# Health insurance



## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

I don't, but right about now I sure wish I did!


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

When I researched it, Trupanion, and Petplan were my top choices - I went with Petplan because they cover exam fees and offer an option for 100% coverage, which Trupanion does not. Picking the higher $200 deductible helps to lower the premium, but because my girls are old, and we live in an expensive city, it is a significant amount that we are paying.
But at the same time, they are very easy about paying according to the terms of the contract, and having it for just about 10 months now, they have paid me way more then I have paid them. This coupled with the fact that my eldest cost me around $15,000 in her final months, convinces me that it's worth the steep monthly cost.
And as I've said before, the thing that irks me is that all of the Pet Insurance companies charge less for poodle mixes then pure poodles, and that they don't distinguish between puppy mill or backyard breeder poodles, and those from health testing, reputable show breeders.
In the end however, for me the price is worth the peace of mind, because the fact is that no matter what - if I had to sell my soul, my girls would get all the health care that they might need - so in the end, I find it easier to come up with a moderate amount monthly then to think of to suddenly have to come up with the price of a new car again!


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Also would like to point out that there are cheaper pet health insurance companies out there (like VPI), but they also have a ton of exclusions and limits on what they pay, so if you ever need it, you will get very little from them. - at best "a wash" - you get back no more then you have paid them, but often people complain that they get nothing, or way less then they have paid. For example, when a friend's dog was bitten by a snake while out on a walk, VPI denied the claim as "preventable"!
The ones that give you really good coverage, will also cost more, but it's definitely one of those "you get what you pay for situations".
Most of them have rate calculators on their website , so you can check for yourself, but what I found was that for the ones whose coverage I liked, the rates were almost identical...


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

N2Mischief said:


> I don't, but right about now I sure wish I did!


So sorry about that :afraid:


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## Servicepoodlemomma (Jun 22, 2013)

I think Petplan looks the best - and has the most flexible plans! Does anyone know a company other then VPI that offers injury only coverage? Poodle mixes may be cheaper then purebred poodles - but just out of curiosity I did a quote on Aiyana - and I can insure both my Golden and my Poodle for just a little more then just Aiyana would cost me ;(. Can't afford insurance on her since I know lost illnesses would be considered pre-existing by insurance companies. Injury only is all I can afford for her. 


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## Smurfette's Mom (Jun 9, 2013)

Since my Pooh is only 12 weeks old, I went with Embrace. I fax my claim and payment is received in three days. I have only had this plan for one b but I've filed two wellness claims. 

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## Smurfette's Mom (Jun 9, 2013)

DISCLAIMER: I do not work for Embrace. 
I also like the fact that Embrace pays the exact cost of the service not how much they estimate it to be. 

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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Servicepoodlemomma said:


> I think Petplan looks the best - and has the most flexible plans! Does anyone know a company other then VPI that offers injury only coverage? Poodle mixes may be cheaper then purebred poodles - but just out of curiosity I did a quote on Aiyana - and I can insure both my Golden and my Poodle for just a little more then just Aiyana would cost me ;(. Can't afford insurance on her since I know lost illnesses would be considered pre-existing by insurance companies. Injury only is all I can afford for her.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Unfortunately you are correct, no company will cover pre-existing claims.
Pets Best does offer an accidents only policy.


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Smurfette's Mom said:


> DISCLAIMER: I do not work for Embrace.
> I also like the fact that Embrace pays the exact cost of the service not how much they estimate it to be.
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


I don't work for Petplan either - in fact I think that I annoy the heck out of them complaining about them charging more for purebreds then mixes lol!

Personally, I believe that wellness plans are a waste of money because EVERYONE has to do the well care, so they have to charge you more then they pay you or how can they possibly make any money off of you? With accident and illness plans, they make their profit off of the fact that not everybody makes a claim - so if you are unlucky enough to make one, they can pay you more then you ever paid them, and still make a profit off of the pets that did not need to make a claim.

