Those with pet health insurance, please step inside.

[LilRedCorvette]

Some of you may know that I have adopted the dog I had been dog-sitting long-term (a year ago today, as a matter of fact), due to the former owner being gravely ill...and we made the signing over official this past November.

I have the opportunity to get a discounted pet health insurance plan that is employer-sponsored, and have the following companies to choose from:

-Spot Pet Insurance
-ASPCA Pet Health Insurance
-Pets Best Pet Health Insurance
-Nationwide Pet Health Insurance
-Liberty Mutual Pet Health Insurance

Do any of you have policies for your pets with any of the above companies, and if so, what has been your experiences with ease of submitting claims, amount of coverage, etc?

Just FYI, my veterinarian is in the VCA network of vet hospitals...if that makes any difference.

This will be the first dog that I will have gotten pet health insurance on, all the others I have just paid out of pocket for vet expenses, so I am in unfamiliar territory.

Thanks in advance obligatory doggo pic attached

[snide]

I have Liberty Biberty, but not on my dogs.

[JRD77VET]

We have VPI which is now Nationwide for Levi and now Morgan. Major medical plus the preventive care plans. $56 a month for Levi ( 2-1/2 years old and 77 lbs ).

We pay the vet for the services and submit the bill to NW. ( either electronically or snail mail ) They review and cut a check ( or deposit electronically) if it meets the criteria.

With Levi, he had a grape size growth on his rib cage. Had it removed and they kept him overnight. Bill came to $652.38, paid the vet and submitted the bill. Got a check for $652.38

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Before we got Levi, Mary and I went to the Westminster Kennel Club show in NYC. We talked with quite a few Swissy folks and the majority recommended VPI. VPI was bought by Nationwide and we are still happy.

[Rodnok1]

Maybe ask yer vet?

[Aerovette]

Sorry, no personal experience but I have always assumed they are about as valuable as an after market car warranty. They'll figure out more ways NOT to pay than you can imagine.

That being said, I have used Carecredit for pets before.

[snide]

Originally Posted by aerovette

Sorry, no personal experience but I have always assumed they are about as valuable as an after market car warranty. They'll figure out more ways NOT to pay than you can imagine.

That being said, I have used Carecredit for pets before.

That's just a credit card issued by Synchrony Bank. And yes, this is how I paid for Loki's first and second surgeries.

[04 commemorative]

Originally Posted by aerovette

Sorry, no personal experience but I have always assumed they are about as valuable as an after market car warranty. They'll figure out more ways NOT to pay than you can imagine.

That being said, I have used Carecredit for pets before.

We have had pet insurance and it is pretty much a waste of $ ....like flood insurance after SSS they also have many reasons why they should not cover what ever it is you are claiming.

[Aerovette]

Originally Posted by snide

That's just a credit card issued by Synchrony Bank. And yes, this is how I paid for Loki's first and second surgeries.

Correct, but it has helped me in that, at the time, it was similar to a 90 day interest free loan.

[LilRedCorvette]

Originally Posted by JRD77VET

We have VPI which is now Nationwide for Levi and now Morgan. Major medical plus the preventive care plans. $56 a month for Levi ( 2-1/2 years old and 77 lbs ).

We pay the vet for the services and submit the bill to NW. ( either electronically or snail mail ) They review and cut a check ( or deposit electronically) if it meets the criteria.

With Levi, he had a grape size growth on his rib cage. Had it removed and they kept him overnight. Bill came to $652.38, paid the vet and submitted the bill. Got a check for $652.38

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Before we got Levi, Mary and I went to the Westminster Kennel Club show in NYC. We talked with quite a few Swissy folks and the majority recommended VPI. VPI was bought by Nationwide and we are still happy.

Thank you so much for this, exactly the feedback I was hoping for Sadie says thank you also

[NCC-1701]

I have trupanion for mine but it only covers major illnesses reg visits, shots, exams it does not cover but anything major it does. They pay my vet directly no money out of my pocket, no deductible and its not cheap insurance. I hope I never have to use it.

[Iron Chef]

I've not had pet insurance so I have nothing useful to add except to give you kudos for giving such a sweet dog a loving home. You're truly special.

Buttermilk says that she's invited to visit anytime!

[LilRedCorvette]

Originally Posted by NCC-1701

I have trupanion for mine but it only covers major illnesses reg visits, shots, exams it does not cover but anything major it does. They pay my vet directly no money out of my pocket, no deductible and its not cheap insurance. I hope I never have to use it.

I hope you never need it, either.

Originally Posted by Iron Chef

I've not had pet insurance so I have nothing useful to add except to give you kudos for giving such a sweet dog a loving home. You're truly special.

Buttermilk says that she's invited to visit anytime!

Awww, gee thanks IC!

Buttermilk!!!

[Rodnok1]

Been looking into pet insurance, 2 people I talked to had Pets Best and it sucked.. Impossible to get money out of them even with highest priced coverages.

[JRD77VET]

Originally Posted by JRD77VET

We have VPI which is now Nationwide for Levi and now Morgan. Major medical plus the preventive care plans. $56 a month for Levi ( 2-1/2 years old and 77 lbs ).

