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Health Insurance for your Retriever

8K views 35 replies 20 participants last post by  maryandkimo 
#1 ·
Has anyone tried insuring you retriever with the insurance plans offered by your vet or AKC? If so do you recommend it or not, and what are you experiences with it?

Warren price
 
#30 · (Edited)
Be careful with Trupanion (and Healthy Paws). They don't pay for the vet exam portion of the bill, which can run very high if you see a specialist. Sorry, but I see that as a sneaky way to add a per-incident deductible on to the regular deductible. Also they charge extra for "hunting dogs", and they don't cover much of anything for intact animals if it might be even vaguely related to their being intact (no prostate problems, mammary problems, injuries resulting from aggressive behavior, injuries from being hit by a car, go figure).

I have Embrace, which is sold by Cabela's.

I posted this in its own thread, but here it is again. A very well done website:

http://www.pet-insurance-university.com/
 
#32 ·
I used to think this too, until my last dog developed diabetes. I spent about 3K initially and then about $500 a month for almost 3 years for all his meds and vet bills. That might be small change for you but it was a considerable amount for me.

When I got my next dog I started researching insurance plans, only to find that most of them excluded most of the illnesses or injuries I'd want insurance for. I went with PetPlan because they had the most coverage with the fewest exclusions. I've had one minor claim with them and they were very easy to deal with.
 
#34 · (Edited)
Just looked at Embrace Ins - Here are some examples of what a pre-existing condition is and is not w/Embrace.

•A few years back your dog tore her right cruciate ligament. You purchase pet insurance and then she subsequently tears her left cruciate ligament 2 years into the policy. The left cruciate tear is considered a pre-existing condition.

•Your dog had an ear infection and a skin hot spot last year before you purchased your policy. You sign up for pet insurance and, a few months after the 2-week waiting period has expired, your veterinarian diagnoses your dog with allergies. These allergies would be considered a pre-existing condition

Reason enough to get your pup on an insurance plan ASAP.
 
#35 ·
I have never had an issue with pre-existing conditions, as I insure my pups at 8 weeks old.

I know everyone has different needs, but I have the insurance as just a major medical/catastrophic event policy. I can cover the other stuff.
Therefore, I have selected a $1000 per year deductible, with a $15,000 per year maximum payout (they pay 80%, after the deductible. JMO but if you are getting around $20,000 in vet bills in a year, you are probably starting to have some serious quality of life issues). I personally like the per year deductible rather than the per occurrence one, as you could run up a whole bunch of vet bills in a year and not have anything covered if all the vet bills were around $250 (a typical deductible). The insurance cost me $13 per month until this year, and it has now gone up to $15.50 per month.
They didn't have any problem with my claims when he punctured a foot, which became infected, while hunt training. They also didn't have any issue with my claim for prostatitis. Also paid for a polyp being removed from his vocal cord (grass awn!!!??!!) while doing a dental, in fact, they paid 1/2 of the anesthesia and surgical care, allocating 1/2 to the dental (not covered) and 1/2 to the polyp (covered), which I was very pleased with.
To each their own. This works for me, it gives me great peace of mind since I own one of the most cancer prone breeds.
 
#36 ·
Unfortunately, I have had to use my insurance. I have Pet Plan and so far have been very happy. I have a BC with an iliopsoas injury and have been sending in claims in 1000 dollar increments. A week ago 1144 sent in and today a check for 958. Now I am just wondering if future rates get exponentially raised or dogs get dropped?
mary
 
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