exclusion in the documents, I would not have the policy. Maybe that we had multiple laceration on the same dog, all within the first year? I don't know, I'm venting/warning about a problem that I recently had with them. Have you ever had a laceration that exceeded the per incident limit? Their cryptic letter indicated that may be what triggered the exclusion (but once again, I read the policy documents and I don't see anything about this). If I get this resolved soon, I will reply here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest eaglflyt Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 I'm currently leaning toward going with Embrace. I've been reading tons of positive reviews and also have been carefully checking out their info. and their website. Their website is HERE and their reviews are HERE. This company even covers congenital/hereditary defects. Their plans are also easy to customize. Discounts for microchips and therapy dogs, too. I'm still researching, but Embrace is currently in front. Does anyone have any experience with them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest eaglflyt Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 I found this pet insurance comparison chart with consumer ratings that I'm finding very useful and wanted to share with everyone: HERE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest VanillaBean Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 I use PetFirst. Just got my first check in the mail 2 weeks ago. That was for Heartworm medicine. Also received a denial about a week ago, but that was for a dental--pre-existing. I knew they would. This is for a newly insured 9 yo dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seeh2o Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 I love Pet First, they paid out more than $1200 in claims for Carl last year. No questions asked. Quote Sunsands Doodles: Doodles aka Claire, Bella Run Softly: Softy aka Bowie (the Diamond Dog) Missing my beautiful boy Sunsands Carl 2.25.2003 - 4.1.2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest eaglflyt Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 Well, it looks like Pet First, Trupanion and Embrace are on the short list for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest trevdog Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 I'm between Embrace and Pet First....I can only get Embrace for Dallas though, so Ossie would need something else. What is the microchip discount? I don't have Dallas' on me(number) so I couldn't plug it in to get a quote. I like trupanion, but just too much $$ and they have to have a checkup first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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