Changing Insurance Plans

[Guest zoolaine]

I have had PetFirst Insurance for about a year and a half and was happy with it until about 3 weeks ago when Sunny was diagnosed with cutaneous lymphoma. I have the Preferred Plan and it has been great for all the routine care and minor incidents, including 2 trips to the local ER vet. However, the per incident limit is only $2500 (and their best plan is only $3500) which I have discovered is quite inadequate. I think we were at the $2500 limit within 3 trips to the specialist and the first round of chemo. His current chemo and the rest of his treatment will cost me probably $6000+ (Sunny is not a greyhound so the greyhound wellness center and free chemo is out). So I have come to the realization that I need a much high per incident limit. Embrace and Trupanion seem the best:

 

Embrace - Pros: $10,000 max with continuing coverage as a chronic condition at $2500 per year, can get a medical history review to see what exactly will be excluded, annual deductible

Cons: Higher price, price increases as dog ages, doesn't cover take home prescription meds (unless you add additional coverage),

 

 

 

Trupanion: Pros $20,000 lifetime max - so no yearly or per incident limits, price does not increase as dog ages, pays claims in 7 days with repeat claims processed usually in 24 hours,

Cons: doesn't cover the vet's exam fee( ????? - seems strange, my vet's exam fee is usually $42 and the specialists are way more), no multi pet discounts, per incident deductible (compared to annual deductible from Embrace)

[Guest Energy11]

I have Trupanion for all five, and I just dropped my coverage to NO deductible. I had WORDS with them last night, but got things covered. ******JUST REMEMBER ONE THING, NONE of the insurances will cover preexisting conditions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So far, I am cool with Trupanion, and, YES, I don't understand WHY they don't cover the vet exam! Good Luck!

[Guest eaglflyt]

That $10,000 limit on Embrace is per year ... and renews each year. We have Embrace and have been delighted with the coverage. Hereditary/congenital conditions are covered. It's just pre-existing that aren't covered, but that's the same with all of the pet insurances. The customizable plans were a big plus for us. It's always best to find excellent coverage and get it early before your pet ever gets sick... then everything will be covered. Also, the premium increase as the pet ages is generally about 3 - 5 % annually and is only for veterinary price inflation in your area. They do NOT increase premiums if your pet becomes sick or has several claims.

 

Best wishes to you and your pup.

[Guest zoolaine]

That $10,000 limit on Embrace is per year ... and renews each year. We have Embrace and have been delighted with the coverage. Hereditary/congenital conditions are covered. It's just pre-existing that aren't covered, but that's the same with all of the pet insurances. The customizable plans were a big plus for us. It's always best to find excellent coverage and get it early before your pet ever gets sick... then everything will be covered. Also, the premium increase as the pet ages is generally about 3 - 5 % annually and is only for veterinary price inflation in your area. They do NOT increase premiums if your pet becomes sick or has several claims.

 

Best wishes to you and your pup.

 

 

I sent them an email (in response to an email they had sent me) of which I never heard back so I called and they told me it would generally increase 5-15% per year for the older dogs. The two experiences I have had with their customer services hasn't been overly impressive but I do like a lot about their plan.

[Guest zoolaine]

I have Trupanion for all five, and I just dropped my coverage to NO deductible. I had WORDS with them last night, but got things covered. ******JUST REMEMBER ONE THING, NONE of the insurances will cover preexisting conditions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So far, I am cool with Trupanion, and, YES, I don't understand WHY they don't cover the vet exam! Good Luck!

 

 

Yeah, strange how they do not cover exams. The price difference with the lower deductibles isn't much - I would probably go with a zero deductible. The vets exam fee would be like a deductible I guess. I do REALLY like how the price stays the same. I think it does anyways. I have read so many policies I gotta go back and look at this one again.

[Guest eaglflyt]

That $10,000 limit on Embrace is per year ... and renews each year. We have Embrace and have been delighted with the coverage. Hereditary/congenital conditions are covered. It's just pre-existing that aren't covered, but that's the same with all of the pet insurances. The customizable plans were a big plus for us. It's always best to find excellent coverage and get it early before your pet ever gets sick... then everything will be covered. Also, the premium increase as the pet ages is generally about 3 - 5 % annually and is only for veterinary price inflation in your area. They do NOT increase premiums if your pet becomes sick or has several claims.

 

Best wishes to you and your pup.

 

 

I sent them an email (in response to an email they had sent me) of which I never heard back so I called and they told me it would generally increase 5-15% per year for the older dogs. The two experiences I have had with their customer services hasn't been overly impressive but I do like a lot about their plan.

