Pet Insurance

[45MPHK9]

I wrote this post back in November. For what it's worth, I'd never go without pet insurance. One serious injury or catastrophic illness can run into the tens of thousands of dollars. A simple nuisance problem can cost several thousand dollars. I never want money to be a factor in what treatment options I have for my dogs. Peace of mind is worth that monthly, manageable deductible. Saving the monthly deductible I pay for both dogs for FIVE years would barely make a dent in a single major health problem either dog had.

 

I can't say enough good things about Trupanion. Bee Wiseman had a recurring UTI that went on over a period of several months. I had a $350 deductible for her. You just send your bills and they start sending you reimbursement checks as soon as you hit that deductible. You only have to meet that deductible once per issue. That mystery UTI was viewed as a singular issue.

 

I wrote somewhere on GT that I did not realize that I should have been sending in receipts all long for this UTI problem. You need to get the receipts in within 90 days. I was accumulating the bills at home and waiting to hit the $350 deductible. By the time I realized my mistake, I had accumulated about $1,300 in receipts. Many of them were beyond that 90 day deadline. I called the company and explained my mistake. No problem, they said. Just send everything in and we will reimburse you. Within 10 days, 90% of those bills were reimbursed as is stated in their policy.

 

That is excellent customer service, and that is why I stick with Trupanion.

 

(FWIW, with that one nuisance UTI issue, I have been reimbursed nearly every penny I have paid into the insurance for both dogs. Right before Bee was diagnosed with osteo, she was scheduled to have her bladder scoped. That one test would have cost $2,000. The insurance made it possible for us to easily say, "Go ahead. Let's do that very costly procedure." It would have only cost us $200 out of pocket.)

[Guest 2dogs4cats]

My advice is to read the policy in full before buying and don't go by the advertisements and what other people say. Whe you read the policy, you know exactly what you are getting and you aren't surprised when you go to make a claim. For those that say a savings account would be better, I say do the math. I pay $40 per month for Petplan, which pays a max of $8,000. If I put the $40 bucks in a savings account, would take over 16 years to save that up.

[MP_the4pack]

I've been a VPI customer for over a decade. But they aren't going to insure my new girl because she's 11. Trupanion will insure her. So....guess what? I'm getting Trupanion for her.

 

But as far as general insurance......to date, I am sure that the insurance company has paid me way more than I've paid them even with dogs that haven't needed much care and have claims. Doing the "savings plan" method would not have worked for me.

[Guest dobiegrey]

I have ASPCA plan and I am very happy!!! Bought it right before Jack (my Dobie) was diagnosed with Diabetes and it has been a Godsent and I have had no problems at all with getting paid! Highly recommend and rates are very reasonable.

 

Lou

[Zoolady]

We have Trupanion for our four greys and two cats. I chose them because the premiums don't go up as the pet ages and there are no limits/ceilings on coverage. We took the 90% coverage with a $500 deductible.

 

Because of them we are able to treat Ben's osteo. We are able to take advantage of all the knowledge to help him which we weren't able to do when Wonder had osteo and no insurance. When Wonder was diagnosed we saw a big poster in the vet's office advertising Trupanion.

 

Our vet files electronically with them, Trupanion emails us when they receive bills and they pay within days and send another email with notes about how happy they are to help with Ben's care. They don't cover routine care or exam fees. Everything else is covered. Extremely pleased with them.