Has anyone actually used pet insurance?

[yipper143]

I'm getting ready to send in a claim for Daisy's spay and an ear infection treatment to Veterinary Pet Insurance. I was wondering if anyone has submitted claims to them and if so, did they have any problems or advice? - thanks

[BustersMom]

Yes, I have used pet insurance for a couple of minor items that Buster has gone to the vet for and no, no problems. When we first received the paperwork from the insurance company, there were a couple of errors on the info and I called to have corrected. The lady that I spoke with was very helpful so if you do encounter a problem, be sure and call them. Actually, I'd say I got a better response from them than I do from our human insurance company! Not as many customers to keep up with I guess...

[Marcia40]

Yes, I have also used pet insurance for the past year and have had no problem. It did not take that long for a check either I think you will be pleasantly surprised. Good Luck

[ChicagoCanine]

Hi,
I have not used it, but a friend of mine has. She had a lot of problems with it, and is still waiting for a payment from a claim that was from over a year ago. I'm not sure which company she is using...

[Marie39]

Are there names of reputable pet insurance carriers? How much does a policy cost? Do they cover everything? We are about to get our new pup. Is this something everyone would recommend? Goldens do tend to have health issues don't they.

[ldpusateri]

I don't use VPI, they drove me nuts just trying to apply >: and then they lost the application then found the application... I cancelled it and now have PetCare insurance and Holly is covered from "nose-to-tail" for $300ish/year for the Gold Plan. It doesn't cover routine care, but after the first year, from a $$$ standpoint, that's an unnecessary added expense anyway. Plus with PetCare, no 6 week waiting period.... 2 days AFTER I enrolled, Holly had a GI and PetCare covered it.

JMHO

Laurie

[Marie39]

Does anyone know if there are national pet insurance companies, or are they all just local smaller companies? Anyone know a web site to learn more?

[ldpusateri]

Hi Marie

VPI is www.petinsurance.com/ (http://www.petinsurance.com/)

and the one I use is PetCare

www.petcareinsurance.com/ (http://www.petcareinsurance.com/)

Do a seach in www.google.com under Pet Insurance and a bunch will come up.
Hope this helps.

[Marie39]

Thanks for the e-mails. I have asked everyone I know with pets. My vet friend was very positive about insurance. Many others seemed leery (sp?). I do not know anyone that has it.

[FurryBaby]

Hello,

I thought I'd bump this thread up because I'm looking to get pet insurance for Aiden. My vet recommended VPI but after reading some of the comments on here, seems PetCare is better. Does anyone use either of the two? What are your experiences? Thank you.

[Harshy]

I started out with VPI and was glad I had it when Harley broke a bone in her paw at 6 months old. I submitted a claim & was reimbursed with no problems. The bills totaled around $300. I started doing some research after that & switched to Petcare. VPI does not cover hereditary conditions such as hip displasia. Petcare does as long as there is no evidence of the condition when you begin the policy. (This is how petcare explained it to me.) Petcare does not offer coverage for routine care, only illness & accidents. So you have to pay out of your own pocket for annual physicals & immunization updates but that's a cost I always figure into dog ownership anyway. There is also different levels of coverage thru both VPI & Petcare so do your research & choose what's best for you & your pup.

[FurryBaby]

Hello Harshy,

Thank you so much for your quick reply. I like how PetCare covers hereditary conditions since I didn't get my Aiden from a reputable breeder. But since there has to be proof that Aiden doesn't have HD when applying, I'm figuring I need to do a hip exam/x-ray for him? I'm not really worried about having to pay for annual visits or physicals but I am worried about what problems he may have inherited. & so far, PetCare has one more pro to my pros & cons list. I guess I'll have to do further research. Thank you once again! :032

[coopersmom]

we have pet insurance. It really only helps with major health problems. With a fifty dollar deductable its not really worth it for routine care. I have a question and dont know how to post it so I am hoping some answers come from this one. Has anyone had any problem with "greenies" our golden loves them but he seems to get very lethargic after he eats them. we thought maybe something was wrong with him but it just seems to coinside with him having the greenies. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks

[CaynCher]

I do not carry pet insurance myself now. My pup had it for the first couple of months but I dropped it. I have not had large vet bills to make it worthwhile as I just do routine care and have money set aside in case of an emergency. It would probably be worthwhile if you go to the vet more often for accidents or if the dog has HD and must have the hip operation.

[Reno's Mom]

I considered getting pet insurance 2 1/2 years ago when I got Reno, but decided against it. Instead I have been saving about $20 - $40 a month and now have a little over $600 put away in case something comes up that is not normal routine care.

[FurryBaby]

All your input is really helpful! The thing that really has me going towards getting pet insurance is, when I spoke to the VPI customer rep., he said that for example, to fix a broken bone could cost anything up to $1800.00 dollars but if we have VPI, they would cover &1700.00 of it & all we would be paying was $100.00. To me, that sounds too good to be true but if that's the case, I think it's really awesome! I'm going to be calling back & asking about that again to see if I misunderstood or not. Again, thanks for all your input!!! You guys are awesome! banana

[Chase and His Mom]

We use VPI. It has worked like it should. We've always gotten reimbursed timely and we have full nose to tail coverage with a Double Cancer rider and annual care. So they pay for routine exams, vaccinations, teeth cleaning, heartworm and a double cancer rider. We pay $33 a month with 90% reimbursement. I believe PetCare is only 75% reimbursement but I'm not sure. There are pros and cons to both, but in the end having it or not having it, it came down to my peace of mind. I didn't want to have to decide if I could afford something. Good luck with your decision. paw paw

[SteveR]

I just enrolled Sinbad into Petcare. After initially nixing the idea I sat down and figured out that I have paid well over $2500 in vet bills this past year for my two dogs. Sinbad's has all been well care coverage, neutering and prelim xrays @ 6 months which wouldn't have been covered but the lion's share has been for my 8 yr old cocker's assortment of illnesses. She's too expensive to insure at this point but I'm sure something will crop up with Sinbad that will make this worthwhile.

[meandgracie]

I signed up for Petcare a couple of months ago, but haven't submitted a claim yet. When I signed up on the phone they told me they'd be contacting my vet for medical records. I assume that's their way of checking for existing conditions. I don't think you'd need to have x-rays done before getting the insurance.

[FurryBaby]

All your responses has helped alot! Thank you! I have decided on getting pet insurance for Aiden. The office visits alone (without meds., x-rays, etc. done) costs about $50. along with any additional cost for anything else needed. It's more expensive then our family dr.'s visits! But I really like her so far so I decided I'll stick with her regardless of the price. So the insurance would definitely help out even for just office visits. I also figure that it's worth it to pay $30. a month cause there may be a time when in just one day, I may be having to pay $1000.+.

[Alicia]

I'm Getting Bear insured when we get him, I use Asda insurance (Asda is a UK super market owned by Wall Mart) so you could try them for pet insurance.