‘What to ask a pet insurance provider’ Series…#2
As I mentioned in my previous post about pet insurance provider questions, I will be running a series of useful questions that you should ask yourself and your potential pet insurance provider if you’re looking into pet insurance. Here is my second set of questions.
4. Does this provider offer a variety of deductibles?
The American Animal Hospital Association suggests going with a company that allows for high deductible plans, but this is entirely up to you. Their reasoning is that it keeps monthly premiums down, while still covering those major accidents or illnesses. If you would prefer to only cover those really expensive trips to the vet, then I would also recommend finding a company that lets you have a high deductible.
5. Does this provider exclude coverage for pets the same species, breed, and age as mine?
You should be aware that there are companies that will have certain breed-specific exclusions. If you have a breed that may be prone to certain conditions, you might want to ask the provider if they have any exclusions for your specific pet.
6. Did this provider respond quickly and thoroughly when I requested more information?
This is another question to get the feel for the company. If they were slow in getting you more information, chances are they will be slow at processing any claims that you make. I would suggest going with a company that is very upfront and honest about giving you the right information, and giving you the information that you specifically ask for.
Again, please feel free to ask questions or embellish on anything I have mentioned here. Stay tuned next week…
again great info …thanks so much
Melissa, great questions. I’m really glad you posted these questions. These are questions that most first time insurance inquirers may not think to ask!
Hi Melissa,
I have worked for Insurance and healthcare domains for the past 7 yrs. I have shared some info below based on my experience in the industry. Hope this helps.
1. If your cat/dog is highly susceptible to infections (or basically if they have a long history of ill health) then you should always look for low deductible.
Deductible is what you owe before the insurance can apply the rule/ basically what you can recover back from a claim. So if you incur an expense of say $250 one time and if you had chosen a high deductible of $200 then you end up paying that 200 out of pocket and for the $50 remaining, if your insurance covers only 80 or 90% then you would end up paying 200+ 20 or 10% of 50 => the out of pocket expenses would be either 210 or 205 out of the whole $250.
The key element that you need to look for is a deductible which is per plan period and not per incident. That way next time when there is a potential expense say $300, then you would not pay the deductible again if its per plan period. If its per incident and you choose a high deductible, then I do not think the insurance is helpful unless your pet is very healthy and have never been to the vet (other than annual physical and vaccinations).
Conclusion: Look for Per Plan/policy period deductible (high or low ) depending on the history of health of your pet.
2. Coverage %: Ensure that the insurance covers 100% of the expenses after deductible for the plan/policy period.
3.As far as I know, most of the insurance companies that offer pet insurance expects us to pay the amount at the Vet’s office first and then submit a claim. So I would suggest to see if any of them pay the vet directly based on coverage and deducitble evaluation. If they dont,then look for one which pays the claims at the earliest. * that is turnaround time should be very quick.
4. Ensure to check if there are any limitations for filing the claims. (some insurance expects the claims to be filed within 48 hrs of the injury/ illness) etc..
5.Main thing that everyone misses are exceptions on coverage. See if it is published on the website, if not ensure to ask them as to what illnesses or injuries they do not cover.
6.Most of the insurance companies will have an enrollment period set aside. For instance if you are planning to take insurance for your pets, try to do it close to a month end.. so that they can be immediately enrolled for the next month. If you do it in the first three weeks of a month, usually you might have to wait until the next month first week for the enrollment to be complete.Some places do it every 15th. So need to check the enrollment period.
7. Give Vet office details and their names as references this will help them figure out if your pet is a low-risk or a high-risk candidate which in turn leads to low or high premiums.
8. If you have multiple pets, ask for a discount when you enroll all of them.
9. Some insurance companies, have an effective period as well, for instance, lets say you enroll your pet on the 23rd of March. They will ask you to wait until 1st of April for the enrollment to be effective and then they also tell you that there is a wait period for injury or illness (it will be selective) for a period of one month. During this waiting period, any expenses incurred will not be covered for those selective procedures.