 

The price increase annually for age is based on veterinary inflation, so I'm sure it will be different for different areas. Thankfully, we live in a lower veterinary rate area. You may be in a pricier vet area. Also, if you are dissatisfied for any reason with your service, ask to speak to a manager. The CEO has been known to call customers back and correct things herself. ; )

 

You can also follow their blog, if you like, HERE.

[Guest zoolaine]

That $10,000 limit on Embrace is per year ... and renews each year. We have Embrace and have been delighted with the coverage. Hereditary/congenital conditions are covered. It's just pre-existing that aren't covered, but that's the same with all of the pet insurances. The customizable plans were a big plus for us. It's always best to find excellent coverage and get it early before your pet ever gets sick... then everything will be covered. Also, the premium increase as the pet ages is generally about 3 - 5 % annually and is only for veterinary price inflation in your area. They do NOT increase premiums if your pet becomes sick or has several claims.

 

Best wishes to you and your pup.

 

 

I sent them an email (in response to an email they had sent me) of which I never heard back so I called and they told me it would generally increase 5-15% per year for the older dogs. The two experiences I have had with their customer services hasn't been overly impressive but I do like a lot about their plan.

 

The price increase annually for age is based on veterinary inflation, so I'm sure it will be different for different areas. Thankfully, we live in a lower veterinary rate area. You may be in a pricier vet area. Also, if you are dissatisfied for any reason with your service, ask to speak to a manager. The CEO has been known to call customers back and correct things herself. ; )

 

You can also follow their blog, if you like, HERE.

 

They told me on the phone that they will increase your yearly premium based on your dogs age. The lady said that at 7-9 years of age you start to see bigger jumps. She also said a worse case scenario would be if your dog was diagnosed with cancer, hit by a car, etc - some big expense - in the last week of the policy before renewal. You would only gt one week of coverage at the $10,000 allowable and then after it renewed they would consider it a chronic/ongoing condition so then you would be only allowed $2500. I like Embrace a bit better than Trupanion but those two issues are making me hesitant. I know with PetFirst the price gets so high after 10 years of age that it is not even really worth it.

[Wendie]

I have never seen one of these companies that will cover pre-existing conditions, even when they are as simple as "If they've had a UTI in the last 2 years, another instance would not be covered" I'd be very impressed if that wasn't the case with these two places.

[Guest zoolaine]

I have never seen one of these companies that will cover pre-existing conditions, even when they are as simple as "If they've had a UTI in the last 2 years, another instance would not be covered" I'd be very impressed if that wasn't the case with these two places.

 

 

They don't cover pre-exiting conditions - but the do cover hereditary and congenital - which a lot of companies exclude. So these two companies only exclude things if your dog has shown symptoms in the past. So they won't pull they "that is congenital or characteristic of the breed so we aren't covering it". The nice thing with Embrace is that after you enroll you can have them do a medical history review and they will tell you exactly what is considered a pre-exiting condition for that dog.

 

The other nice thing is that most companies consider conditions treated in previous policy periods as pre-exiting, so after your renewal date they are no longer covered.

 

I know it is too late to get Sunny better coverage but I want to make sure my other dogs will have more coverage if they need it. I just can't decide between these two plans, wish I could combine the good and eliminate the bad

[Guest zoolaine]

I am a little concerned that Trupanion only covers medications that are FDA approved. From what I have read online the vast majority of chemotherapy drugs are not FDA approved - primarily due to the cost involved. So I think that means they would not cover the cost of chemo?

[Guest Energy11]

I am a little concerned that Trupanion only covers medications that are FDA approved. From what I have read online the vast majority of chemotherapy drugs are not FDA approved - primarily due to the cost involved. So I think that means they would not cover the cost of chemo?

 

 

I'd give Trupanion a call and ask them if they'd cover chemo drugs. I have them, and just dropped my deductible to zero. They were pretty fair on my last two claims. Let's see how it goes when Goldie goes in Monday for her exam (*this is never covered) and her x-rays.

[Guest eaglflyt]

I know that Embrace covers chemo, radiation, and most all alternative therapies. I've had no complaints at all ... and they are incredibly FAST with reimbursement (has always been less than 1 week for us). The main reason we insured Ady Bea was to have peace of mind about financial aspects of vet care if she should become terribly ill or injured. I also didn't want us to have to make medical care decisions based solely on financial factors. If we hadn't chosen to go with Embrace, Trupanion was our 2nd choice. But, I liked the customizable aspects of Embrace's coverage and the fact that cancer treatment was automatically included in coverage and alternative therapies. All our future pets will be covered with Embrace Pet Insurance as soon as they come to us.