Pet Insurance

[maggie7925]

With all the expense that we went through with Madison's Lymphoma we are thinking it might not be a bad idea to have insurance with the new puppy. I'm in the process of looking at different companies but does anyone use pet insurance? And do you find that it is worth it?

 

[maxinedavis]

Hi
We had six weeks free pet insurance when we got Ruby at 8 weeks, and i continued this after it finished, i have used it twice so far, on both occasions for a Behaviourist, which the insurance paid out for, Ruby has now just had her first birthday, it cost me £22 a month and it gives me piece of mind if anything happens to Ruby.

 

[ELubas]

I have VPI for my girl and it is great. Already paid for itself this year. My boy has so many health problems that it would not have been worth it for him as nothing would have been covered (He has heart disease) but my Nysa, who is only two, is covered for everything. They have never questioned a claim and pay promptly. She cut a paw open a while back and they paid for it all after the deductible

 

[kayboxer]

I have VPI for my girl and it is great. Already paid for itself this year. My boy has so many health problems that it would not have been worth it for him as nothing would have been covered (He has heart disease) but my Nysa, who is only two, is covered for everything. They have never questioned a claim and pay promptly. She cut a paw open a while back and they paid for it all after the deductible

We have been considering insurance. I have heard that some insurance companies will not cover any problems that are breed specific, such as certain common problems that occur in boxers like heart problems, stomach twisting, etc. Does your insurance have any clauses in it related to things like this?

 

[ELubas]

That's a good question. I am not sure. Frazier has SAS and DCM , which I disclosed in the app, but they still were just looking for medical records. They never mentioned breed specific exclusions. I called them about him and they were very honest and said with his history not much would be covered (in addition he is hypothyriod, has allergies, the list goes on for my sweet boy ) and the premium would be high so I passed. They insured my boxer girl, Nysa, no problem. Knowing how bad heart disease is in boxers I think it would have come up. They paid for her ultrasound check-which came back fine in the end-again after the deductible, which is like $50. All in all, for her, it has been great. She is out a lot running and tearing around so I think it makes sense for her. The premium was less than $400 per year and as I said we got all that back in no time They are very nice there too-polite and professional. They even sent Nysa a birthday card!!

 

[maggie7925]

kayboxer and ELubas,

I researched the VPI insurance and these are the conditions that are excluded for Boxers:

Cardiac arrhythmia (all), Calcinosis circumscripta, Cardiomyopathy,
Histiocytic ulcerative colitis, Lupoid onychopathy, Nodular
dermatofibrosis, Sphingomyelinosis

So far I found that Pets Best has the most comprehensive plan. I can't find anywhere that they have breed specific conditions that are excluded. I'm thinking I may call them to see if I can get more specific answers.

Also, I found that if you google a promo code for pets best you can get a code that can save 10%...

 

[maggie7925]

Here are the Hereditary conditions that are excluded from Pets Best:

Hereditary Limitations – All Breeds

1. Factor I, II, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI and XII Deficiencies
2. Von Willebrand Disease
3. Hip Dysplasia
4. Elbow Dysplasia
5. Osteochondritis Dissecans
6. Legg-Calve-Perthes Disease
7. Cataracts in pets less than 6 years old – excluding secondary to trauma or DM
8. Progressive Retinal Atrophy

 

[kayboxer]

Thanks ELubas for your reply and to maggie7925 for the info. I think I will check that out for Buster. I'm sure it is too late for Roxy, but I'll look into her also. At 8 yrs old, they may not cover too much but who knows.

 

[boxersrbest]

I used Pet Plan for Quincy and it did not have hereditary limitations. However, boxers were considered a select breed (i.e. more problem prone) so I paid a higher premium. Also, every 6 mos they review your policy. If you have put in claims, they raise your premium and/or decrease the amount percentage they pay back (for example, initially Quincy was getting 80% back after the annual deductable was paid; in the end, he was getting only 50% covered). They also raise the rates every year. In the end, it was costing me almost $100/month. They will cover boxers for their entire life and, with certain of their plans, if the dog dies before 7, they reimburse up to $700 or the original purchase price if you have a receipt. Pet Plan is underwritten by the same people as the new Purina insurance plan. I checked out their website and the plans appear to be the same, the underwriter is the same yet Purina was quite a bit cheaper. They might be good to further explore.

 

[dgabriel]

Use VPI

I use VPI for both my dogs and its been great. They have a first year plan that covers the spay/neuter, shots and even flee and tick and heartworm meds. My company even offers a discount as an employee benefit.