10. See if they offer money back guarantee for atleast a period of 1 month or so. This will help you retract your application and get a full refund if you change your mind.
Some more points below.
11. You need to look for whether there is per incident limit on max coverage and also understand what is the max annual coverage that is available for that plan.
12. I would suggest the following coverage that is necessary for any plan you choose.
a. Accidents
at the minimum should cover Lacerations,Bone fractures,Burns,Insect bites,Bee stings,Falls and Motor vehicle accidents.
b. MOST insurance companies will NOT COVER Pre-existing Conditions,Inhumane Treatments (like declawing, earcropping, tail docking etc) and Congenital and Hereditary Disorders. So ensure you identify your pet’s breed and if they are pure bred they have a very high chance of a congenital or hereditary disorder. Find that out and make sure you check for that coverage.
c.Look for the a more comprehensive kind of coverage where in it covers almost all injuries, almost all illnesses, Diagnostic procedures, X-rays, Surgery,Hospitalization charges(per night and day without limitations), Lab tests and prescription medications. If they cover dental cleaning its well and good. if not atleast ensure they will cover any illness or injury for dental coverage.
d. In my personal opinion you DO NOT need to look for flea medication coverage or spay and neuter part because you do have other cheaper alternative for those.
For example, let us say your pet was insured for a policy period of 1 year with annual deductible of $100 and coverage of 80% per incident.
Option1: If you do not choose to get the flea medication, spay/neuter covered, the premium is $25 per month
Option 2: if they are indeed covered then the premium they offer is $45.
In this case, if you go with the first option, you will pay 12*25= $300 for the year as insurance. You can buy 3 month worth Flea medication for $30. So yearly it will cost you $120. You can spay/neuter using the low cost certificate for $65 that you get from Friends of animals. So your total expenses with option 1 is 300+120+65=485.
If you go with option 2 then you pay premium of $540.Since spay and flea medication is covered(provided there are no limitations) you will still pay $540 which is way higher than $485 which has no limitations on the spay/ flea medications because you pay for it.
Conclusion is: Ideally, with the concepts I have provided you can calculate which is the better option using some imaginary numbers. that way you can assess which option is better.
I am a catster member.
My cats’s webpages are
http://www.catster.com/cats/657609
http://www.catster.com/cats/657614
If anyone needs help with understanding an insurance concept I can provide any help I can using basic knowledge I have. I wouldnt classify it as expert advice though!
Those are good questions for people to ask when considering pet insurance. I’m not sure how well this was covered and I may have not read back far enough, but those inquiring to pet insurance need to beware as well.
Unfortunately, and sadly, pet insurance is just as scandalous and greedy as people insurance. First off, just like with people, they do not cover pre-existing conditions. So if your beloved dog has diabetes for example, I would not sign up because 99% of the time they are not going to pay for any treatment. They say they will when you sign up , but when the claim comes their way it will be denied. They said congenital disorders i.e. born birth defects would be covered, so we got pet insurance, and when our dog needed to have treatment after his diagnoses was a congenital disease, they refused to pay and said it was a pre-existing condition, which makes no sense if the dog was born with it how could it pre-exist if you weren’t aware of it.
I also worked at a veterinary hospital. To be fair and honest to people, veterinarians do not like to fill out the paper work for filing insurance claims, make sure you fill in everything except the diagnosis part and the vets signature, otherwise you will be waiting awhile as that will be at the bottom of their list of things to do.
Finally if you don’t like the service you are receiving it is difficult to get your money back and out of the policy.
In my opinion pet insurance is best suited for those who have new puppies and can use it as the dog grows in life. I would not recommend it for dogs who already have current health issues as you might find your self fighting to get things covered for your furry friend.
What an adorable dog!!
Diyaroopa,
Thanks for all the information. It sounds like most of your experience is applicable to pet insurance. There are a few small differences, that I want to make sure to point out for any readers.
