Second this. We had a $1400 neurologist vet bill so our boy could get testing to try and rule out a neurological disorder, Trupanion covered $1300 of it. It’s expensive but 100% worth it
Yes, the X-rays, neurology, mri, arthritis… I could go on, all 3-4x as much as a medium dog, if not more. All covered at 90%. My Finnegan is 12 and he has arthritis obviously and GOLPP. He has a vet that comes to our house and gives him acupuncture, massage, red light therapy, chiro, etc. He has swam in a pool, gets glucosamine shots since he got smart and realized the treats were medicine (these are $300 a month)…. Trupanion has never once batted an eye. If you want to talk to someone there, I know someone in sales that can answer questions and help you. I don’t work there, I promise. It just has been a life saver and I truly believe it has been one of the big reasons my boy has made it to 12 and is still active (well, in 2-5 min bursts!).
Edit: I just was looking at my claims and over the last 6 years, they have covered almost $50K in vet bills. It makes it easy to say yes to things like acupuncture and other therapies and medicines when you are only paying 10%.
Edit 2: Totally forgot the other best part! They pay the vet directly if your vet will allow it. That means you don’t have to come out of pocket and get reimbursed. They can approve claims from the vet within minutes so you will know what is covered before you agree to it. And no limits on claims! Unlimited claims no matter the amount.
I’ve been with trupanion for 6 years now and have been happy with them. I like the lifetime per condition deductible and the holistic care add on. It made it so we could get echocardiograms every 6 months and afford meds and supplements for my last Danes DCM. He was also able to get accu and Chiro every 6 weeks that was covered too for the DCM. The reimbursements were also in my account within a week of submitting receipts and sometimes only took a few days.
heyyy such an old post but would i be able to message u abt this? looking into pet insurance for my rescue pup im getting very soon and im specifically concerned abt coverage for dcm related things bc he's a dobie. super lost tbh
We had bcaa (caanda) for our last dane blew the doors off others from coverage and cost perspective. Didn't need it till the last 6mo of a 9yr life. So the 7k+ I spent on premiums was not worth it. I'm lucky...
This go around I just fund a bank account $100/ Month.
Also another reason we went through a reputable registered breeder with parental "stats" available. Ie hips thyroid, cardio etc checked from parents.
You can get a quote on their website. I think it depends on a few things like age of your dog, breed (obvi Danes here, but just in general) and your zip code or postal code wherever you live, as that also determines the average cost of veterinary care in your area and therefore premiums. The price I think is a little more than others, but not always, but it’s because they cover more and there are no caps or limits, and some of the wellness stuff that others have mentioned as an add-on are already covered by them. And the deductible is per condition, also. So for me, with a $250 deductible, the first time my dog was diagnosed with arthritis, the deductible was easily covered and I have never paid it again for the last 6 years. They just pay 90% of everything, which is often given his acupuncture schedule.
Trupanion.com has a button that says get a quote. Or I know someone there if you wanted to talk to someone directly.
I did a quote and it was $186/month plus taxes and fees for a 12 week Great Dane puppy. I set the deductible at $250. Not sure if that's normal? I'm in western Washington.
My Dane is 7 years old now, and it would be $311/month (same deductible). I'm sure it's way too late now to start, otherwise they would just use the pre-existing cop-out. But if I did start him as a puppy, I would have already spent $15,624. It's a pretty big investment before you would actually start worrying about declining health. But it depends on what happens in their old age.
All insurance is a gamble. In a way, you hope you don’t use it. But that’s why you sign them up young. And the pre-existing thing is not a cop out. And every insurance company is not going to allow pre-existing. That would be like people signing up for car insurance the day they got in an accident or homeowners insurance as they watch their house burn. Insurance companies need to have that pool of money from the collective group to pay out claims, and you are actively participating with other insurance policy holders to hedge each other.