There was something that I did not like when I read Embrace's policy, though I can't remember what it was - but anyhow, the point is that you should go over all of the different companies policies with a fine tooth comb, and decide what works best for your family. The only reason that I really recommend Petplan, is that I have found them very fair in their decisions, and are quick to pay.
In my past experience with VPI, it was like going to war to get them to not wriggle out of paying, and even when I did win the war, I would only get maybe 10- 30% of what I paid back! 
On the 3 claims that I have made so far, Petplan paid me 100% (minus the $200 deductibles, and minus $100 for 2 tooth extractions on teeth that had pre-existing chips). And honestly, I was fully expecting them to say "your dogs were 10 years old when they signed up, it's only logical to assume that their dental problems were pre-existing, even if the Vet had not seen a problem prior to their signing up" - but nope, they did not question, they just paid. And, because Tangee developed a new grade 1 heart murmur (after she was covered), we did 3 view chest x-rays on the day of the procedure, and they did not question if it was needed, they just paid. And because I am a nervous Mom, not only did we do pre-op blood work before the procedures, for both dogs, we did in-house blood work on the day of the procedure, and Petplan did not question it, they just paid! And from what they say on their website and their facebook page, it seems like it's always their policy that whatever the owner and Vet decide is best for the pet, they pay for - they never, ever question if something is necessary, or could have been done for less cost - it's as simple as, it's covered, you spend what you need, and they pay you back! Also, they fully cover heredity conditions (like PRA, luxating patella's, hip dysplasia, and holistic treatments, rehab - even doggie wheelchairs! It is mind boggling to think, but I am certain that if Taylee had had Petplan, they would have paid me back $14,800 of the $15,000 that I spent. Now having two more approaching that age, I can't tell you how terrified I was that I might have $30,000 or more in Vet bills pop up at the same time! Peace of mind is priceless, and my fondest wish is that Petplan makes a big profit off of me (meaning my girls never have to make another claim! 

Sorry if it seems like I'm going on and on about this, but there have been so many times that I have spent money, found that I was ripped off, and wished that somebody had warned me, so when I find any company that delivers as promised, I think that others would really like to hear about that too, and Petplan really has done great for me!

Oh, another thing - I chose a $200 deductible per diagnosis (the deductible is good for a year) - even though both girls had multiple dental issues - fracture, infections, tooth mobility, Petplan only applied one deductible for Tangee (anorexia, the diagnosis for what became her pre-op visit) - after that $200, they paid 100 percent! For Teaka, she also had 2 skin biopsies done at the same time (2 different benign diagnosis per the biopsy reports), yet Petplan only applied two $200 deductibles - one for the skin, and one for the teeth! If they had been nit-picky, and applied a deductible for each tooth diagnosis, and each of the 2 skin things, they could have gotten away with paying almost nothing, but they did not even try that, and I was so impressed by their ethics!!


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## Servicepoodlemomma (Jun 22, 2013)

I think I'm going to insure my 2 big dogs with them - very affordable. But I'm not pleased with their HUGE difference to insure my 5 year old IG! I can't believe 3 years and a smaller breed would DOUBLE the rate, considering they are ALL purebred dogs *sigh*. For the $200 deductible, 100% coverage for both my big dogs it's a bit less then $60/month. For Aiyana alone it's $61.27! Crazy! Especially since I'm very skeptical on how much of an illness they'd cover since she is epileptic and does have on and off issues with anorexia and vomiting of unknown origin. 


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## Smurfette's Mom (Jun 9, 2013)

The wellness plan is beneficial to me each vaccine is $30 here and it covers, her Heartgard, fecal exam, dental cleanings, Frontline, microchip .... I'm a new puppy mom, so I'm just learning the ropes.

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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Servicepoodlemomma said:


> I think I'm going to insure my 2 big dogs with them - very affordable. But I'm not pleased with their HUGE difference to insure my 5 year old IG! I can't believe 3 years and a smaller breed would DOUBLE the rate, considering they are ALL purebred dogs *sigh*. For the $200 deductible, 100% coverage for both my big dogs it's a bit less then $60/month. For Aiyana alone it's $61.27! Crazy! Especially since I'm very skeptical on how much of an illness they'd cover since she is epileptic and does have on and off issues with anorexia and vomiting of unknown origin.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


I don't know - maybe the IG breed for some reason has bigger health risks then Poodles and Goldens? I hate to tell you what I am paying for my 11 year olds (especially high because of the expensive place that I live), but then the Vet bills that they could potentially incur would be huge too, so I guess it's only fair... As for Aiyana - I believe that if you ask them, they will look at her medical records, and do what I think they call an underwriting, and tell you in advance what they will and will not cover. I declined their offer of doing that because luckily my girls barely had a thing pre-existing, and besides, I figure whether they would pay or not would not impact my decision to treat my dog - I'll just do what I think I need to do, and count upon their seemingly very fair decision making - what, was I going to make Teaka keep those 2 chipped teeth because they would not pay for the extractions - of course not?!


