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  1. #1
    Real Retriever
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    Pet insurance - - which company???

    I will start out by saying I've had Pet Plan for 4-5yrs, with ok results for only having to ever file 2 very small claims for 2 separate dogs.

    I had no problems in continuing to pay premiums, etc, as it was always a peace of mind thing - even if I haven't used it at all in comparison to what it's designed for.

    All this said, my policy renewed in January nearly tripling my monthly premium for my now 10yr old dog - was told it was because they changed under-writers, etc. I didn't think more into it then that at the time; Mom had just had back surgery, life was busy. Well, I'm really looking at his policy the other day, I'm paying $1,110 yearly for premiums, with a $350/per incident co-pay - - which is ok, for his age, super pricey, but "peace of mind".

    But, I started researching into recent reviews of Pet Plan, mostly of everyone who's policies have renewed in the last 6mnths-1yr are VERY unsatisfied; claims are seemingly being broken up into "everything" having a separate deductible so that the company gets out of paying. And, what really worries me, is I've been finding lots of reviews of owners with 10-13yr old dogs (who've had policies) are being told that their pet is being dropped.

    So...I looked into Embrace (healthy paws is rated #1 - but their value is shit for a dog over 8yrs of age, just my opinion) - they are quoting me $58/mnth, $500 YEARLY deductible (not per incident) & have no qualms insuring a dog who's 10.

    I already know their pre-existing clause; my big guy has only had a few minor issues over the years, nothing really to worry about. My question though, has anyone else changed companies "after" their dog has reached say over 2-3yrs of age with minor issues on their vet records??

    And, which companies are you guys using? Results? ..... I'm just scared & angry to keep paying this amount just to have him possibly dropped next year, plus I got a good taste of their (pet Plans) rates for entering a NEW young pet; their plans are NOT what they used to be.

    Sad....they were once rated #1

  2. #2
    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
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    When I left for a long vacation and my dogs were in the care of someone else, I got a bit paranoid and purchased pet insurance, which is something I'd not really wanted to do nor did I really feel the need for. I was going to cancel it when I got back but I have not, because now I feel paranoid about that! I ended up going with Embrace, which through my bank (USAA) I receive a discount. I have two Labs, 3 and 6 years old, and pay $73/mo total. For both dogs I have a $500 annual deductible, 80% reimbursement, $10,000 annual maximum and prescription coverage. I have not had to use them (knock on wood) so I cannot comment on customer service or how quickly they pay or anything.

    If you do a search for insurance, you should come up with quite a bit of current information on who people are using and who they are happy with, or not. I have heard a lot of grumbling about PetPlan lately due to the cost.

  3. #3
    Best Friend Retriever annkie's Avatar
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    We were just discussing this as well since we got a new pup a couple of months ago. My feeling is that if you save on a regular basis and you don't have an accident prone dog then insurance is unnecessary. I had insurance for Jules a long time ago but it didn't cover hereditary disease so it was completely useless to us. I cancelled it. It had a $100 deductible per incident. Most visits were barely over $100 anyway and he only had 2 of those. So now I'm wondering if I should just put my payment into my savings that collects interest instead of pay someone else.


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  4. #4
    Real Retriever
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    Annkie - a PUPPY is the prime candidate for insurance - I use to work in a vet clinic, TRUST me, expenses in the $5k plus range can rack up at the blink of an eye. I can't put money into a savings account fast enough to cover something THAT quick, cause believe me, it happens.

    I will NEVER be without some type of coverage; I have seen far too many excellent owners have to put their dogs to sleep because of an unexpected emergency - companies DO pay out.

    My question is in regards to switching companies on an older dog. In your shoes, I myself have a one year old dog from a breeder, we put her on insurance "immediately", it was the wisest decision we could've ever made because she has NO pre-existing conditions they could ever argue.

    My other 2 dogs were put on what I thought was a good company at younger ages, but now that companies philosophy is changing - thus the reason for needing to switch.

  5. #5
    Real Retriever
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    Oh, believe me, I've been searching for days, reading this & that. I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with Embrace; they seem to really "care" about these older guys.

    Price point in Pet plan, I can't imagine any owner of a new pet wanting to enroll on their newly offered plans, they're horribly expensive - like $27/mnth for only $1k annual payout - I mean, come on, why would you bother??

    My dogs are not your typical house pets, we lead a VERY active life, camping, hiking, & play extremely rough, also like to swim - so I'm very paranoid of being without insurance. Never know when an injury could happen to one or both dogs simply by playing.

    Our vet costs around here are not going to go down any time in the future either. I'm not in a hugely expensive area - but a shattered leg could easily run into the upper $5k range. Case in point is our 1yr old pomeranian - from a reputable breeder - didn't show any signs of luxating patella issues until just recently.