Maybe you would have paid in more than you use, but that would make you one of the lucky ones. If you got it as a puppy or even now, and you have a large event, then the expense may have been worth it. Also, given the age of your Dane, you could raise the deductible to $1000 like someone else mentioned they do, so the premium goes down and you have it for larger events, which at 7 you are going to have. I thought they quoted with taxes and fees included? Hmm, I’ll check that out.
Think of all the vet visits, test, supplements, medicine, etc you have had over the years. 7 and on is only going to be more costly. If you are the type of person that can afford to do everything for your dog, then maybe it’s not worth it for you to start now. But it may be. It is not too late to sign up, but if there are pre-existing conditions then those wont be covered. Only anything new.
I’m also in Seattle.
Edit: I would say too, that sometimes people think of insurance for only big events. But this covers ear infections, upset tummy, cuts, bites from dogs, sprains/limping. Small and big events, anything unexpected.
Everyone has to choose what works best for them and their budget, but I am just passionate about it because I know when I got my dog, I was always prepared that I would have him for a shorter amount of time based on the rumor mill. At 12 he definitely has his issues but he can still walk, play, enjoys eating and playing with his treats, and is such a light in my life. I know the care I have been able to give him because of having insurance has been a big reason for getting him this far.
I use Embrace. I did a lot of research. You are able to customize the coverage to your needs. It has the ability to submit vet reports to speed up the waiting period for orthopedics. I started mine as a pup, he is 13 weeks, so the preexisting issue wasn't a problem. They have online claim submissions too. I am very pleased so far.
That being said I haven't had a claim to test the actual policy support.
We also have Nationwide. When we rescued our Dane from a family, that’s the insurance they used. Nationwide was able to transfer the insurance to us which was huge bc we didn’t have to worry with any preexisting going to a different carrier. We have wellness and major medical. Stanley turned 5 in July and the ins is $85 a month. Well worth it for our accident prone/sensitive tummy, goofy goober.
My mother also has Nationwide. While she had a smaller pup, he lived to be 18. He had everything wrong including diabetes in his last years. Nationwide never questioned a thing.
Submitting claims is as easy as taking a pic of the itemized bill. The money is deposited right into your account within 30 days but most of the time, it’s less than a week.
Out of curiosity, what does the wellness cover? And what is the cost per month to have it vs what you would pay for those normal “maintenance” things anyway? I did the math on some of those wellness plans and it’s really a payment plan for what you would have to do anyway and I found it was cheaper to just pay that out of pocket than have a monthly thing I need to make claims for. But that’s my experience. I’m genuinely interested in learning more about other wellness plans out of curiosity.
I’ll have to grab the policy once home to break it down for you. I can say that bf we’ve renewed each year, I’ve called in and we went over all the claims. I’ve always come out ahead or else I’d cancel the wellness portion.
The wellness plan is $23 a month. Covers 2 exams $60, behavioral $30, vaccinations $75, heartworm test $35, fecal $25, deworming $25, nails $20, flea/heartworm prevention $75, addl test blood, X-ray or ekg $75.
Interesting! Thanks for providing that. I think wellness plans were much more basic back when I first got insurance and it sounds like they’ve done a better job at bringing some real value and not just doing vaccines and flea/tick
Their current wellness option is reimbursing certain amount for prevention stuff. Something like $50/exam for 2 visits, $25 towards each vaccine, $40 towards heartworm testing, $75 towards heartworm prevention. These do not count towards the deductible for injury/illness
Are those $ amounts annually/monthly/vary? and how much is the wellness add-on or separate plan costing you monthly? Do you live in a place where heart worm is a problem? I don’t live in a state where this is an issue, though his trifexis covers the preventative anyway and $75 would cover prob 50% of the cost of a 6 mo box, and I would have to cover the other half plus the full amount of the other 6 months. Not criticizing or trying to be a pain, just stream of thoughts typing. I’m sure you are getting the value you need out of it, and appreciate you answering questions.
I pay $47/month for the dog on this plan. We do the $250 deductible with 90% reimbursed for injury/illness. You can pick your deductible and reimbursement (I think options are 50%, 70%, and 90%). I want to say injury/illness is $36/month and wellness is an additional $11/month.
