With the recent Southern California fires and hurricane season looming, I thought it might be important to touch on how pet insurance works in the case of a natural disaster. As you might expect, when a natural disaster hits, hundreds to thousands of pets get hurt, go missing for days, or…ok, I’m not even going to say it.

While there are tons of animal welfare organizations who quickly respond to these events, they’re all still limited on funds, resources, etc.

On top of worrying about your own (people) family’s health and wellbeing, you are, no doubt, also worried about your (pets) family’s health and wellbeing. It’s no surprise that injuries and illnesses (to pets and people alike) increase during a natural disaster. On top of harm from the disaster itself, comes along stress, anxiety and often depression (again, to both pets and people).

You would naturally assume that your own human health insurance would get you taken care of (and you’re most likely right). But, what about your pets? You walk into your vet and see that it’s overloaded with sick and injured pets. Yikes. So then maybe you travel a ways to visit and stay with your favorite aunt, who is far from harm’s way.

There you take your sick or injured pet to the nearest vet and breathe a sigh of relief when they tell you they can take care of and fix up your favorite furry friend. After diagnosis, they tell you that the bill will reach somewhere around $2,000. Again, you breathe a sigh of relief because you have pet insurance.

But should you really be so relaxed?

What many people fail to do is read their policy to its entirety. Unfortunately, many companies DO NOT cover pets in the event of a natural disaster! Doesn’t seem fair, does it? And sadly, most people don’t figure this out until it’s way too late; when they’ve just been uprooted from their home, are trying to hold their family together, and just want to fix their pup or kitty!

If you’re curious, this exclusion clause is usually hidden way deep down in the section about nuclear attack or war (where most pet insurance companies also will not cover any loss). Of course most of us assume (hope) that neither of those things will ever happen. But natural disasters do!

So I would recommend that if you’re concerned about such a clause, check with your pet insurance provider to ensure that you would be covered. As an FYI, for those of you covered with Trupanion we DO cover pets in the case of natural disasters

And here is the last series of questions…

16. Can I afford the monthly premium, deductible, and required co-pay?

Don’t think this question needs much explaining..but, just make sure you think about the different costs and what the co-pay would mean to you.

17. Is there any penalty if I cancel my policy?

It’s my understanding that with insurance, you’re always owed back any premium that you’ve paid ahead of time. However, make sure to check with each company just in case you decide you don’t like the coverage. And, as in most pet insurance companies, if you decide to switch, any conditions that began with one company will likely not be covered by another.

I hope you have found these questions helpful. I’d love to take credit for them, but they did come from The American Animal Hospital Association, so you can thank them;)

9. Do I understand exactly what the policy covers?

This is to reiterate the importance of understanding what you’re getting! Too many pet owners get into pet insurance without fully understanding, then get angry for not understanding! Now, true, there are some companies that try to take advantage of the unknowing consumer, but if you don’t do you research thoroughly, you can’t blame anyone but yourself!

10. How much coverage does this policy provide for chronic, hereditary, or pre-existing conditions?

This is a really important question to ask and be made aware of, especially if you own a breed that is prone to certain conditions. Most companies will not cover any pre-existing conditions, so if your pet has had a medical history make sure to ask how that will affect future coverage.

Chronic conditions is also a really important topic. Please read all the fine print. Many companies start a brand new policy upon renewal, making anything in the previous policy term pre-existing and NOT covered. For example, if your cat were to get diabetes and treatment was covered, then you renewed your policy 3 months later, there is the possibility that treatment would no longer be covered. This is a BIG one, so please, please ask the provider how they handle chronic conditions!

That brings me to my next question…

11. How does this provider handle renewals?

As mentioned above, some policies are annual policies, and therefore have to be renewed each year. Make sure to find out how renewal will affect your coverage. The last thing you’d want is to be paying into insurance for 4 years to have your dog develop skin allergies in the 4th year, only have them covered in that 4th year, but then being stuck with that insurance company because you’ve already put so much money into it and his skin allergies would be pre-existing anywhere else. Talk about frustration.

NOTE: There are companies that have continuous policies or that offer additional coverage for chronic or recurring ailments.

12. Are there certain types of accidents or health problems that aren’t covered?

Again, this goes back to making sure you know what is and isn’t covered. Specifically ask what incidents would be excluded for coverage. For example, most companies don’t cover accidents to working dogs (guard dogs, police dogs, etc.) or any complications from breeding or pregnancies. Since intact pets are more prone to certain cancers and other ailments, there are often exclusions if your pet isn’t spayed or neutered, so make sure to also inquire about that.

I would love to hear additional feedback: comments, suggestions, further questions, etc. Until next time…

In an effort to help you all out when looking into pet insurance, I am continuing my series on questions to ask potential pet insurance providers. Here is my third set of questions.

7. Will this provider reimburse services provided by my veterinarian or am I required to use a veterinarian in this provider’s network?

I really only know of one or two companies that require you to use a veterinarian within their provider network. Since most pet insurance reimburses the pet owner, the pet owner can see whichever veterinarian they choose. However, make sure to double check when picking out a provider.

8. Does this provider have an appeals process I can use if my claim is denied?

Many pet insurance providers will offer you the opportunity for you and/or your veterinarian to appeal a denied claim. This usually gives the veterinarian (if they’re willing) the chance to further explain the pet’s history or chosen treatment. Some providers will then even send the claim and appeal to a third part group of veterinarians for review. I think this is a good system to have in place, and offers pet owners extra peace of mind.