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Smurfette's Mom said:


> The wellness plan is beneficial to me each vaccine is $30 here and it covers, her Heartgard, fecal exam, dental cleanings, Frontline, microchip .... I'm a new puppy mom, so I'm just learning the ropes.
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


The wellness plans usually give you a fixed payment, not what you actually spend, and the rates for those services are WAY higher where I live. Plus, when you consider that many of the things covered by wellness plans are not things that you do every year (like s/n, or dental cleanings), or at all (like, being in the city, we don't do flea/tick, or heartworm meds), it just did not seem cost effective to me. For me, my concern is more with the huge, thousands of dollar sudden accident or illness', and with the chronic ones (also spent thousands a year on Taylee's allergies).
For me, there are only two things that I would change about Petplan if I could -
1) Their $22,000.00 annual maximum (Trupanion gives an unlimited amount, but then they don't cover Vet Exam Fee's, and their highest percentage is 90% rather then Petplan's 100%, so you are not very likely to ever get over $22,000 back from them anyhow)
2) No matter what the level of coverage you have on Petplan - 80, 90, or 100 percent, the fees for specialists is only covered at 80%. I would not be thrilled with that if I had a dog with say, allergies, which are better treated by a dermatologist, like Taylee had, but on the other hand Trupanion would have paid even less of that because they would not have covered the very expensive office visit fees at all!
Anyhow, like I said - read your policy, and those of the other companies with a fine tooth comb, think about all the things that could possibly go wrong, and decide what makes the most sense for your family!


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

OK, looking at Embrace's website, 

Wellness Rewards Cost

There are two levels of Wellness Rewards coverage:
•Wellness Rewards Basic $200 allowance per policy year ($14.95/mo or $149/yr)
•Wellness Rewards Plus: $400 allowance per policy ($28.95/mo or $299/yr)

That means, if you pay monthly, you pay $179.40, or if you pay annually, you pay $149 to potentially get $200 reimbursed

or paying monthly for a total of $347.40, or if you pay annually, $299, to potentially get $400 reimbursed.

Hardly seems worth the paperwork to me!

But wait - her is the list of the things it covers -
Wellness Rewards Coverage
•Wellness exams
• Vaccinations and titers
•Flea, tick, and heartworm medication
•Spay/neuter surgery
•Fecal exams
•Routine blood tests
•Microchipping 
•Teeth cleaning and dental illness (Wellness Rewards Plus only)
•Prescription diet food from Hill's, Purina, Wysong, or Royal Canin (Wellness Rewards Plus only)
•OFA & PennHIP exams and X-rays (Wellness Rewards Plus only)

Many of those things you do only once, some maybe a couple of times, and some never - so, most years, would you even spend the $200 or $400 on those things to earn the at most, $51 or $101 net "profit" from the costs of the coverage? And even if you did, would all of the paperwork be worth the trouble for that little bit of money?

Well, I just noticed why I ruled them out - they don't accept dogs over age 8, but I'm glad because also noticed that they don't cover illness of the teeth or gums, and that's over $3,500 that they would not have paid me, but Petplan did!
And, it's an extra charge for prescription medication coverage (none on Petplan), and the highest annual maximum is $15,000 ($22,000 on Petplan), and the highest reimbursement rate is 90% (if you are talking a huge bill in the thousands of dollars, that 10% that you are responsible for can add up to quite a big amount - I SO LOVE the comfort of Petplan's 100%, and knowing that once I have passed $200, I don't have to worry about spending another DIME - unless of course the bill goes over $22,000!
But you know, that is how I feel as a long-term dog owner, having gone through lots of different things with my dogs over the years. Sometimes you get a dog who is super-duper healthy, and barely spend a thing until they get really old (except for the broken teeth, which I think were my fault for giving way too hard treats, Teaka is like that, and it would have been a total waste of money to have the insurance earlier) - you just have to decide for yourself if you are willing to gamble on that, and maybe set up a separate savings account, and contribute to that monthly instead of spending the money on insurance that may or may never use.