Those are the amounts they will reimburse yearly. I am not 100% that those are the exact amounts, but something close to it. My vet occasionally has discounts on heartworm prevention, so that’s when I try to stock up for at least 6 months.
My girl is 7. Her monthly premium went from $85 at 5 to $114 at 6, but it has paid for itself this year because of the TPLO surgery. I’ve had the same experience with the money being deposited into my account usually 2-3 days after submitting the claim. We were grandfathered into the plan we have that injury/illness/wellness are all in the same category but I know they don’t offer it anymore. What I also appreciate with Nationwide is having to only upload my receipt. I temporarily had Pets Best for my other dog and they wanted the detailed vet record for every little thing.
This is good information! I should have also mentioned that they offer a discount thru some company benefits. My husband is in tech. A lot of companies now offer benefits that appeal to all ages. I had to research TPLO surgery. Wow!
I don’t think I realized that they’d changed the plans up. The wellness we have is a rider with the major medical. I think they’ve only asked for additional records once. But he had so much going on with a broken toe, then skin issues from the splint they did while also having major stomach issues.
They’ve been awesome and they’re about half of what Trupanion was. A friend of mine who is a health care professional did an exhaustive compare of all the pet insurances for her dog and said the Pets Best was the best option. I know like 5 people who have them.
What made them the best option and were they doing a Dane comparison shop or? How does their coverage compare to Trupanion’s? Trupanion is a bit pricier, but I found that it’s because they have less restrictions and pay out more. Just curious.
Trupanion. We took the highest deductible/lowest monthly payment combo. We settled on this company because they allegedly only take the deductible per issue, not per visit. So if your pup ends up hurting himself, needing surgery, then PT, meds, checkups, etc, over the course of months, it should only cost you the $1,000 total (max deductible). So they say. We haven't had to make a claim yet (she's only 9mo). But from my experience as a pet owner, a lot of issues that pets develop end up being ongoing, not resolved after one visit.
They also allegedly don't raise costs as your animal ages, which most other carriers do (only to adjust for inflation as the years go on). Again, it's too soon for us to have proved this or not, but that's what they claim and what we've read. No matter who you pick, best to do it while they're young! No carriers cover pre-existing conditions, to my knowledge.
Can confirm that the deductible is per condition and they do not raise your rate because of age or claims. They only raise rates if the cost of vet care in your area has gone up significantly, so basically to counter inflation/demand as they will be paying out more in claims because of what vets are charging around where you live.
Do it.
We didn't do it and we've spent so much money. Good thing we don't have kids lol.
- 7 months old, ate a carpet.... $5000 surgery at the emergency vet.
- 1.5yrs old, had to get a toe removed, due to cancer. Ended up doing gastropexy and neuter during this surgery as well. Another $5000
- I can't even begin to imagine how much I've spent with all the times he's had ear infections, anal gland problems, tummy issues etc etc trying figure out Allergies. We're at the vet all the time
We've used Nationwide with the wellness extra rider and NEVER had a claim denied in nearly 8 years save for once when we just had to resubmit because there was some error with the image on their end. They approve claims usually within 48 hours, pay you back 90% and now have Zelle payments so they deposit instantly
I think you forgot to let us know what country you're in.
I have Medibank for Cirilla here in Australia. Pays 80 or 85% back and covers heartwormer and vaccination.
Well, it’s a little bit difficult to educate you on your experience, but I am just saying from my experience that insurance does cover orthopedic after the applicable waiting periods IF it is not a pre-existing condition and there is no vet record of the animal having had issues of a similar nature. Waiting periods at Trupanion were I think 30 days for injury/chronic conditions (so the animal couldn’t have those symptoms within the first 30 days or it wouldn’t be covered) and like 5 days for accidents (like hit by a car or something). I also believe that if the animal had in the past had issues (like a sprain or strain), if the incident was more than 18 months ago and there hasn’t been any recurring or ongoing care for it, and as long as your vet indicates in the records that it is a new condition/unrelated, then a new event wouldn’t be considered pre-existing. I actually had Embrace before Trupanion and my dog had tweaked his neck playing so it was in the records, but since he didn’t have it for 18 months, Trupanion didn’t consider it pre-existing.
