# Pet Plan and pet insurance, grrrrr..



## Suddenly (Aug 8, 2013)

I always get pet insurance and I have VPI. Great insurance check it out!


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## murphys (Mar 1, 2012)

I have Trupanion. They don't cover wellness visits but that isn't what I was looking for. I wanted an insurance that didn't set the price on the age of my pet as so many do. Plus that it covered the common diseases poodles tend to get. Once you have paid the deductible on a illness (beyond vet visits) they cover it at 90%. No insurance is perfect. Here is one place for you to compare different companies...Compare dog insurance - Pet Insurance Review

I will say I had VPI for my cats until they became older and then the price went up a lot because of their ages. Perhaps it is different with dogs. Also, here in the NE, the cost of a vet visit was much higher then what they judged to be standard and customary. They were easy to work with and do cover a part of vet visits (at least when I had them). 

Take your time checking them out and decide on which one best fits your needs.


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Bostonian said:


> I was just about to sign up with Pet Plan when I read it did not cover routine care. (!!!) I thought I must be misreading the website so I called them and no, I was reading it correctly. No wellness visits, no spaying or neutering just emergencies.
> 
> Me, "But it is health insurance!"
> 
> ...


Actually, I signed my girls up for Petplan a year ago, and I think that it was the best thing that I ever did - in one year Petplan has paid me around four thousand dollars more then I paid them! 

And I don't know where you heard that it is just for emergencies - it is for every unforeseen medical issue that could possibly come up - a broken leg, an upset stomach, allergies, ear infections, diabetes, kidney failure, liver dysfunction - even "inherited" knee and hip problems that poodles are prone to - and not only surgery, but rehab, hydrotherapy, laser therapy, acupuncture - even doggie wheelchairs - virtually any medical condition that a body can have and virtually any method of treating it is covered! 

In this year alone they have paid me 100% of the cost (minus my chosen $200 deductible) for my girls to have multiple tooth extractions, 2 skin biopsies, and a Visit to the Cardiologist for a cough,( which was covered at only 80%, as all specialists are). They cover everything that your dog needs, at the *actual costs*, not some imaginary fixed number, but your actual costs! 

And unlike most human health insurance companies, they do not manage the care - they do not consider if something was necessary or not - if you and your Vet think your dog needs it, Petplan pays for it. For example, when Teaka and Tangee had their dentals, we did both pre-op blood work, and then just to be extra safe, repeated it in-house on the day of the procedures, and Petplan paid for both blood test without question. Tangee has a heart murmur, so we also did 3 view x-rays on the day of the dental to make sure that her heart was OK for anesthesia, and Petplan paid for it without question. When I brought Tangee into see her regular Vet for a cough, they paid for the Vet visit, a full blood panel, even a heartworm test - even though in other circumstances those would be considered "routine" wellness care, because she was there to investigate a cough, Petplan paid for it all because it was necessary to rule out causes of the cough (as was the Cardiologist and ultrasound).
Once they have the medical records, the claims are handled in about a week, and each time I had their check in hand before my credit card bill was due!

They even pay for the little things - cough medicine for Tangee, and fluoride dental gel for Teaka because her teeth were still sensitive after the dental.

As for covering routine care like wellness visits and spaying, well all I can tell you is that before I picked a company, I read the policies for every major company out there, and found that such coverage is a waste of money because it will cost you as much, and most likely more then just paying for the routine care yourself would. After all, it is not like human insurance where government/employers are funding it - their staying in business relies upon the fact that ON AVERAGE, they will take in more money the they pay out. So that the money for my girl's large bills came from somebody else who had no claims, with some still left over for them to make a living. But with wellness care, every single person who has the policy will have that claim, so if they did not charge as much or more then the actual cost of the care, where would the money come from?

Anyhow, when I get a dog, I understand the costs of routine care and am prepared to spend that, but it is the huge unexpected bills that frighten me (when my eldest was sick/died, I had to come up with the price of a new car within a couple of months to pay her bills), so for me, the peace of mind that I get from Petplan is priceless, and all of my dogs will be covered by them from now on!