We pay the vet for the services and submit the bill to NW. ( either electronically or snail mail ) They review and cut a check ( or deposit electronically) if it meets the criteria.

With Levi, he had a grape size growth on his rib cage. Had it removed and they kept him overnight. Bill came to $652.38, paid the vet and submitted the bill. Got a check for $652.38

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Before we got Levi, Mary and I went to the Westminster Kennel Club show in NYC. We talked with quite a few Swissy folks and the majority recommended VPI. VPI was bought by Nationwide and we are still happy.

Still holds true

[LilRedCorvette]

I’m so sorry I never got around to updating this thread…it has truly been a heck of a year. She was ineligible for pet health insurance due to pre-existing conditions.

When I stepped up to help my friend who was gravely ill by initially coming by to walk his dog, I had no idea what I was walking into. His apartment was pretty trashed/unlivable, all the food in the fridge was moldy, and I was uncertain how often the dog was being fed or walked. It turns out that she had little veterinary care also, as she was behind on vaccinations and preventatives for fleas/ticks/heartworm/etc.

His condition got to the point where he was getting confused (due to organ failure), so with his family’s help I was able to get her out of that situation. This is a person though who did NOT want to give up his dog, so getting her ownership signed over was a long, Herculean effort on my part. Honestly I was willing to go to court to prove his incompetence if I had to, things were that bad.

I cannot even begin to tell you how many near-misses there were with regard to her safety. He took her to the store with him and left her in the car - in the summer. He had the police called on him by a witness, but she felt badly about it and bought the dog a bag of food instead (charges were dropped). On another occasion he drove with her in the car unrestrained, hit the brakes fast, and she hit her eye on the dash (white of her R eye red for quite a while). He had collapsed so many times outside while walking her that I’m shocked she didn’t get hit by a car, luckily the paramedics got her back into the apartment while they hauled him off to the hospital each and every time.

When I finally got her ownership signed over to me, I got her (very short/scant) medical record (he took her exactly once; she is about 5/6 yrs old) and took her to my veterinarian for an exam. She had had a lump that I didn’t like the looks of, so I had the vet do a needle aspiration on it. It turned out to be a mast cell tumor, along with two others on the same leg. Obviously those were tumors that needed to go, so we set up a surgery date. However, the pre-op bloodwork came back showing she had heartworm and hookworm also. So, we had to treat that first before she could go under anesthesia for the tumors. Plus, there was also the possibility that she would need chemotherapy if we couldn’t get clear edges on the tumor removal.

So, $5,000 later, after her heartworm treatments and tumor surgery, and months of worry/sleepless nights, she has a clean bill of health. My vet was able to get clear margins on all 3 tumors, chemo was not necessary, everything is healed, and we are finally back to normal/unrestricted activity levels.

I am glad I got all the legal stuff dealt with before treatment as he thought I was torturing her she had adequate pain control though, thankfully. Post-op pics attached.

Just after her staples were removed, I myself went into the hospital for anaphylactic shock and almost bought the farm, but that’s another thread. I made it through though, this isn’t my ghost posting for me.

So yeah, F U 2022!

[Rodnok1]

Damn you've had a year haven't you.
Sorry doggo wasn't eligible, seems the deny coversge or claims alot of times over preexisting anything.

Heartworm treatment was almost 2k years ago I found out the hard way.
Scary as doggo already had seizures, i had a small fortune in him over the years.

Fyi vending machine fish sticks from Stuckeys will kill you...

[LilRedCorvette]

Originally Posted by Rodnok1

Damn you've had a year haven't you.
Sorry doggo wasn't eligible, seems the deny coversge or claims alot of times over preexisting anything.

Heartworm treatment was almost 2k years ago I found out the hard way.
Scary as doggo already had seizures, i had a small fortune in him over the years.

Fyi vending machine fish sticks from Stuckeys will kill you...

Thanks, I am grateful we both made it through for me, it was Mucinex DM, not the Covid, that almost killed me. Just made it to the ER in time when my throat started to close up.

Oddly enough, I have a condition called Mast Cell Histamine Syndrome, which is a fancy way of saying I am highly allergic to a number of pharmaceutical meds and have to carry an Epi pen. So both the dog and I had mast-cell related conditions.

We truly got each other through some bad times…she is likely the clingiest dog I have ever had.

[Rodnok1]

Rescue dogs that were in bad situations usually bond incredibly to you.
Hopefully doggo will be healthy from here on.

[LATB]

We have insurance on our two Labradors. I believe it’s Healthy Paws. About $100 per month for both dogs.

We get a substantial amount back each year when file claims for vet visits and prescriptions.

[snide]

Originally Posted by Rodnok1

Been looking into pet insurance, 2 people I talked to had Pets Best and it sucked.. Impossible to get money out of them even with highest priced coverages.

I have coverage on Loki and Nukka through Healthy Paws. Haven't filed a claim, although I could have several times.

However, their rates have been increasing, likely because the dogs are getting older.

Need to look for insurance on the pups, although, it seems that everything they eat passes right through... Including leather...