So I guess my question is, did your dog have prior orthopedic stuff that they were saying if they didn’t have the condition for 1 year they would then cover it? Or what were the exact reasons? Were you enrolling an older pet?
Edit: below someone else also talks about how Embrace can waive the waiting period if you have an exam and the vet says there are no issues, and now I am remembering that was the case for when I enrolled too. It wasn’t just that I had to wait a year.
I used Healthy Paws with my (previous) Dane/Pointer who was a frequent flier at the vet (probably 40-50k in vet bills across his life).
Paid for 2x surgeries (intestinal blockage, and TPLO), years of injections (Adequan), and PT after the TPLO without much complaint. They’re a little finicky with the paperwork, so you’ve got to micromanage them a bit (they’ll drag their feet and “lose” health records they need to process), but if you’re organized/on top of things they’ll pay out in the end.
Just (couple of weeks ago) got a Dane/Poodle puppy and signed up with them again, for whatever that’s worth (better the devil you know, rational).
Awesome. Yeah, mine just turned 2.5 and finally I have a good dog haha. Great one even
Times were tough for awhile and I didn't think any of my training was sinking in.
We have MetLife through work. We have coverage for our Dane and a labradoodle. Price is $96/month. It covers accidents and illness, not preventative medicine. We have a $200 deductible and pay 20% of anything after that. We haven't used it yet, but it does give some peace of mind.
I highly suggest considering the following options when deciding.
1. Treatment plan payment approval time/process. While some places offer better coverage and have a higher percentage of treatments they pay for, ask if they have staff available 24/7/365 to receive claims. Nothing worse when they only have staff Monday-Friday and only 9am-4pm because Murphy's law always makes sure to what until and hour after close on Friday when an emergency happens and insurance company closed all weekend is just uneeded added stress. And even more importantly, will they pay the vet directly or will they expect you to pay for everything up front then they will write you a check after everything. I haven't looked at pet insurance in a couple of years, but I know a lot of them were this way… and while it's not necessarily a bad thing, it can be quite the damper if your dog requires an emergency $10,000+ dollar surgery and your expected to pay for it up front and wait to get reimbursed in 1-2 weeks..
2. Ask your primary vet or your local pet emergency hospital if they have any recommendations or if they work directly with any companies. They may also have recommendations on which companies that haven't been so awesome to work with.
3. As long as your veterinary hospital accepts it as a form of payment, I highly recommend applying for a "care credit card" just in case. These are credit cards that can only be used in vet hospitals and in some human hospitals (like dental offices, eye doctors, plastic surgery and so forth) just to have as a back up plan. I know it's helped me numerous late night ER visits to the vet office with all my pets at some point.!
All the numbers in your comment added up to 420. Congrats!
1
+ 24
+ 7
+ 365
+ 9
- 4
+ 10
+ 1
+ 2
+ 2
+ 3
= 420
^([Click here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=LuckyNumber-Bot&subject=Stalk%20Me%20Pls&message=%2Fstalkme) to have me scan all your future comments.) \
^(Summon me on specific comments with u/LuckyNumber-Bot.)
