I’m not quite sure many times I can say this! Many pet owners are often surprised by why their claims are not covered. Unfortunately, and more often than not, the exclusion is outlined in the policy (whether or not it makes logical sense). Every pet insurance company has different policies, so it is very important to read and understand it before selecting which plan and company works best for your pet and your wallet.

Keep in mind that just because a policy is only costing you $10 a month, doesn’t mean that your pet will have adequate coverage. Since every pet owner’s situation is different, it’s important to do some research, and see which healthcare options work best for you.

Reading the policy exclusions and limitations is what I might consider the most crucial. It is important to understand which conditions may or may not be covered, if premiums may increase over time, and how long certain conditions such as diabetes and cancer are covered for. Some insurance companies will cover conditions such as cancer for only a certain amount of time, such as the year it occurred followed by a few more months into the next year, while others may cover the condition for the life of the pet.

Overall, it is important to choose an insurance plan carefully and to fully understand the policy so that the pet owner and pet insurance company can have a good relationship for the life of the pet. No one wants to be slammed with a huge vet bill and then get denied for their claim because they did not fully understand their policy. Take some time prior to enrolling for coverage and read the policy, and call the company and ask questions about anything that you don’t understand, to save yourself a huge headache down the road.

For a clearer visual representation of what companies do and do not cover, check out the pet insurance comparison on Trupanion’s site.

I wrote about hereditary and congenital disorders a while back, but wanted to touch on the subject again. They are, after all, extremely important to our pets’ health. In short, a congenital disorder is one that a pet is born with, whether or not they show signs or symptoms right away. Think of this as a growth abnormality. A hereditary disorder is one that certain breeds may be prone to, usually having to do with how a given pet is built (short and stubby, long and lean, short snout, etc.).

What does this mean when it comes to pet insurance?

It can mean a number of things. But one thing is for certain, if you are concerned about either type of condition please do your homework before buying a policy! Because treatments for things like diabetes or Von Willebrands Disease can run into the thousands of dollars, if you’re looking to have decent coverage you should really do your homework. Some companies simply do not cover both congenital and hereditary disorders, some severely limit the maximum payout for, some will allow you to add on coverage for hereditary or congenital issues for additional premium, others will cover hereditary conditions but consider congenital disorders to be pre-existing, and some will actually cover all!

To learn more about how Trupanion and its competitors handle congenital and hereditary disorders, please visit their site and do a little pet insurance comparison. Or, feel free to post questions and comments here of course!

Many of us with human health insurance, naturally assume that pet health insurance would also cover routine check-ups. This seems like a simple deduction, especially for the uneducated pet owner. See, pet insurance and human health insurance are actually very different things. Just because the word “health” falls in both names, does not mean they work the same.

In case you’re new to this blog and don’t already know, pet health insurance works more like property insurance where the pet owner pays the veterinary bill upfront and submits the claim to the insurance company for reimbursement. Unlike human health insurance, the pet owner has to do a good portion of the work to recoup money. Pet health insurance also does not (because it cannot) dictate what a vet can be charging. This is simply done using the reimbursement model.

With that said, does it make sense to have routine care covered? A while back I touched on the subject, Wellness Plans: Do they make financial sense?. With pet insurance, the process is pretty straightforward and logical (imagine that! insurance being logical!).

Pet insurance companies are businesses, who no matter what need to make a profit to stay afloat. For planned expenses (i.e. routine care), the pet insurance company knows how much those procedures will cost, about how often you would need all of them, and will need to charge the cost of the procedure plus an additional amount so that the company is making money on top of covering administration costs.

Still following?

Say, you need to get your heartworm medicine for the year. It’s going to cost, say, $100 and the pet insurance company knows this. They must either choose to only partially reimburse you, or they would essentially charge you, say, $120 to reimburse you for this medication.

If you’re still not following, let’s take auto insurance. There are a million things you can have covered for your car: collision, injury, hit and run, chip in the windshield, etc. But would you pay more so that the company also covered your oil changes? Imagine what your premiums would be then?

On the flip side, many people are aware that pet insurance companies charge extra to cover routine care but don’t mind, because they feel like that rush of satisfaction when they get their $20 check in the mail from the insurance company.

What do you think? Do you like paying almost double your premium to have routine care covered? Or is it worth it to have ‘everything’ covered, and you not having to worry about what is and isn’t covered?

Excuse me?

I recently came across a post online regarding pet insurance and why it (pet insurance as an industry) is so terrible. This person went on to explain (as if they were an employee at the local department of insurance) that all pet insurance companies charge huge rates, place small caps on payouts, and are just in it to take your money (so that we can take over the world of course…muah ha ha ha).

Seriously!?

I can assure you, as a representative of one of these alleged life-sucking pet insurance companies, that we are NOT just in it to make money. Sure, we all need money to prosper and live and I definitely need money to feed my own four-legged companion, but we are not looking to simply steal your hard-earned cash.

…(Why do some people have such a negative outlook on life? Sheesh …)

Ok, so really, the point of this post is to point out the ridiculousness of a blanket statement that says “all pet insurance is bad” with no actual proof to back that up. Has this person had experience with all 20ish pet insurance companies in North America? I doubt it. Has this person worked for any one of these companies? I doubt it.

I wanted to just enlighten you all that us pet insurance companies actually do care about the well-being of pets. We are real people with our own real pets who take our dogs on walks just like you, take our dogs to the park, play with laser lights with our cats when we get home at night, who let our pets sleep in bed with us and come on car rides with us, and who even volunteer at local animal shelters.

So please, take these blanket comments very lightly and do the research for yourself. I’m not saying pet insurance is right for everyone, but make your decision based on facts and not opinion.