If you want to look at some other companies, when I was considering plans, Trupanion was my second choice, and Pet's Best was my third choice - I picked Petplan because they are the only one that offers 100% coverage, and I want that because when you are talking huge bills, even paying 10 -20 percent can work out to a significant amount.

And now that I have experienced how fairly they uphold their contract and how quickly they pay the claims, I am so happy that I picked Petplan! Because even though I liked how their contract read, I was afraid that as is often the case with human health insurance, that one would have to "go to battle" with them in order to get them to fulfill the contract, but nope, you just submit the claim and the medical records, and they just send you a check - friendly and easy peasy!

Sorry, I know that I gave you a lot more info then you asked, but when a company treats me as well as Petplan has, I think that they deserve the praise, and that I am helping my fellow dog lovers by sharing the info!


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Suddenly said:


> I always get pet insurance and I have VPI. Great insurance check it out!
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Sorry, but I have to disagree - VPI is cheap, and terrible.
If you have small, non-reoccurring claims, you may never notice, but you will be shocked if your dog ever has a large claim or a chronic illness, because VPI uses a fixed rate - so for example, for Congestive heart failure, say their fixed rate is $500.00 - so, say you get an ultrasound done for $400 dollars, after the deductible, they pay you $320, and you say, OK, that's not bad. But guess what happens if your dog goes into crises, winds up hospitalized for 10 ten days, and comes home with a bill of $9,000 dollars - VPI will pay you $180 of that $9,000. But you know what Petplan would pay me - $9,000!

My eldest had VPI when she was diagnosed with allergies, and after paying me maybe $200 the first year, that was it - they never covered it again - even though it was diagnosed while she was covered by them, after the policy period in which it was diagnosed was over, it was considered pre-existing there after.
An earlier poodle had VPI when she died of CHF, and at first they were going to pay me about $300 of around a $5,000 bill, but after months of battle, and the help of some doctor and nurse friends, I finally got them to pay just under a thousand dollars total.


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## DavidT (Apr 15, 2010)

Hi,

I also had VPI for awhile and they were fine except that they did not cover anything hereditary. My Std. male has Sebacious Adenitis as well as seizures. I am now with PETPLAN and couldn't be more pleased. I am not sure, but do any plans cover wellness visits, spaying,neutering etc. with out extra premium charges ?

David


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

murphys said:


> I have Trupanion. They don't cover wellness visits but that isn't what I was looking for. I wanted an insurance that didn't set the price on the age of my pet as so many do. Plus that it covered the common diseases poodles tend to get. Once you have paid the deductible on a illness (beyond vet visits) they cover it at 90%. No insurance is perfect. Here is one place for you to compare different companies...Compare dog insurance - Pet Insurance Review
> 
> I will say I had VPI for my cats until they became older and then the price went up a lot because of their ages. Perhaps it is different with dogs. Also, here in the NE, the cost of a vet visit was much higher then what they judged to be standard and customary. They were easy to work with and do cover a part of vet visits (at least when I had them).
> 
> Take your time checking them out and decide on which one best fits your needs.


Looked at that website and got curious that there was one company - Healthy Paws that was slightly higher rated then Petplan, so I went to their website, and for a second thought wow, how did I miss this - then I noticed that they don't cover the Veterinary exam fees! That is usually such a huge portion of the bill, I would never get that plan, so I must have looked at it and ruled it out pretty quickly! 
So yes, it is very important to go over every plan with a fine tooth comb! What I did when I looked at plans was to look at each policy and thought about what it seemed it would have covered if my eldest had had it in her final months, and Petplan came out far ahead of the rest!


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

DavidT said:


> Hi,
> 
> I also had VPI for awhile and they were fine except that they did not cover anything hereditary. My Std. male has Sebacious Adenitis as well as seizures. I am now with PETPLAN and couldn't be more pleased. I am not sure, but do any plans cover wellness visits, spaying,neutering etc. with out extra premium charges ?
> 
> David


All of the ones that I saw charged more for wellness coverage - and taking into account the fact that your dog would most definitely not need all of the wellness things every year, it most definitely would cost more for the coverage then you would ever get back, so it seemed like a really bad idea!