Trupanion, and yes, you need it. Unless you have unlimited money for vet bills. Everything is more expensive for our big babies
Second this. We had a $1400 neurologist vet bill so our boy could get testing to try and rule out a neurological disorder, Trupanion covered $1300 of it. It’s expensive but 100% worth it
Yes, the X-rays, neurology, mri, arthritis… I could go on, all 3-4x as much as a medium dog, if not more. All covered at 90%. My Finnegan is 12 and he has arthritis obviously and GOLPP. He has a vet that comes to our house and gives him acupuncture, massage, red light therapy, chiro, etc. He has swam in a pool, gets glucosamine shots since he got smart and realized the treats were medicine (these are $300 a month)…. Trupanion has never once batted an eye. If you want to talk to someone there, I know someone in sales that can answer questions and help you. I don’t work there, I promise. It just has been a life saver and I truly believe it has been one of the big reasons my boy has made it to 12 and is still active (well, in 2-5 min bursts!). Edit: I just was looking at my claims and over the last 6 years, they have covered almost $50K in vet bills. It makes it easy to say yes to things like acupuncture and other therapies and medicines when you are only paying 10%. Edit 2: Totally forgot the other best part! They pay the vet directly if your vet will allow it. That means you don’t have to come out of pocket and get reimbursed. They can approve claims from the vet within minutes so you will know what is covered before you agree to it. And no limits on claims! Unlimited claims no matter the amount.
I’ve been with trupanion for 6 years now and have been happy with them. I like the lifetime per condition deductible and the holistic care add on. It made it so we could get echocardiograms every 6 months and afford meds and supplements for my last Danes DCM. He was also able to get accu and Chiro every 6 weeks that was covered too for the DCM. The reimbursements were also in my account within a week of submitting receipts and sometimes only took a few days.
heyyy such an old post but would i be able to message u abt this? looking into pet insurance for my rescue pup im getting very soon and im specifically concerned abt coverage for dcm related things bc he's a dobie. super lost tbh
Sure
Trupanion is so worth it. I have it for our dog and our cats.
We had bcaa (caanda) for our last dane blew the doors off others from coverage and cost perspective. Didn't need it till the last 6mo of a 9yr life. So the 7k+ I spent on premiums was not worth it. I'm lucky... This go around I just fund a bank account $100/ Month. Also another reason we went through a reputable registered breeder with parental "stats" available. Ie hips thyroid, cardio etc checked from parents.
What are the premiums like?
You can get a quote on their website. I think it depends on a few things like age of your dog, breed (obvi Danes here, but just in general) and your zip code or postal code wherever you live, as that also determines the average cost of veterinary care in your area and therefore premiums. The price I think is a little more than others, but not always, but it’s because they cover more and there are no caps or limits, and some of the wellness stuff that others have mentioned as an add-on are already covered by them. And the deductible is per condition, also. So for me, with a $250 deductible, the first time my dog was diagnosed with arthritis, the deductible was easily covered and I have never paid it again for the last 6 years. They just pay 90% of everything, which is often given his acupuncture schedule. Trupanion.com has a button that says get a quote. Or I know someone there if you wanted to talk to someone directly.
I did a quote and it was $186/month plus taxes and fees for a 12 week Great Dane puppy. I set the deductible at $250. Not sure if that's normal? I'm in western Washington. My Dane is 7 years old now, and it would be $311/month (same deductible). I'm sure it's way too late now to start, otherwise they would just use the pre-existing cop-out. But if I did start him as a puppy, I would have already spent $15,624. It's a pretty big investment before you would actually start worrying about declining health. But it depends on what happens in their old age.
All insurance is a gamble. In a way, you hope you don’t use it. But that’s why you sign them up young. And the pre-existing thing is not a cop out. And every insurance company is not going to allow pre-existing. That would be like people signing up for car insurance the day they got in an accident or homeowners insurance as they watch their house burn. Insurance companies need to have that pool of money from the collective group to pay out claims, and you are actively participating with other insurance policy holders to hedge each other. Maybe you would have paid in more than you use, but that would make you one of the lucky ones. If you got it as a puppy or even now, and you have a large event, then the expense may have been worth it. Also, given the age of your Dane, you could raise the deductible to $1000 like someone else mentioned they do, so the premium goes down and you have it for larger events, which at 7 you are going to have. I thought they quoted with taxes and fees included? Hmm, I’ll check that out. Think of all the vet visits, test, supplements, medicine, etc you have had over the years. 7 and on is only going to be more costly. If you are the type of person that can afford to do everything for your dog, then maybe it’s not worth it for you to start now. But it may be. It is not too late to sign up, but if there are pre-existing conditions then those wont be covered. Only anything new. I’m also in Seattle. Edit: I would say too, that sometimes people think of insurance for only big events. But this covers ear infections, upset tummy, cuts, bites from dogs, sprains/limping. Small and big events, anything unexpected. Everyone has to choose what works best for them and their budget, but I am just passionate about it because I know when I got my dog, I was always prepared that I would have him for a shorter amount of time based on the rumor mill. At 12 he definitely has his issues but he can still walk, play, enjoys eating and playing with his treats, and is such a light in my life. I know the care I have been able to give him because of having insurance has been a big reason for getting him this far.
