Pet Health Insurance

[Nilo]

Hello,
Since I am pretty new at all what is related to the basenji world, and I would like to have a health insurance for him I have been asking around, reading…but it seems that what company A does not offer since it is only for prevention, company B does, but only accident/sickness treatment and not prevention. Some of them include dental care, others do not...so I am a bit confused and at the same time I want something that is not too expensive either, since some of them charge more than what I even pay for my own health insurance not counting the deductible!

So I have three questions:
I have been suggested to go for Trupanion? Have you heard of it? Any comments?
What do these companies mean when they say "pre-existing conditions"? It seems that they cover everything, but when I read the fineprints...things change then.

And do you have to pay co-payment or co-insurance once you take your dog to the vet? What is the general amoount approximately?

Thank you

[imbj]

I suggest this site for reviewing pet insurance:

http://www.petinsurancereview.com/

Rates vary depending on the company and what coverage you select.

Good luck! Nilo's a real cutie!

[Nilo]

I am going to check that link, thank you and thanks for the compliment to Nilo too (he is blushing right now…;)

[Kipawa]

Following up on this, how many here have pet insurance? What have you claimed for, and was it difficult to be re-imbursed? Yes, I too am thinking of all that fine print. Will some vets bill the insurance company, similar to what it's like when humans go to the dentist?

[Nilo]

It is very confusing (I should say scary) trying to decide which policy I should for, it seems that they are all designed the same: this provider offers almost everything but lacks of certain service that it is considered necessary and the other provider offers that service but lacks of other important need so…, yes, it is kind of scary in a way.

[dcmclcm4]

At one time, one of the policies charged more for Bs. I do not know if that is still true. Make sure the policy covers the common B illnesses/genetic problems.

Jennifer

[Nilo]

@dcmclcm4:

At one time, one of the policies charged more for Bs. I do not know if that is still true. Make sure the policy covers the common B illnesses/genetic problems.

Jennifer

It looks like that nowadays quotes for having a Basenji do not involve more charges, but I want to make sure that the policy covers Fanconi, PRA, and common problems for Bs.

[Kipawa]

@imbj:

I suggest this site for reviewing pet insurance:

http://www.petinsurancereview.com/

Rates vary depending on the company and what coverage you select.

Good luck! Nilo's a real cutie!

Thanks so much for this link! LOVE that they also list Canadian insurers. Lots of reading, but well worth it. The website is also nicely designed.

[smharr4]

@Nilo:

It looks like that nowadays quotes for having a Basenji do not involve more charges, but I want to make sure that the policy covers Fanconi, PRA, and common problems for Bs.

I found the whole pet insurance thing contradictory and confusing, plus a lot of pet insurance places wouldn't cover older pets (like mine - my youngest pet is Roxy and my cat Hugo, both are 7 years old) without charging an arm and a leg. Plus it wasn't like traditional medical insurance where I payed a co-pay and they picked up the tab, I had to pay the insurance company and the vet, then battle with the insurance company afterward to get reimbursed.

In the end, I just decided to take $50 per animal per paycheque (this works out to $5,200pa) and squirrel it away via automatic transfer into an online back account (which gives me a slightly higher interest rate than a traditional bank account) and if I don't spend it then it's still mine, not the insurance company's money. At the end of the year, half of the balance gets reinvested into something a little less liquid for longer-term investment.

Is it a perfect solution? Probably not, but it works for me.

[Nilo]

@smharr4:

In the end, I just decided to take $50 per animal per paycheque (this works out to $5,200pa) and squirrel it away via automatic transfer into an online back account (which gives me a slightly higher interest rate than a traditional bank account) and if I don't spend it then it's still mine, not the insurance company's money. At the end of the year, half of the balance gets reinvested into something a little less liquid for longer-term investment.

Is it a perfect solution? Probably not, but it works for me.

Well I am starting to think that you are doing the most efficent and practical thing, I have been doing a lot of research, asking here and there, checking the exclusions from underwriters…(wow there is a lot of exclusions! Specially if the dog remains intact: most pet insurances will not cover things so important for me such as injuries from getting hit by a car, they say since unaltered dogs have to deal with their hormones, they are more prone to have accidents)
Oh well, I think I should better follow your steps

[smharr4]

@Nilo:

Well I am starting to think that you are doing the most efficent and practical thing, I have been doing a lot of research, asking here and there, checking the exclusions from underwriters…(wow there is a lot of exclusions! Specially if the dog remains intact: most pet insurances will not cover things so important for me such as injuries from getting hit by a car, they say since unaltered dogs have to deal with their hormones, they are more prone to have accidents)
Oh well, I think I should better follow your steps

I also have a Care Credit card (http://www.carecredit.com/) which will allow me to pay the bill at the vet immediately, then I can just transfer the money between bank accounts (which takes a few days) so the Care Credit card is payed off before any interest accrues. At least one of our local vets also has a 'promissory note' payment scheme where you pay half when you pick up your pet then spreads the rest out over 3-4 months, that can come in handy too sometimes.

[Nilo]

@smharr4:

I also have a Care Credit card (http://www.carecredit.com/) which will allow me to pay the bill at the vet immediately, then I can just transfer the money between bank accounts (which takes a few days) so the Care Credit card is payed off before any interest accrues. At least one of our local vets also has a 'promissory note' payment scheme where you pay half when you pick up your pet then spreads the rest out over 3-4 months, that can come in handy too sometimes.

Thanks for the tip. I will ask my vet if he has any 'promissory note' scheme. That sounds good, and…yes it would come in handy!