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## Bostonian (Aug 16, 2013)

Tiny Poodles said:


> And I don't know where you heard that it is just for emergencies - it is for every unforeseen medical issue that could possibly come up - a broken leg, an upset stomach, allergies, ear infections, diabetes, kidney failure, liver dysfunction - even "inherited" knee and hip problems that poodles are prone to - and not only surgery, but rehab, hydrotherapy, laser therapy, acupuncture - even doggie wheelchairs - virtually any medical condition that a body can have and virtually any method of treating it is covered!
> 
> I


That information is really useful. It makes Pet Plan sound a lot more helpful and it is good to know the animals would get the care they need.

Perhaps it is just they need a better analogy for their sales staff.

I had a friend whose dauschund blew out a disc in his back and that cost $7,000 for just the surgery. That was the discounted price at Angell Memorial. Vet bills can be so scarey!


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Bostonian said:


> That information is really useful. It makes Pet Plan sound a lot more helpful and it is good to know the animals would get the care they need.
> 
> Perhaps it is just they need a better analogy for their sales staff.
> 
> I had a friend whose dauschund blew out a disc in his back and that cost $7,000 for just the surgery. That was the discounted price at Angell Memorial. Vet bills can be so scarey!


I am glad that I can help - and I am sorry that your friend had to go through that with their babies back surgery, but these kind of experiences help us to understand that even if you are lucky enough to never have a reason to get paid a dime, the peace of mind that you get from being insured is worth it!

And I do not know where that Bozo that you got on the phone came from, but I can tell you that it is not like anyone that I ever spoke to there - everyone that I have dealt with have been very caring pet lovers that I could never ever imagine referring to my girls as property! But then I signed up on line- did not speak to a salesperson - I have just spoken with claims, or Happiness Managers as they call them, and they have been great to deal with - figuring out my first claim, they were even emailing me late at night and over the weekend, and I really appreciated the extra effort to get it resolved and not leave me hanging!


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Here is a totally different take on this issue. Put the money you would spend on insurance each month away in a dedicated pet emergency fund. Hopefully you never have to use it, but if you do have a problem the money is there for you to use as you see fit with no haggling. We do not have insurance for our dogs. We were looking into it, but since both our dogs are of breeds that can bloat and have hip problems (which would have not been paid for by the insurance I looked at), after a conversation with our vet (whom I have known for over 20 years) we opted for that manner of "self" insurance.


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

lily cd re said:


> Here is a totally different take on this issue. Put the money you would spend on insurance each month away in a dedicated pet emergency fund. Hopefully you never have to use it, but if you do have a problem the money is there for you to use as you see fit with no haggling. We do not have insurance for our dogs. We were looking into it, but since both our dogs are of breeds that can bloat and have hip problems (which would have not been paid for by the insurance I looked at), after a conversation with our vet (whom I have known for over 20 years) we opted for that manner of "self" insurance.


On the plus side, if you never wind up using the money, it is still yours, but on the down side, what if you have only had a chance to save a thousand dollars when one of the dogs pops up with a ten thousand dollar tab?
Also, I have to say that you feel a lot more free to do everything under the sun to protect your baby when you have insurance. Taylee had a grade 3 heart murmur and after the first year, she saw the cardiologist and had an ultrasound once a year - about a thousand dollars out of pocket for me. With Tangee they said recheck every 6 months, sooner if symptoms change, and I didn't even have to flinch because she has Petplan!
And you know, even with dogs that were super healthy their entire lives, I never did have one that did not break the bank in their final year- so having two approaching that age, I was mighty worried! And yes, I know that one might think " but I would never do any heroic treatment" when my dog is old - but you know what - we never did lose one to a terminal illness - each time it was a potentially treatable with return to good quality of life problem, that just did not go the way that we wished - but it never felt like an option to not treat despite the huge cost, so even if you have the insurance for their entire lives and never make a claim, odds are still pretty high that you will get your money back in the end.
Oh, and by the way, as long as it is not pre- existing, Petplan would cover bloat, hips, and knees too! I am telling you go read their policy- they cover every illness and treatment that you can think of! And trust me - I think and ask a lot - one day I was reading about dental braces for dogs, and asked if they would cover it and they said yes, if it was for a health, not a cosmetic reason!
Just think - even if it is not a life or death problem - something like arthritis in an elderly dog - you could not just get them pain meds ( which can potentially damage the elderly organs) but laser therapy- acupuncture - hydrotherapy - all on Petplan!! How many people, with the thought of saving up for life and death medical emergencies could also afford to give all of the above to their dogs?! Well, those of us with Petplan could afford it all!

