Pet Insurance - Anyone have it or tried it?

[wanwan1007]

Hi,

I'm just wondering about getting Pet Insurance for my dog Tippy. I was in Kroger's shopping at lunch time and they have a brochure that talked about pet insurance. They offer Petfirst healthcare. I'm just wondering if anyone here uses it. I have a couple of questions if so.

1. What type of petcare do you have? (Name and Coverage Type)
2. Are you happy with it?
3. Do you feel it saves you money?
4. What's your monthly premium?
5. Does your Vet accept it or do you get reimbursed from the insurance company?
6. How long does it normally take for you go get reimbursed?
7. Have you had insurance that you got rid of because if was not any good?

Thanks

Any help is greatly appreciate.

[K9karen]

*Raises Hand* I have Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI). I had it with my 1st dog and now with Logan. I chose the Superior Plan. (oops, forget all the details, but they have a web site VPI.com) I pay around $43.75 a month. The price goes up about $3 a year, as the dog ages. I get 2 copies of my paid invoice from the vet, one for myself and one to send along with the insurance form. (which I also make a copy of). It takes about 2 weeks, pretty quick, for a reimbursement.

There is a deductable, depending on your policy. I think everything is on their website.

I was surprised, when Logan was tested for Cushings Disease, that I got less than expected because, it turned out, she didn't have it. They also won't pay for preexisiting conditions, or ACL surgery for example. That's because ACL will usually (in their opinion) affect both knees eventually.

Oh well. every penny makes a difference. It's better than nothing.

When my first dog, Cody, was diagnosed with cancer, I got 90% of the costs back.

Hope this helped.

[wanwan1007]

Thanks it does help. I'm going to check out the VPI Website.

[Melissa Morgan]

Ive been using a company called Pet Assure. Theyre not insurance though. Its a discount plan. I pay 99.00 a year and i get 25% off every time i go to my vets office. I had a small surgery done on my dog and they took the 25% off when i was paying my bill. I didnt even have to fill out claim forms or wait for a check back. They also sent me pet locator tags free. There are some merchant discounts,too, but i dont see many local, but alot of online stores are on there. ive never used that part of it yet, but i do like getting the 25% discount at the vets office.

the website is petassure.com

[wanwan1007]

Thanks Melissa,

I'll check that out as well.

[Catlady711]

Whatever insurance you check out, make sure that the annual renewal doesn't constitute a fresh slate as far as 'pre existing conditions' are concerned.

There are some insurances (VPI is not one of them) that renew each year. So if your pet has a lasting illness or disease the new renewal would effectively make it now a 'pre existing condition'.

Just be sure to read all the fine print.

[wanwan1007]

Will do, I'm a stickler for reading all the tiny little fine print in font size 4 :mad:.

[akitrix]

Pet Insurance Review is a very useful website for comparing plans. Be aware tha t most companies raise cost with aging, and some have an age cap. Pre-existing conditions are a tricky thing, every yearly renewal will call any condition treated the year before as pre-existing. For a period of time BEFORE & after renewal date symptoms manifesting are pre-existing. My dog had renewal date of March 1, neurological signs noted in Feb by vet, diagnoses in April, NO reimbursement for biopsy, and tests.....deemed pre-existing! even though she was covered by same company for past 8 yrs. Also watch for yearly limit for any condition. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

[Asiel]

Never had any insurance. I have an account and keep depositing money in it once a month. Over the years it's built up a lot, been lucky enough to not have too many big expenses. Just had some heavy duty meds and vet visits this year but I still had some left. If I ever run out I'll mortgage the house :D

[Craftlady]

I had VIP insurance on Coco for 2 1/2 yrs now and switched over to the insurance Kroger's offers. I got the insurance through Snoopy's adoption (shelter had information) Didnt realize that Kroger's was associated with pet insurance company until I had to call them about getting Snoopy's policy started.

So far I am very impressed with Pet Firsthealthcare.
I actually switched Coco over to this company.

VIP charged to much and reimbursement(s) stunk. Their wellness program was a joke.

I'm carrying accident and illness coverage plans on both dogs. The wellness programs Pet Firsthealth offers I might add at a later date.

[GoldenLover]

Good thread- I have been curious about this too! :)

[lizbud]

Good thread- I have been curious about this too! :)


I agree, good topic. This discussion has answered a lot of my questions already.:)

[wanwan1007]

Thanks to everyone who shared their experience. It's great to hear what real people have experienced.