1. Regarding coverage %, I’m not sure if your 100% was implying co-insurance or actual reimbursement, but to clarify, most pet insurers cover 80-90% (10-20% co-insurance). After that, some will reimburse based on fee schedules, and some will reimburse based on ‘usual and customary fee’ – whichever is lower.
2. Getting reimbursed is the only way that pet insurance works. It’s possible that in the future certain companies may make special arrangements with particular vets to reimburse the vet directly, but pet insurance is indemnity insurance.
3. Regarding enrollment periods and effective periods, in the pet insurance world ther are typically two waiting periods (depending on the plan) – one for accidents and one for illnesses. However, the policy is usually effective immediately. Typical waiting periods are 5-14 days for accidents and 14-30 days for illnesses.
Again, thanks for all the information – very helpful!
Unfortunately, and sadly, pet insurance is just as scandalous and greedy as people insurance. — Kay posted a comment on March 24th, 2009 at 3:21 am
Now Kay, is it fair to lump ALL pet insurance companies together? My guess is, you haven’t had your pets insured with all 16 North American pet insurance providers. The purpose of this blog is to inform, not judge.
But you’re right, they don’t cover pre-existing conditions. And why would they? Someone could bring in their dog who has cancer and is requiring $5,000 in treatment, pay the $30 monthly deductible, have it all covered, then cancel. Pet insurance is still a business, afterall, and has to make money.
I do agree with you, though, that pet insurance is best suited for new puppies and kittens. If you get your furball into a plan while the slate is clean, there really isn’t much room for pre-existing conditions. You just have to make sure to find a plan that will cover recurring problems such as diabetes (should they develop anything later on).
I have to comment as an owner of 3 dogs with 2 insured under one of the most popular insurance ( I don’t think you are looking for advertisements here so unless someone asks we will leave it as anonymous). My Bichon and Shepherd have been insured for 2 years from the age of 1 and 3 respectively so as mentioned above, this is at the point of them not having any preexisting conditions. My Bichon developed acute bladder stones and did require surgery. As a breakdown: 50.00 a YEAR ( NOT incident) deductible, 90% of the covered charges paid, including her medication(antibiotics) x-rays, operative etc : Billed charges by my vet 997.00. Paid by insurance paid to me in reimbursement: 825.00.
I DO NOT think that they are scandalous and greedy AT ALL and I find it short sighted by Kay to make such a blanket statement. My yearly premiums for both dogs ( with the most expensive plan/coverage) is around 670.00. As you can see one incident and it paid for itself.
So you understand my Shih Tzu was 8 when I signed the other 2 up and he already had a host of preexisting conditions ( Cushings, repeated corneal abrasions etc ) and clearly as stated above , ANY insurance company would not cover and so I have him as out of pocket until he passes. Additionally having had a pet that passed from Cancer that cost me thousands before it ended, The cancer rider alone is worth the cost.
I strongly suggest to anyone and everyone I meet to get Pet insurance as with rising vet costs, you will not find yourself in a bind if something as simple as bladder stones or worse happens to your dog.
Just my thoughts!
Barbara
Barbara,
Thanks so much for sharing your story! I really do appreciate the fine details (amount paid, number of dogs, types and ages of dogs, etc.) as I think it is stories like these that will really help other pet owners when learning about pet insurance.
You are welcome Melissa….I tell folks I wish I had thought of purchasing it sooner!
I’m new to the idea of pet insurance; what are their names, if possible, and how can they be found? Are they competitively priced?
Hi Sandra,
There are about 12 different companies to choose from in the US. The company that Dogster/Catster have partnered with isTrupanion pet insurance. If you visit the homepage and scroll down to “Quote and Compare” you’ll find a really useful tool to compare different pet insurance companies. Another good source to find out about different companies is Pet Insurance Review.
Different companies offer different plans with different prices. They also allow for varying deductibles to lower prices, if that’s what you’re looking for. I would recommend you read all of my questions to ask providers. I have done 4 out of the 6 series up to this point, with the last two coming out tomorrow and Thursday. Please visit and ask more questions should they come up!