Please forgive me if I sound like an infomercial but I truly believe that if you understood just how good it is, that every loving poodle parent here would want to sign their poodles up for Petplan! I only wish that somebody had told me about a year earlier ....and hoping that I can do that favor for my poodle pals!


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## Taz-toy (Nov 22, 2012)

Petplan paid out over $3500 in the past year for doing diagnostic testing when Taz started experiencing intermittent neourological episodes. Specialist can be very expensive just to find out what could be going wrong. I'm happy to say Taz is currently doing fine. If problems start up again Im glad to have Petplan in my corner for piece of mind.


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## Lou (Sep 22, 2012)

My poodles have healthy paws insurance, it has no cap , its unlimited $$$$$ and covers any disease even congenital and genetic such as hip displasia or an ear infection for instance- for the life of the pet.
Even though it doesnt cover wellness i dont care because it covers everything that can happen and vaccines etc are cheap and responsibility of the pet owner in my opinion. But I know if my dog god forbid has some disease or accident that needs medical care for the rest of his/her life, treatment is covered


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Lou said:


> My poodles have healthy paws insurance, it has no cap , its unlimited $$$$$ and covers any disease even congenital and genetic such as hip displasia or an ear infection for instance- for the life of the pet.
> Even though it doesnt cover wellness i dont care because it covers everything that can happen and vaccines etc are cheap and responsibility of the pet owner in my opinion. But I know if my dog god forbid has some disease or accident that needs medical care for the rest of his/her life, treatment is covered
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


The things that I did not like about Healthy Paws and Trupanion is that they don't cover Vet Exam fees and they only cover 90%. Pet plan covers the Vet exam fees, and offers 100% coverage - for the $1,000 - $2,000 claims that we have had so far, we would have lost out on a lot of money reimbursed if we had one of the other two plans.
About the only thing that I see that they have above Petplan is that the coverage is unlimited - but, if your bills are under the annual $22,000 that Petplan covers, I think that Petplan will reimburse you significantly more then they would! 

So I decided that it was worth the gamble that they would not have bills topping $22,000 within a 12 month period, and get more money back for every claim. Plus, it is entirely possible that the policy renews during the treatment of a chronic illness, and every year you would get a fresh $22,000 to spend - what are the odds that I dog's Vet bills would be more then that?


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## Lou (Sep 22, 2012)

Tiny Poodles said:


> The things that I did not like about Healthy Paws and Trupanion is that they don't cover Vet Exam fees and they only cover 90%. Pet plan covers the Vet exam fees, and offers 100% coverage - for the $1,000 - $2,000 claims that we have had so far, we would have lost out on a lot of money reimbursed if we had one of the other two plans.
> About the only thing that I see that they have above Petplan is that the coverage is unlimited - but, if your bills are under the annual $22,000 that Petplan covers, I think that Petplan will reimburse you significantly more then they would!
> 
> So I decided that it was worth the gamble that they would not have bills topping $22,000 within a 12 month period, and get more money back for every claim. Plus, it is entirely possible that the policy renews during the treatment of a chronic illness, and every year you would get a fresh $22,000 to spend - what are the odds that I dog's Vet bills would be more then that?


I just like the word unlimited. And the lowest or NO deductible! 
LOL i also have the best car insurance ever hehehe


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Lou said:


> I just like the word unlimited. And the lowest or NO deductible!
> LOL i also have the best car insurance ever hehehe


Yes, I do like those words too - BUT when I sat down and thought about it - considered what those policies would have paid with previous bills that I'd had, Petplan won hands down. They would pay the most per claim, and the largest bill that I ever had within a year was $15,000 - still below the $22,000 cap.

Also, really, no matter what the company you are with, having a higher deductible is almost always cost effective, because when you have an illness, the deductible is only applied once a year (except for VPI, who I think charges it on every bill, or at least they used to), but you are paying a higher premium every single month, just so that one time you may have a deductible, it is a bit lower - the math really does not work in your favor!
Get a higher deductible, and pay a lower monthly premium - the lower monthly tab will quickly pay for the one time higher deductible that you may have to pay at some point!