    We put her on insurance immediately after getting her at 10wks of age, so she should be covered 100% - the cost for just ONE leg is $3k dollars. And there is no way around it, she has to have surgery for quality of life issues - she wants to be just as active as the 2 older pups & cries because she can't hardly move.

    But yes, I agree, it's one of those - now that you have it - you're paranoid to go without!!

  6. #6
    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Woofie View Post
    Oh, believe me, I've been searching for days, reading this & that. I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with Embrace; they seem to really "care" about these older guys.

    Price point in Pet plan, I can't imagine any owner of a new pet wanting to enroll on their newly offered plans, they're horribly expensive - like $27/mnth for only $1k annual payout - I mean, come on, why would you bother??

    My dogs are not your typical house pets, we lead a VERY active life, camping, hiking, & play extremely rough, also like to swim - so I'm very paranoid of being without insurance. Never know when an injury could happen to one or both dogs simply by playing.

    Our vet costs around here are not going to go down any time in the future either. I'm not in a hugely expensive area - but a shattered leg could easily run into the upper $5k range. Case in point is our 1yr old pomeranian - from a reputable breeder - didn't show any signs of luxating patella issues until just recently.

    We put her on insurance immediately after getting her at 10wks of age, so she should be covered 100% - the cost for just ONE leg is $3k dollars. And there is no way around it, she has to have surgery for quality of life issues - she wants to be just as active as the 2 older pups & cries because she can't hardly move.

    But yes, I agree, it's one of those - now that you have it - you're paranoid to go without!!
    We don't live the typical lifestyle either, and I think that what pushed me to get it, other than not having the dogs in my care for three weeks (control issue), is that I am highly "invested" in one of my competition dogs and pay an average of $500 per month in dogs sports fees. I did stop doing agility because everyone I know who does agility is either paying bucco bucks for maintenance or therapy and several have had to stop dog sports all together, even obedience because of the jumps, due to agility injuries. Granted, for those people agility is a passion, a lifestyle, but for me it isn't, so I decided it was not worth the risk and quitting the sport was a good insurance policy within itself for us! However, field work can be risky and there are jumps in obedience, so there are still risks in the sports we do. I live in Oregon and hiking and swimming are regular events for us also. Personally, I worry about the C-word, especially when it comes to my younger dogs and I worry about injuries requiring long-term PT.

    To Annke's point, however, I think it also depends on your personal situation. One or two $5k injuries during the lifetime of the dog would not be something I would personally get insurance for. I think the biggest bill I've paid out was $7k for a dog that ingested something he should not have. It really hurt, too, but I was in a different place at the time and much younger (in my mid-20s). For me, at the time, that would have been worth the insurance. Otherwise, I've never (knock on wood!) in over 25 years paid more than $300 for an accident (hiking accident requiring e-vet visit and stitches) and then $500 for a dog to get a surgery (benign lump removal). The rest has been maintenance, which is not covered by insurance, or little things for $100 which is also not covered. If I paid out $50 per month on average during the lives of all dogs I've had, that would be nearly $27k since I've had dogs (1995), for a loss of about $15k.

  7. #7
    Senior Dog voodoo's Avatar
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    havent had any issues with trupanion but thats not a guarantee I suppose. rates have stayed constant entire time from 8 weeks to present...almost 4 yrs old.

    Pet Insurance for Your Dog or Cat - Trupanion
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  9. #8
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    Sophie has been with Pet Plan since she was 2. Her policy renews at the end of May, and will be about $550 with 80%, $500 deductable, $25000 cap. Brooks is with Health Paws, as it was significantly less that the price from Pet plan. His coverage is pretty much the same, but the is no max ceiling. I did a quote on Sophie this evening with HP, and the premium was pretty much the same, but no ceiling.

  10. #9
    Senior Dog Meeps83's Avatar
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    Both of mine have HP. I also get a discount thru my job. Each dog is about 40/month. $250 deductible 90% coverage.


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  11. #10
    Real Retriever
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    Labradorks - I see your point in both cases. Yes, unfortunately I'm one of those people (single & trying to pay all living expenses, including a mortgage) where a $5k needed necessity for covering even one emergency isn't feasible. In short, I financially couldn't do it.

    Thus the entire reason behind my "needing" to have coverage; it's there if I need it type thing....very similar to car or house insurance, we always hope we DON"T need it.... but it's there if we do.

    When I bought my 2 goofs (3rd small puppy is Mom's dog) I had a much higher paying job & didn't have insurance. When I switched jobs & loss in pay; plus cost of living has just gone thru the roof here....and one suddenly required shoulder surgery (which wasn't covered because I put her on insurance AFTER we discovered why she was limping) - vet allowed me to make payments on her surgery. But I quickly learned then, that if I had had insurance it would've saved me a lot of financial head-ache during that time.

 



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