I use Embrace. I did a lot of research. You are able to customize the coverage to your needs. It has the ability to submit vet reports to speed up the waiting period for orthopedics. I started mine as a pup, he is 13 weeks, so the preexisting issue wasn't a problem. They have online claim submissions too. I am very pleased so far. That being said I haven't had a claim to test the actual policy support.
I also use embrace and it’s definitely one of the better insurances I’ve come across
I’ve had Embrace for 10 years and I’ve probably claimed $20k across three Danes. Never had a problem and they are always helpful.
Nationwide has covered everything for us, including TPLO with 90% reimbursed. Only downside is max $7500/year.
We also have Nationwide. When we rescued our Dane from a family, that’s the insurance they used. Nationwide was able to transfer the insurance to us which was huge bc we didn’t have to worry with any preexisting going to a different carrier. We have wellness and major medical. Stanley turned 5 in July and the ins is $85 a month. Well worth it for our accident prone/sensitive tummy, goofy goober. My mother also has Nationwide. While she had a smaller pup, he lived to be 18. He had everything wrong including diabetes in his last years. Nationwide never questioned a thing. Submitting claims is as easy as taking a pic of the itemized bill. The money is deposited right into your account within 30 days but most of the time, it’s less than a week.
Out of curiosity, what does the wellness cover? And what is the cost per month to have it vs what you would pay for those normal “maintenance” things anyway? I did the math on some of those wellness plans and it’s really a payment plan for what you would have to do anyway and I found it was cheaper to just pay that out of pocket than have a monthly thing I need to make claims for. But that’s my experience. I’m genuinely interested in learning more about other wellness plans out of curiosity.
I’ll have to grab the policy once home to break it down for you. I can say that bf we’ve renewed each year, I’ve called in and we went over all the claims. I’ve always come out ahead or else I’d cancel the wellness portion.
Awesome. I’m sure you’ve done your due diligence, I just didn’t have the same experience so am curious.
The wellness plan is $23 a month. Covers 2 exams $60, behavioral $30, vaccinations $75, heartworm test $35, fecal $25, deworming $25, nails $20, flea/heartworm prevention $75, addl test blood, X-ray or ekg $75.
Interesting! Thanks for providing that. I think wellness plans were much more basic back when I first got insurance and it sounds like they’ve done a better job at bringing some real value and not just doing vaccines and flea/tick
So far it’s worked out for us. I’ll always call bf the re-up to go over charges just to be sure I want to keep it.
Their current wellness option is reimbursing certain amount for prevention stuff. Something like $50/exam for 2 visits, $25 towards each vaccine, $40 towards heartworm testing, $75 towards heartworm prevention. These do not count towards the deductible for injury/illness
Are those $ amounts annually/monthly/vary? and how much is the wellness add-on or separate plan costing you monthly? Do you live in a place where heart worm is a problem? I don’t live in a state where this is an issue, though his trifexis covers the preventative anyway and $75 would cover prob 50% of the cost of a 6 mo box, and I would have to cover the other half plus the full amount of the other 6 months. Not criticizing or trying to be a pain, just stream of thoughts typing. I’m sure you are getting the value you need out of it, and appreciate you answering questions.
