Pet Insurance in the US?

[Jessica Meyers]

Hi All,

 

Posting another newbie discussion topic. I have seen threads on here regarding pet insurance overseas, but does any one have any experience with insurance companies in the US? Is this something I should look into for Gannon? How much do plans typically run and what types of things do they insure? Insurance is not my forte and half the time I barely understand my own health insurance, so any help would be much appreciated on this confusing issue! Thank you!

 

-Jessica

[Doris, Senta and Iris]

Medical insurance is very helpful;I live in Canada,most likely same as in US;

there are plans for illness and accidents,others cover for illness and accidents and preventative care too;they offer different plans;some have unlimited coverage,some have limit per condition/per year,others have limit per condition /per life;premiums will vary related to the above mentioned features.

Preventative care means checkups,vaccines,annual blood test,fecal test,heartworm prevention,dental care,neuter/spay,microchip

Some insurance companies will lower the amount to be covered as the amount of claims increases;

ask about that;

Insurance does not cover preexistent conditions.

I find insurance helpful;hopefuly you do not use it much;,because your pet stayed healthy.

As with any insurance call 2-3 companies,get quotes.

I work at a vet clinic;I can see the difference in medical care for pets which are insured vs not insured.I have my own pets insured.

Good luck!

[Leslie]

Hi Jessica,

Sorry this is so late in reply to your query. I am in the US and ended up going with Embrace insurance. Came recommended by someone in my puppy class with a Portuguese Water Dog. They'd had several problems, one including weekend emergency vet, IVs, and suspected bowel blockage, and the company paid w/o any problems. They also don't rule out breed specific problems unless the dog has already shown signs of the condition, then it is a considered preexisting condition. If the condition is considered curable, then if the dog doesn't have a recurrence for a year, it is covered again.

I've never had insurance before, but I was worried after I heard horror stories and thought I would try the first year since the sooner you get it the more it will cover. One other thing I liked was that this company will do "catastrophic" insurance. So if I can't afford this full coverage policy at some point, I can dial it down to cover just the big expensive things and deal with the smaller items on my own. You need to start  with the most coverage you think you'll want, because dialing coverage up may be expensive or you may find things not covered.

Insurance doesn't seem to be as popular here in the US. Consumer Reports said you don't make the money back, unless you have problems... which was exactly what I was worried about! I can handle the routine stuff, but didn't want to face the choice of huge vet bills I couldn't afford and urgent care requirements for my dog. That is why the ability to change to a catastrophic plan was a nice feature, just in case.

I'd be interested in knowing which ones you considered and what you went with. I'm sure folks in the future will benefit from our experiences and hopefully will share what they have found with different plans after they've used them. At this point I haven't used it for much, which in the big picture is a good thing.

 

[Howard Glansfield]

I know Petplan has an American service as well as here.

http://www.gopetplan.com/

 

It may be useful.