Here it is again ... Questions About Pet Insurance

Have any / all of you come to some consensus regarding "the right choice" for pet insurance?

Sam, my now permanently beloved Tuxedo cat has cost me a very pretty penny to maintain the health of his urinary tract. Needless to say, he has become one very expensive "piece of tail". I must have had SUCKER ingrained on my forehead the day Sam came sauntering in with my two Puggas. In addition to Sam, I have my two absolutely awesome Puggas to keep happy and healthy.

The sticker shock from Sam's treatment almost sent me skyrocketing. After everything was said and done, to date, Sam has experienced close to $1,000.00 in health care. Can we say a big ME- OWWW ? !!!!

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What do you folks think is the best insurance plan / provider?

Just pretty much straight up. What agency would y'all recommend?

There has to be some / one company that will protect against the costs of "immediate care", and preventive care. For instance, my Puggas are due for their annual check-up and vaccinations. Sam went in after 5 pm., on 29 June (a Friday) and he was not released until the following Monday. Sam went in on an emergency basis, and, all three of my critters need routine care - in addition to ... ???

Obviously, (much to some folks' surprise) I have had the funds available to take care of all three of my "critters". Bubba and A'chi have been spayed and neutered, vaccinated and licensed (of course) ... and Sammy has been treated for what ailed / ails him.

I am just trying to find a "thumbs up" pet insurance protection policy that will assist in all routine and "unexpected" visits to the vet.

* Do some policies cover "pre-existing conditions" better than others?
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I have done my homework researching various agencies. I have some preferences, however, I would really appreciate any information and input y'all could offer.

Thanks !

em (aka: owned by very lovable critters)

As everyone who has known me on the forums for years knows, my vet bills have gone north of $100,000 for four Pugs. It is NOT an exaggeration, it's probably a lot more by now. Thankfully I have had insurance. It hasn't covered every penny I've outlayed, my insurers only cover 80%, and with policy limits, things they refuse to cover and everything else, I'm probably out of pocket $30-$35,000. Still, I am so far ahead I wouldn't dream of dropping it. Maybe the insurance company will win out eventually (but with pugs I kind of doubt it) but for the piece of mind it's worth it.

$1000 is a pretty good for anything major. In the last year of my sweet Puck's life, her vet bills exceeded $20,000. My policy limit for any one year was $6000 at the time. I don't begrudge a cent.

I have VPI and they just offered a major medical plan that costs a little more, but has a one time deductable (not per visit) and it pays off much more than their previous plans used to

I've never had pet insurance, but my former vet now has a radio show and one of his recent guests was a regional director for a pet insurance company. here's the link to the archived show if you want to listen: http://pettalkwithdrb.com/7-14-12.php

I've been doing some research too. I'm leaning towards Embrace Pet Insurance, but am afraid to make a decision. This is hard.

I'm looking at PetSecure. Partly because they will insure an intact dog and since Meesh is on a breeding contract, I need an insurer that will and I think VPI won't insure an intact dog. And they appear to have no breed exclusions--and important factor for me.

http://www.petsecure.com/plans/dog-health-insurance

We have pet insurance and have never had problems with it. We like the coverage and it is easy to work with. We have VPI for both pugs. We bought their policies when they were young.

Be careful though. Your cat now has a pre-existing condition that insurance carriers will look at. There are hoops to jump through to get it removed with most insurances, but it is a hassle.

Do your inurance policies have age restrictions? I'd love to get some but Ray is at least ten years lod.

Oy. Now after more research, I'm back to VPI. This IS hard.

northernwitch wrote:I'm looking at PetSecure. Partly because they will insure an intact dog and since Meesh is on a breeding contract, I need an insurer that will and I think VPI won't insure an intact dog. And they appear to have no breed exclusions--and important factor for me.

[url=http://www.petsecure.com/plans/dog-health-insurance

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Blanche I think VPI will insure an intact dog because the first year I had it I opted for the wellness package which one of the benefits was spay or neuter, so if they wouldn't insure an intact dog, there would be no need for covering the spay/neuter because obviously they were intact before the operation!

[quote="puglover22"]

northernwitch wrote:I'm looking at PetSecure. Partly because they will insure an intact dog and since Meesh is on a breeding contract, I need an insurer that will and I think VPI won't insure an intact dog. And they appear to have no breed exclusions--and important factor for me.

http://www.petsecure.com/plans/dog-health-insurance[/quote]



Blanche I think VPI will insure an intact dog because the first year I had it I opted for the wellness package which one of the benefits was spay or neuter, so if they wouldn't insure an intact dog, there would be no need for covering the spay/neuter because obviously they were intact before the operation!

If I remember correctly, they will insure an intact animal for up to a year--but want the dog neutered and Meesh is now three and still intact and may remain that way for another year or two--that's where my stumbling block came--the fact that he is on a breeding contract.

But I will double check that. One of the insurers I looked at said no and I think it was VPI, but might have been another.