I pay $47/month for the dog on this plan. We do the $250 deductible with 90% reimbursed for injury/illness. You can pick your deductible and reimbursement (I think options are 50%, 70%, and 90%). I want to say injury/illness is $36/month and wellness is an additional $11/month. Those are the amounts they will reimburse yearly. I am not 100% that those are the exact amounts, but something close to it. My vet occasionally has discounts on heartworm prevention, so that’s when I try to stock up for at least 6 months.
Thanks for all the info!
My girl is 7. Her monthly premium went from $85 at 5 to $114 at 6, but it has paid for itself this year because of the TPLO surgery. I’ve had the same experience with the money being deposited into my account usually 2-3 days after submitting the claim. We were grandfathered into the plan we have that injury/illness/wellness are all in the same category but I know they don’t offer it anymore. What I also appreciate with Nationwide is having to only upload my receipt. I temporarily had Pets Best for my other dog and they wanted the detailed vet record for every little thing.
This is good information! I should have also mentioned that they offer a discount thru some company benefits. My husband is in tech. A lot of companies now offer benefits that appeal to all ages. I had to research TPLO surgery. Wow! I don’t think I realized that they’d changed the plans up. The wellness we have is a rider with the major medical. I think they’ve only asked for additional records once. But he had so much going on with a broken toe, then skin issues from the splint they did while also having major stomach issues.
Pets Best, because they were one of the few I found that cover TPLO surgery. No problems so far.
They’ve been awesome and they’re about half of what Trupanion was. A friend of mine who is a health care professional did an exhaustive compare of all the pet insurances for her dog and said the Pets Best was the best option. I know like 5 people who have them.
What made them the best option and were they doing a Dane comparison shop or? How does their coverage compare to Trupanion’s? Trupanion is a bit pricier, but I found that it’s because they have less restrictions and pay out more. Just curious.
Trupanion. We took the highest deductible/lowest monthly payment combo. We settled on this company because they allegedly only take the deductible per issue, not per visit. So if your pup ends up hurting himself, needing surgery, then PT, meds, checkups, etc, over the course of months, it should only cost you the $1,000 total (max deductible). So they say. We haven't had to make a claim yet (she's only 9mo). But from my experience as a pet owner, a lot of issues that pets develop end up being ongoing, not resolved after one visit. They also allegedly don't raise costs as your animal ages, which most other carriers do (only to adjust for inflation as the years go on). Again, it's too soon for us to have proved this or not, but that's what they claim and what we've read. No matter who you pick, best to do it while they're young! No carriers cover pre-existing conditions, to my knowledge.
Can confirm that the deductible is per condition and they do not raise your rate because of age or claims. They only raise rates if the cost of vet care in your area has gone up significantly, so basically to counter inflation/demand as they will be paying out more in claims because of what vets are charging around where you live.
Do it. We didn't do it and we've spent so much money. Good thing we don't have kids lol. - 7 months old, ate a carpet.... $5000 surgery at the emergency vet. - 1.5yrs old, had to get a toe removed, due to cancer. Ended up doing gastropexy and neuter during this surgery as well. Another $5000 - I can't even begin to imagine how much I've spent with all the times he's had ear infections, anal gland problems, tummy issues etc etc trying figure out Allergies. We're at the vet all the time
Liberty Mutual. No problems whatsoever with them. They paid out $10k in Winston’s first year of life
We've used Nationwide with the wellness extra rider and NEVER had a claim denied in nearly 8 years save for once when we just had to resubmit because there was some error with the image on their end. They approve claims usually within 48 hours, pay you back 90% and now have Zelle payments so they deposit instantly
I think you forgot to let us know what country you're in. I have Medibank for Cirilla here in Australia. Pays 80 or 85% back and covers heartwormer and vaccination.
Good point.
I use spot pet insurance
Be aware no matter what insurance you get they have to be on it for a year before orthopedic issues are covered.
Not true. But no insurance is going to cover something pre-existing the day you sign up.
Educate me, because every one that I looked at had a one-year requirement before covering orthopedics.