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## Servicepoodlemomma (Jun 22, 2013)

IGs are actually a fairly healthy breed with the exception of a few things any of your smaller breeds are going to be prone to, such as broken bones and luxating patellas. So I was actually quite surprised it was that much of a difference! Even with the mill dogs I've rescued, I haven't seen that many genetic diseases, just things that could easily be attributed to poor care, nutrition, and over-breeding. 

I talked to them and may submit an underwriting. I had my beloved angel Pharoah insured with them. Sadly he escaped from a vets office and was hit on the busy road in front of it. 5 days at the critical care center and sadly, he didn't make it. They only covered 80%, but still that left me with hundreds (which the clinic responsible for him getting loose paid) instead of thousands in vet bills. Still worth it, as his final bills where well over $10,000!!!! 

The thing I also like about them above every other insurance company I've spoken to is they cover ALL holistic vet care as well! So it's MY choice if I want to go holistic or conventional with my approach, not the insurance companies! They also cover rehab and physical therapy, another area alot of companies don't cover. 

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## Vanilla-Yazoo (Jun 2, 2013)

This is something that I am trying to decide upon!

My parents pay about £200 per springer spaniel a year, they turned 8 years old last week, never made a claim, one gets ear infections sometimes but we have a large bottle of medicated ear drops from the vet for her and just use it as needed.
she has needed her anal glads done once, they have not been spayed, they are micro-chipped and have never needed any operations, medicine, they get their boosters yearly, dont use frontline for fleas and never needed dental work.
their cats are not insured tho.


I will have a savings account just for vet emergency's to cover as much as possible, but I dont know if i should go for insurance too.

My poodle will be coming from a different country, and will have his initial puppy vaccines and rabies vaccine done, and will have his yearly bosters, the breeder has a healthy line, and regularly tests to make sure their dogs are as fit and healthy as they can be, so he will be of good blood. 
I dont know if because he has come from another country that i will HAVE to insure him for any legal issues, or once he has had his vaccines and rabies jab, he wont be considered an issue and I can insure if I wish to.

I know if any emergancy was to happen, the insurance will be there to fall back on, but if I never claim will I be throwing away up to £200 a year?

I think that I will just have to wait and see how my puppy is, if he appears bouncy and like he may have accidents then it might be worth doing!


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Servicepoodlemomma said:


> IGs are actually a fairly healthy breed with the exception of a few things any of your smaller breeds are going to be prone to, such as broken bones and luxating patellas. So I was actually quite surprised it was that much of a difference! Even with the mill dogs I've rescued, I haven't seen that many genetic diseases, just things that could easily be attributed to poor care, nutrition, and over-breeding.
> 
> I talked to them and may submit an underwriting. I had my beloved angel Pharoah insured with them. Sadly he escaped from a vets office and was hit on the busy road in front of it. 5 days at the critical care center and sadly, he didn't make it. They only covered 80%, but still that left me with hundreds (which the clinic responsible for him getting loose paid) instead of thousands in vet bills. Still worth it, as his final bills where well over $10,000!!!!
> 
> ...


Yes, it is kind of like you need to have gone through a lot with your dogs to really understand the value of what they cover. Though maybe with your IG, you'd want to only do 80% or silver or bronze level to lower the rate? It's not a perfect solution, but better to get back $8,000 on a $10,000 bill, then nothing at all.....
Taylee developed a grade 3 heart murmur when she was 9 - it never developed into anything, but still had to do ultrasounds to monitor it twice a year (@ around $900 a pop), plus, I knew that if she ever needed to start meds, would have been doing those ultrasounds ever few days until we had the dosage adjusted. And I just can't tell you what a comfort it is to know that Tangee, who just started a grade one is covered by Petplan and knowing that if she ever got to where she needed meds, I could get those $900 ultrasounds done daily if needed to adjust the medications at NO cost to me after the first $200!


