Pet Insurance question

David Maddox · Nov 12, 2022

Checking for a buddy.

A buddy of mine called and shared that his gundog came back limping after picking up a bird during teal season.
He waited a day or so to see if her limp would go away. It didn’t, so he decided to take her in to the veterinarian and she was diagnosed with a torn ACL. After speaking with the doctor he chose to have the TPLO done.
Like most, he had no insurance, which ended up with lots of $$$ out of pocket. Obviously that little bill quickly opened his eyes.
He asked if I had insurance on my dogs and if I knew whether pet insurance companies would cover a second ACL tear. I wasn’t sure, so I contacted my insurance company late yesterday.
I probably won’t hear from them until Monday.
If any of you all know the answer to his question I would certainly appreciate any help.

ErinsEdge · Nov 13, 2022

David Maddox said:
Checking for a buddy.

A buddy of mine called and shared that his gundog came back limping after picking up a bird during teal season.
He waited a day or so to see if her limp would go away. It didn’t, so he decided to take her in to the veterinarian and she was diagnosed with a torn ACL. After speaking with the doctor he chose to have the TPLO done.
Like most, he had no insurance, which ended up with lots of $$$ out of pocket. Obviously that little bill quickly opened his eyes.
He asked if I had insurance on my dogs and if I knew whether pet insurance companies would cover a second ACL tear. I wasn’t sure, so I contacted my insurance company late yesterday.
I probably won’t hear from them until Monday.
If any of you all know the answer to his question I would certainly appreciate any help.

They are all different as to what they cover so read the fine print or specifically ask. The ones that do cover it may only after a certain amount of time like a year later. Some will not cover a second one.

drunkenpoacher · Nov 13, 2022

I had insurance for a year and it did cover TPLO. The second year they wanted to raise the premium by a ridiculous amount so I canceled it. I never filed a claim. A friend of mine had the same experience with a different company.

Dakota Creek · Nov 13, 2022

We found that with our premiums continuing to increase along with changing coverage and deductibles with zero claims, with our two dogs it was more cost effective to take the monthly premiums and put into a separate ”dog” bank account. The only negative would be if you had a costly vet trip before the bank account has been built.

Ted Shih · Nov 13, 2022

I think that your friend is at risk of the Insurance Company finding the existence of some pre-existing condition and denying coverage. I get insurance when I first get my puppy. After 14 days most illnesses and injuries covered. After 6 months, cruciate covered. Because the dogs were covered from the beginning, there can be no claim of pre-existing condition. I have had insurance - through various companies - since 2019 and have had no claims denied. Right now, I am with PetsBest and have found rates to be reasonable and coverage great

EdA · Nov 14, 2022

Dakota Creek said:
We found that with our premiums continuing to increase along with changing coverage and deductibles with zero claims, with our two dogs it was more cost effective to take the monthly premiums and put into a separate ”dog” bank account. The only negative would be if you had a costly vet trip before the bank account has been built.

Since I do not know how much your premiums are I can comment. Premiums for my 3 year old Labrador are currently $36.38/month. if I saved at that rate it will be seven more years before I had enough to pay for one TPLO.

Ted Shih · Nov 14, 2022

Cruciates are a pain but not nearly as spends as grass awn surgery

EdA · Nov 14, 2022

Ted Shih said:
Cruciates are a pain but not nearly as spends as grass awn surgery

Yes definitely those can be 10K to 20K events or more if things don’t go well.

Dakota Creek · Nov 15, 2022

Unexpected major surgeries can be hard to deal with financially if your dog savings account is not large, but we enrolled with the only insurance option available back in the early 90’s. Our premiums climbed as coverage and deductibles changed without notice. With multiple dogs enrolled, we decided to set the money aside instead and have been able cover any emergencies …. And yes there was a TPLO in there. Guess we’ve been lucky …..

Rob Mahoney · Nov 15, 2022

We learned the hard way many years ago to go the route of insurance. I also firmly felt after looking at many insurance companies and their monthly payments and deductibles that insurance was too costly, until I had my first $7500 surgery on a 18 month old dog. Even with the high rates and limited providers back in the early 2000s I still would have not amassed a dog savings amount to cover the surgery.

Now all our new dogs receive insurance immediately the day the come home. I believe all our premiums are between $32-38 per dog and I do know with our provider they require all vet records prior to coverage and upon the submission of claim they will request all records to date as well. Anything that is a preexisting condition will get denied for coverage, hence the need to get the puppies insured as soon as possible. If TPLO surgery is required they will cover the cost again and again as long as it is not preexisting.

Crickets · Nov 28, 2022

David Maddox said:
Checking for a buddy.

A buddy of mine called and shared that his gundog came back limping after picking up a bird during teal season.
He waited a day or so to see if her limp would go away. It didn’t, so he decided to take her in to the veterinarian and she was diagnosed with a torn ACL. After speaking with the doctor he chose to have the TPLO done.
Like most, he had no insurance, which ended up with lots of $$$ out of pocket. Obviously that little bill quickly opened his eyes.
He asked if I had insurance on my dogs and if I knew whether pet insurance companies would cover a second ACL tear. I wasn’t sure, so I contacted my insurance company late yesterday.
I probably won’t hear from them until Monday.
If any of you all know the answer to his question I would certainly appreciate any help.

No. I don't know of any company that doesn't have a bilateral clause. Once one leg goes the risk for the other is huge thus insurance won't cover the second if the policy wasn't in place before the first.

YazminFreeman · Aug 22, 2023

When it comes to coverage for a second ACL tear, it really depends on the insurance company. It's best to reach out to them directly and ask about their specific policies. Oh, and speaking of being prepared, have you guys ever heard of emergency pet keychains? I always have one with myself in case anything happens to me. Check out www.ourpetcard.com for more info. UPD: sorry, I didn't notice the thread was old. Just wanted to share my thoughts and helpful recs.

Css200 · Aug 25, 2023

As someone who just ran the gambit on chemo for my dog to the tune of about 18k all of mine are insured.

Pet Insurance question

David Maddox

ErinsEdge

drunkenpoacher

Dakota Creek

Ted Shih

EdA

Ted Shih

EdA

Dakota Creek

Rob Mahoney

Crickets

YazminFreeman

Css200

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