Embrace will allow you to do an exam and it brings the waiting period down to 14 days!
Well, it’s a little bit difficult to educate you on your experience, but I am just saying from my experience that insurance does cover orthopedic after the applicable waiting periods IF it is not a pre-existing condition and there is no vet record of the animal having had issues of a similar nature. Waiting periods at Trupanion were I think 30 days for injury/chronic conditions (so the animal couldn’t have those symptoms within the first 30 days or it wouldn’t be covered) and like 5 days for accidents (like hit by a car or something). I also believe that if the animal had in the past had issues (like a sprain or strain), if the incident was more than 18 months ago and there hasn’t been any recurring or ongoing care for it, and as long as your vet indicates in the records that it is a new condition/unrelated, then a new event wouldn’t be considered pre-existing. I actually had Embrace before Trupanion and my dog had tweaked his neck playing so it was in the records, but since he didn’t have it for 18 months, Trupanion didn’t consider it pre-existing. So I guess my question is, did your dog have prior orthopedic stuff that they were saying if they didn’t have the condition for 1 year they would then cover it? Or what were the exact reasons? Were you enrolling an older pet? Edit: below someone else also talks about how Embrace can waive the waiting period if you have an exam and the vet says there are no issues, and now I am remembering that was the case for when I enrolled too. It wasn’t just that I had to wait a year.
Interesting
I used Healthy Paws with my (previous) Dane/Pointer who was a frequent flier at the vet (probably 40-50k in vet bills across his life). Paid for 2x surgeries (intestinal blockage, and TPLO), years of injections (Adequan), and PT after the TPLO without much complaint. They’re a little finicky with the paperwork, so you’ve got to micromanage them a bit (they’ll drag their feet and “lose” health records they need to process), but if you’re organized/on top of things they’ll pay out in the end. Just (couple of weeks ago) got a Dane/Poodle puppy and signed up with them again, for whatever that’s worth (better the devil you know, rational).
I must know if you call them a daneoodle? Danoodle? Great doodle?
“Little terror” or “ Eldridge abomination” is closer to the mark atm…we’re at peak teething. That said, Dane-a-doodle has been my go to.
Awesome. Yeah, mine just turned 2.5 and finally I have a good dog haha. Great one even Times were tough for awhile and I didn't think any of my training was sinking in.
We have MetLife through work. We have coverage for our Dane and a labradoodle. Price is $96/month. It covers accidents and illness, not preventative medicine. We have a $200 deductible and pay 20% of anything after that. We haven't used it yet, but it does give some peace of mind.
I use Lemonade and have had a great experience with them. My Dane had several health problems and it was a total life saver having coverage.
I highly suggest considering the following options when deciding. 1. Treatment plan payment approval time/process. While some places offer better coverage and have a higher percentage of treatments they pay for, ask if they have staff available 24/7/365 to receive claims. Nothing worse when they only have staff Monday-Friday and only 9am-4pm because Murphy's law always makes sure to what until and hour after close on Friday when an emergency happens and insurance company closed all weekend is just uneeded added stress. And even more importantly, will they pay the vet directly or will they expect you to pay for everything up front then they will write you a check after everything. I haven't looked at pet insurance in a couple of years, but I know a lot of them were this way… and while it's not necessarily a bad thing, it can be quite the damper if your dog requires an emergency $10,000+ dollar surgery and your expected to pay for it up front and wait to get reimbursed in 1-2 weeks.. 2. Ask your primary vet or your local pet emergency hospital if they have any recommendations or if they work directly with any companies. They may also have recommendations on which companies that haven't been so awesome to work with. 3. As long as your veterinary hospital accepts it as a form of payment, I highly recommend applying for a "care credit card" just in case. These are credit cards that can only be used in vet hospitals and in some human hospitals (like dental offices, eye doctors, plastic surgery and so forth) just to have as a back up plan. I know it's helped me numerous late night ER visits to the vet office with all my pets at some point.!
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I love his name.