Again, please feel free to ask questions or embellish on anything I have mentioned here.

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…

I plan on doing a series of questions that you should all ask yourself or your potential pet insurance provider if you are considering pet insurance to protect your pet. These questions are derived from a set of questions that was first publish by The American Animal Hospital Association when they created their Seal of Acceptance program for pet insurance companies.

I’m going to break up the questions so that I am able to explain what each one means.

Today I’ll start off with some basic company questions.

1. Are there any complaints about this provider on record at the Better Business Bureau?

I think that this one is pretty straightforward, and may be something that you’re in the habit of doing already. Simply visit the BBB’s website and see what, if any, complaints exist about the company.

2. Does this provider have good ratings at independent websites that review and/or publish customer ratings of pet health insurance companies?

I know of one really good independent website called Pet Insurance Review. They have made sections where policy holders can go under their given company and write a review. You can view the reviews by visiting their website, here. I would also appreciate any other suggested websites that you might know of.

3. Is this provider selling the insurance licensed in my state?

You shouldn’t worry about this question too much, as either you’re able to get the insurance or you’re not. Each company is required to jump through hoops with each state’s department of insurance, and if they have and they’re approved then you’ll be able to get insurance. Typically, once you have the insurance, the company will cover any veterinarian that you visit (even if they’re outside of your home state).

Please feel free to comment with questions or concerns. And, as I mentioned, I would also love to hear any embellishments on either question, or other suggested pet insurance review sites!

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?

With car insurance you’re likely familiar with the notion that auto insurance companies “duke” out a claim over which driver was at fault for a collision. They spend hours, or days, or weeks coming to a conclusion and the winner makes the other insurance company pay for the damages and the appropriate driver is penalized with higher rates, etc.

“Is there something similar to this with pet insurance?” “What would happen if my insured dog bit another dog?” I actually received these questions a few days ago when chatting with someone about pet insurance.

Fortunately, pet insurance is a little more straightforward. Pet insurance companies won’t necessarily duke it out. And it’s true, your dog could hurt another dog, but this isn’t something that most pet insurance companies would cover. However, if your dog is injured in a fight (or gets bitten by another dog), then pet insurance would likely cover the injury.

I wanted to touch on a topic that I briefly mentioned in my post about pet insurance vs. personal savings or a credit card:

Accidents to pets of all ages can happen at any time.

I recently received an email from a pet owner who was hitting herself in the forehead (actually, the forehead of her husband) for not getting pet insurance sooner. The day after she got the insurance (and still under waiting periods, unfortunately) her 4 month old lab, CoCo, fell into a hole a broke her leg! Of course she had been telling her husband about pet insurance for months, but didn’t happen to get it until right when something bad happened! (Isn’t that how it always works?) So, $1500 later she tells me she was telling her husband off for not listening the first time around. Now husbands, let this be a lesson: us women are always right .

Kidding aside, she (even if unknowingly) holds a good point. Accidents can happen any time! And even expensive ones! If she had gotten the insurance a month ago (or even 6 days prior) the broken leg would have been covered.

This brings me to my next point. At what age should you consider pet insurance? Of course I would argue the younger the better, and this pet owner (and CoCo) are proof of that. Not to mention, and I’ll go back to CoCo’s story, anything related to this leg break would now be pre-existing, which as many of you would know (or could read about in my post about pre-existing conditions and pet insurance) are not covered under the majority of pet insurance policies. Statistically, it’s possible that most health conditions won’t occur until later in a pet’s life, but then aren’t you playing roulette? If you keep waiting and something happens tomorrow, it’s already too late because that condition or incident wouldn’t be covered and it would become pre-existing.

But, what do you think?

I wanted to touch on the topic of the differences between having pet insurance versus putting money aside or using a credit card because I’ve seen a few comments from you guys about the topic. This is usually a highly disputed topic because about three years ago consumer reports made the suggestion that a person should open a savings account as opposed to buying into pet insurance.

Ok.

While maybe three years ago this *might* have been a good idea, look at where we are today. If you had happened to invest the money you were putting aside, it’s likely disappeared into dust, if anything. Also, in the past three years multiple pet insurance players have entered the arena to not only offer more options, but raise the bar for any existing companies.

Of course I am biased on the situation, but let’s think about this logically. If you start putting, say $20 away a month tomorrow, and if you have the self-discipline to do that then GOOD FOR YOU! What happens if you’re on a hiking trip this summer, say in June, and your trusted walking companion trips, stumbles down a hill and ends up breaking a foot. Traumatic for you, of course. Traumatic on your wallet – YES! The trip to the emergency room and treatment for a broken foot ends up costing you about $1,000. Yes, you might be happy to have the $100 you had put away at this point, but would probably be MUCH happier if you had put that $20 into pet insurance and instead of having to cover $900 of the bill out of pocket, you’d only have to pay maybe $100-$200.

The same would go for a credit card. If you put that $1,000 onto a credit card a paid it off, you’d have to worry about interest accruing and it would end up costing you more than the $1,000 trip to the vet. Now, if you feel like your pet is indestructible, power to ya for saving money! Just bear in mind that accidents (expensive and inexpensive ones) can happen any time.

You can visit here to learn more about alternatives to pet insurance.