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Servicepoodlemomma said:


> IGs are actually a fairly healthy breed with the exception of a few things any of your smaller breeds are going to be prone to, such as broken bones and luxating patellas. So I was actually quite surprised it was that much of a difference! Even with the mill dogs I've rescued, I haven't seen that many genetic diseases, just things that could easily be attributed to poor care, nutrition, and over-breeding.
> 
> I talked to them and may submit an underwriting. I had my beloved angel Pharoah insured with them. Sadly he escaped from a vets office and was hit on the busy road in front of it. 5 days at the critical care center and sadly, he didn't make it. They only covered 80%, but still that left me with hundreds (which the clinic responsible for him getting loose paid) instead of thousands in vet bills. Still worth it, as his final bills where well over $10,000!!!!
> 
> ...


Yup, also ALL inherited diseases (including the orthopedic ones)acupuncture, and all dental disease (which most don't)!


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Vanilla-Yazoo said:


> This is something that I am trying to decide upon!
> 
> My parents pay about £200 per springer spaniel a year, they turned 8 years old last week, never made a claim, one gets ear infections sometimes but we have a large bottle of medicated ear drops from the vet for her and just use it as needed.
> she has needed her anal glads done once, they have not been spayed, they are micro-chipped and have never needed any operations, medicine, they get their boosters yearly, dont use frontline for fleas and never needed dental work.
> ...


Yup, it's just one of those things that you just can't predict - ANY dog, can be healthy as can be, when suddenly you get hit by a huge bill either through accident or illness, and others can be healthy their entire lives. And then there are relatively healthy dogs who have some kind of mild, but chronic problem such as allergies. Spent thousands are year on Taylee's allergies - the dermatologist was so expensive - allergy testing, allergy shots, and then because of her small size, her medications had to be specially made at a compounding pharmacy to get the correct dosage.
Anyhow, in my opinion, the most important times to have insurance is the first couple of years (to see if there are any inherited issues, or chronic ones such as allergies), because once those crop up, you can't insure for those "pre-existing issues", and then in the final few years, when something is bound to crop up. Because though I've always sworn that I would not put an older dog through any major, traumatic treatment, every single time, mine wound up not getting a definitively terminal type of diagnosis, but diseases where there were reasonably good chances of reversing it and getting more quality time. In one case that worked out, and we got another good 17 months, then she succumbed to a second "treatable thing" after thousands of dollars more worth of treatment. The rest of the times, it did not work and I lost them, but never was in a "hopeless situation", where it was not worth trying, so ALWAYS spent major amounts in every dog that I ever had's final months or weeks...
I think though that Petplan began in the UK, and has a very good reputation there, no? We have only had the option of really good Pet Health Insurance here in the US for the past few years, and I am so happy for that - I'd much rather spend a moderate amount a month, then risk unexpectedly having to come up with the price of a new car again - especially having two older dogs, the risk of having a huge bill on one or both of them is just too high!


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Tiny Poodles said:


> Yes, it is kind of like you need to have gone through a lot with your dogs to really understand the value of what they cover. * Though maybe with your IG, you'd want to only do 80% or silver or bronze level to lower the rate? It's not a perfect solution, but better to get back $8,000 on a $10,000 bill, then nothing at all.....*
> Taylee developed a grade 3 heart murmur when she was 9 - it never developed into anything, but still had to do ultrasounds to monitor it twice a year (@ around $900 a pop), plus, I knew that if she ever needed to start meds, would have been doing those ultrasounds ever few days until we had the dosage adjusted. And I just can't tell you what a comfort it is to know that Tangee, who just started a grade one is covered by Petplan and knowing that if she ever got to where she needed meds, I could get those $900 ultrasounds done daily if needed to adjust the medications at NO cost to me after the first $200!


*Oh, and double check this with Petplan, but I think that they told me that you are allowed to upgrade from bronze or silver to gold and it would take effect the first of the next month, even for things that were diagnosed under the prior level (I think though that even if you upgrade from 80% to 100%, the illness that was diagnosed when she was at 80% will still only be covered at the lower percentage after the upgrade). Anyhow, if I am correct, taking the bronze level @ 100%, gambling that you won't spend more then $10,000 in the first month of an illness, would be one way to save on premiums!*


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Just got the renewal letter from Petplan for my girls, and was pleasantly surprised at the modest increase in rate for next year (according too their rate calculator, more then a third less then if I were buying them a new policy today) - so if you are thinking about doing it, the sooner you lock in your rate, the better!
I just can't believe what a great deal this is - considering what they have already paid me, it will be another 14 months until they even break even on us (and that's only if my girls have NO claims during that time)!


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