Vpi Vs. Healthy Paws

[NeylasMom]

So I got Zuri's VPI policy renewal forms recently. His monthly payment went up 35%!!! From $55 to $75.They claim it's because he jumped into the "10-12" age group, but when Neyla turned 10 or even 11 hers didn't go up like this. They also claim there's nothing they can do about it.

 

So I'm curious if anyone has ever switched an older dog from one company to another, especially from VPI to another and whether you were glad you did it or regretted it. Obviously, the biggest concern is that any new policy won't cover pre-existing conditions, which would certainly include anything related to his LS and also whatever we figure out is causing his skin issues, plus his thyroid if we decide his is actually hypothyroid.

 

I have to do some calculations, but wanted to get feedback here in the meantime.

 

FWIW, I have Violet & Skye on Healthy Paws already so I'm not looking for general comparison info. I did all of that when I got Violet and frankly I despise VPI's reimbursement schedule, but it's very difficult to figure out which would be more cost effective given that VPI uses that schedule and other companies don't. I did get a quote from HP and the premium is much lower, but because of his age he also only qualifies for a plan with a $500 annual ded and 70% reimbursement rate and we would also lose the routine care we have with VPI. I'm going to look at Trupanion too.

Edited August 29, 2014 by NeylasMom

[Remolacha]

VPI is notorious for hiking rates on older pets, regardless of their health status! That is why I dropped them, years ago. There weren't any alternatives then, so I started a "vet emergency savings account" and just put what I was paying in premiums in there. Sorry I don't know anything about Healthy Paws, except that people seem to be happy with them mostly.

[NeylasMom]

Yeah, I can't stand VPI. I wish I had known about all of the good options that exist now sooner. I only found out about them when I looked for Violet several years ago and by then I was already worried about pre-existing conditions. So far I've been very happy with Healthy Paws. They were great when I submitted for Violet's rhabdo and I was able to easily calculate what I would get back ahead of time. Which is nearly impossible to do with VPI because you have no idea how they're going to apply their stupid schedule.

 

Basically I am really PISSED about this. 35% is totally unacceptable as far as I'm concerned and I've been a customer with them for over 10 years (and haven't filed a lot of expensive claims for Zuri).

Edited August 29, 2014 by NeylasMom

[buddibear]

I have ASPCA coverage. 10 yr boy is 29..00 mo. 100/yr deduct. pays 80% no routine stuff. A 600 rip from a foster cost me 125.

[Remolacha]

I was furious with VPI as well. They hiked the rates on my cats when they hit 10, and I had never had a claim, of any kind. Then they refused to cover Fletcher at all, because of his IBD. I knew they wouldn't cover that, pre-existing condition, but otherwise?

 

Sorry, just reliving how mad I was I hope you can find a good option for Zuri!

[a_daerr]

I have ASPCA coverage. 10 yr boy is 29..00 mo. 100/yr deduct. pays 80% no routine stuff. A 600 rip from a foster cost me 125.

 

I had terrible dealings with ASPCA! Very slow processing times, and it's next to impossible to get continuous coverage. I filed a claim in January for an incident that happened the last week of December. They denied it for "pre-existing condition." It was a spider bite! Customer service informed me that unless you have a specific rider that covers incidents spanning over multiple years (which isn't offered or explained at the time you take out the policy), your policy basically starts over at every renewal. So essentially, if your dog was injured on December 31, and you filed the claim the next day, it's guaranteed to be denied due to pre-existing condition since it happened prior to the current policy year. Ridiculous!!!!

 

The other thing that I hated about that policy is that they only reimburse you based on a schedule of what they consider to be reasonable costs for the treatment that was rendered. These were always the bottom-of-the-barrel, lowball estimates that no vet anywhere would charge. They refuse to say where they get their pricing information from, so maybe if you went to some Podunk place in Antarctica, it would be okay. But for me, it wasn't even close.

 

After that, I was so mad that I had to eat the $800 bill that I cancelled the policy and switched to Healthy Paws. I am so glad I did, because shortly afterwards, Henry received his cancer diagnosis. They paid out on every claim of the treatment, which ended up being well over $10,000. It's absolutely wonderful. It's a straight 90% of whatever my vet charges. The claims process is quick. There's no cap on my benefit, and the coverage remains continuous from the date you take out the policy. My premium for him is $45 a month- all things considered, very reasonable.

[Guest june]

Sorry about the jump in your premium that really seems excessive.

 

I have Healthy Paws for Nova (2 years old) and so far have not had a claim so I can't say too much about happy or not about their speed of processing claims. I get the whole not covering normal exams etc because that is an expense I expect when I adopt. Unfortunately, they would not cover any of the cost for worming treatments when she was diagnosed with hooks. Thank goodness Heartguard did cover part of the costs since she has been on Heartguard since before I got her. I'll have to go back and check but I do believe that her rates will increase as she ages.

 

I did check into getting coverage for Rona (10 year old) and although I don't remember exactly what it would cost it was expensive. For Rona I've started a saving account for emergency vet bills.