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

I do the same as lily cd re: keep money set aside dedicated to the dogs.


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## Lou (Sep 22, 2012)

Tiny Poodles said:


> Yes, I do like those words too - BUT when I sat down and thought about it - considered what those policies would have paid with previous bills that I'd had, Petplan won hands down. They would pay the most per claim, and the largest bill that I ever had within a year was $15,000 - still below the $22,000 cap.
> 
> Also, really, no matter what the company you are with, having a higher deductible is almost always cost effective, because when you have an illness, the deductible is only applied once a year (except for VPI, who I think charges it on every bill, or at least they used to), but you are paying a higher premium every single month, just so that one time you may have a deductible, it is a bit lower - the math really does not work in your favor!
> Get a higher deductible, and pay a lower monthly premium - the lower monthly tab will quickly pay for the one time higher deductible that you may have to pay at some point!


I disagree. I like paying 41 dollars a month and knowing if i need to use the insurance i have no deductible, times change.. I have money now but maybe one day Id have to scramble to pay a high deductible
It works for me! Anybody can do whatever they want. I have several policies with highest coverage and low deductible, i live in the moment LOL I can afford it NOW so I pay the premiums. And have no high bill later


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## murphys (Mar 1, 2012)

I put money aside for the vet visits and some for deductibles in a savings account each pay check along with purchasing pet insurance. 

What concerns me about Petplan is what got me in the end with VPI for my cats, it just became too expensive as they became older when they needed the insurance the most because age was one of the determining factors in deciding premiums. I'm not saying it is bad insurance, actually it is quite good. If just doesn't fit my want to haves. 

No policy is perfect and no choice is wrong. Each individual needs to decide what is most important to them in a policy and look for the policy that fulfills those needs the best. Some people chose to not have insurance but a savings account dedicated to the health of their pets. 

The big mistake is in not planning at all for the unexpected health issue that may occur. 

My advice, decide what is important to you. Look at the different plans and what you can afford. Then take action. 

Happy researching.


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Lou said:


> I disagree. I like paying 41 dollars a month and knowing if i need to use the insurance i have no deductible, times change.. I have money now but maybe one day Id have to scramble to pay a high deductible
> It works for me! Anybody can do whatever they want. I have several policies with highest coverage and low deductible, i live in the moment LOL I can afford it NOW so I pay the premiums. And have no high bill later


Yes of course everyone has to decide for themselves what works best for their lifestyle - I was just saying that odds are that you will save money in the long run with a high deductible, but if spending more monthly gives you more peace if mind, there is a value to that.

With Petplan there on only 3 choices of deductible 50, 100, and 200, if I am not mistaken, but the difference between the premiums was huge ( like almost double) and it did not make sense to pay that much more to save $150 bucks one time - it is the bills in the thousands that I want protection from, not $150!

Also I live in pretty much the most expensive city in the country, and my girls are 11 years old, so their premiums are much higher then yours to begin with - nearly doubling them monthly to potentially save 150 bucks would be nuts!


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

murphys said:


> I put money aside for the vet visits and some for deductibles in a savings account each pay check along with purchasing pet insurance.
> 
> What concerns me about Petplan is what got me in the end with VPI for my cats, it just became too expensive as they became older when they needed the insurance the most because age was one of the determining factors in deciding premiums. I'm not saying it is bad insurance, actually it is quite good. If just doesn't fit my want to haves.
> 
> ...


While it is true that the premiums do go up as they age, it is not as much as if they were to sign up new at the same age. And isn't it only fair because the likelihood of expensive medical needs goes up as they age? 
I was actually shocked that Petplan accepted my girls at age 10 - many companies will not sign them up after age six or eight. 
And while it is true that my girl's premiums are pretty high, the fact is that in the first year I came out ahead by thousands of dollars - Plus as things stand now, just in what it will cost to check on Tangee's heart murmur every 6 months will have them paying me more then the two girls premiums for the year combined, so how could I not think that this is the best thing ever!



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