Would pet insurance cover ongoing treatments?
How many of you have pets with some ongoing condition such as diabetes or skin allergies? One of our office companions, Charlee, has about the worst case of canine skin allergies that I’ve ever seen. He’s constantly fighting off hot spots, has to be careful not to be in the grass too much, and yesterday came in with a cone around his poor furry head.
As you might also be aware, treatment for ongoing conditions such as these are quite expensive! In some of my pet insurance research, I’m finding that while conditions such as these may be covered in the first year they appear, they become pre-existing (and therefore not covered) in years following. Take Charlee for example, if he had gotten insurance as a young pup, before any of these allergies were showing, then he might have had coverage for the first year.
I am finding, however, that some insurance companies require you to purchase a “continuing care” add-on. And even some of these add-ons have yearly or lifetime limits!
Have any of you had experience in getting ongoing treatment covered?
I wish I had gotten insurance too. My dog had recurrent problems with ear infections, anal gland infections/impactions, surgery for a mast cell tumor on her face, and numerous tries with all kinds of diets and foods that never helped her, she was always having an upset stomach. As a last resort, we switched, slowly, to a “raw” diet, and by that, I mean completely carbohydrate free. It’s all raw meats, chicken, lamb, veal, ostrich, bison, turkey, and all of the parts such as bone and organs. I know it sounds terrible, and I was initially against it, but my dog has thrived, and has never been sick or had problems since, It’s been 2 years on this diet, and if we stray for a dog biscuit, she feels sick and eats grass, vomits, has diarreah, gas, and itching. I can only say this works for her, and I’m grateful for finding out about it!
I haven’t had to make any claims yet but I went for a plan with a per illness limit that you can make claims over multiple years. It’s got a $14,000 per illness/accident limit which is a decent amount of coverage. The company is Pets Best and their basic plans are set upo like this rather than having to buy premium/higher level plans. I was pretty limited in my choice of companies/plans as Freckles is 15 years old and most companies won’t cover pets that old however I researched a lot of companies as I have 5 younger cats aged 1-8 that I also wanted to insure. It makes sense to really read through plans and figure out how they would work if you had to make a big claim (some have very low annual limits per illness) or your pet had a chronic illness that lasted for years (many won’t cover you after 1 year or force you to pay very high premiums to get coverage across multiple years).
Hi Freckles,
I’m impressed that you found a company that will cover 15 year olds. You’ll have to keep us all posted when it comes time to making a claim, as I’ve always been curious as to how companies handle pets who enroll at such an age with pre-existing conditions.
Yes, I thought it was hopeless when I first started looking for insurance for Freckles. I adopted her aged 15 last November and although she’s old she’s still in good health.
Once I’d got the insurance coverage confirmed I got a full set of blood/urine tests and a physical exam from my vet that show that Freckles is currently in good health. I’d recommend that for anyone starting insurance on an adult/senior cat as that will help prove that a future illness was not pre-existing if a claim is challenged later. I’m pretty much assuming that any claim in the next couple of years for Freckles will get scrutinised as potentially pre-existing since she was so old when I insured her and I don’t have any vet history for her.