Oh, “but Melissa, why are you in the pet insurance industry?” you ask.

Well, dear reader, that’s easy: Because I get to bring my dog to work

If you’ve ever had human health insurance or car insurance, you most likely know what a deductible is. Well, pet insurance typically has deductibles as well.

However, the type can vary quite dramatically. Pet insurance can have annual deductibles, per incident deductibles, per illness category deductibles, or per condition deductibles.

But what does it all mean?! And how do you know which is best for you?

Let’s start by briefly explaining what each type is.

Annual deductible: Pretty self explanatory, each policy year you are required to satisfy a given dollar amount before the insurance company will pay out anything.

Per incident deductible: Every time you have to take your pet in to see the veterinarian you are required to satisfy a given dollar amount before the insurance company will pay out anything.

Per illness category deductible: This one is a little more tricky. Some companies can break conditions down by illness category. For example, all conditions related to the respiratory system, or the skin would only have one deductible.

Per condition deductible: This is somewhat different than a per incident deductible in that you only have to satisfy one deductible per condition. Say, for example, your pet develops diabetes at age 4 and you are bringing him or her in to the veterinarian to get meds every few months. You would only have to satisfy the deductible once in the pet’s lifetime.

Which one would be best for you? Well, I can’t answer that. But what you should be aware of is that different companies may offer different deductible amounts.

Some important questions to consider might be: how does changing the deductible change the premium? Can you change the deductible after the fact?

Trupanion offers a sliding per condition deductible, where the pet owner can select any deductible from $0 to $1000. This allows pet owners to tailor their monthly premiums to fit their budget. You can get a pet insurance quote and see how the sliding deductible tool works.

As you may or may not be aware, Hip Dysplasia is a condition that primarily affects dogs, but can affect cats as well. Some dogs are more prone to the condition, based on genetics and their physical disposition, which you can read more about the in Dog breed health section.

Hip dysplasia is defined as: an abnormal development of hips where head of femur does not fit snugly into pelvic socket.

Treatment often requires extensive surgery, which can range in cost from $5,000-$10,000!

So then, would pet insurance cover such a thing? Well, (and you know how I hate being vague), it really depends on the company. Some do cover this condition up to a certain amount (even if only $300), some offer additional coverage for this condition, and some do not cover any congenital or hereditary conditions (which this would fall under).

Has anyone been forced to fork out the dough for this ginomrous surgery? Or has anyone had any experience in trying to get a pet insurance company to cover the condition?

I came across an interesting article regarding the cost of pet care. The article cites the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. According to the Journal, from 1980 to 2005, the cost of pet care his risen 124%! This number even adjusts for inflation. And in the past 10 years, veterinary costs have been growing at twice that of the consumer price index. EEEK!

That coupled with the trend to make pets more a part of our families, coupled with our ::cough:: troubled economy, and advancing veterinary technology has really sparked interest and acceptance of pet insurance.

How do veterinarians respond? Through the veterinarians that we work with and through research through the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, it appears that most veterinarians are on board. The majority of veterinarians understand that when pet owners have insurance they are able to make better decisions and follow the veterinarian’s recommended care.

Their biggest concern was the fear of pet insurance turning into a managed care system. They do not like the notion that pet insurance could replicate human health insurance, and start to dictate their fees. Well veterinarians, rest easy, pet insurance doesn’t have the intention to do so. The North American Pet Health Association, which was founded by reputable pet insurance companies in the US and Canada, has a mission that pet insurance will never dictate veterinary fees. You can learn more about NAPHIA through the website here.

If you have any comments from your own veterinarians (or are one yourself) I’d love to her their (your) thoughts!

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.

One of the questions I hear frequently from pet owners is how exactly does submitting a pet insurance claim work? When you’re at your own doctor, they seem to do all the work for you leaving most pet owners in the dark as to what really goes on behind the scenes.

Well, it’s quite simple actually (at least in most cases). Most companies have a claim form where you’re asked to fill out your contact information, the amount of the claim, what it’s for and then your veterinarian is usually asked to fill out a portion and sign the form as well. Typically the insurance company will ask you to fax or mail in the form along with the invoice from your veterinarian. The company may or may not ask for medical records, depending on the situation. For example, if your dog or cat fell from the deck and hurt his or her paw, they wouldn’t need medical records because there is nothing in the pet’s history that would relate to this claim.

Why then, can a claim take so long? I often wonder that myself. If the pet insurance company does need further medical records, they will often ask your veterinarian directly and if there is a delay in that process, well it adds time. In fact, I would imagine that getting complete medical records is one of the biggest reasons why there would be a delay in the process. Fortunately, in the past many companies might have taken weeks to get your reimbursement, but now that competition is stiffening, it’s not rare to receive payment within a few days to a week.

I have heard horror stories as mentioned in my post about It’s going to take how long to receive reimbursement?! where people are having to wait longer than a month with some companies. But, like I mentioned, I think you can expect to see this waiting time diminish.

Most of you know what a deductible is, as they exist with just about every type of insurance: the amount you are required to pay on a claim before the insurance company will compute their payout. Well, pet insurance isn’t really any different. And, with all of the pet insurance plans available today, there is a multitude of options. Some plans offer an annual deductible, while others offer per incident, while others offer per condition.

And let me clarify as to what each of those are. An annual deductible is one that is required per year before any condition is covered. So if you have 5 incidents in one year, you would only be required to pay one deductible once.

A per incident deductible is one that would be required each time your pet has a different incident. For example, if your dog fell and broke his leg in march you would be required to pay a deductible, then if he got sick and needed medication in June, you would have to pay another deductible, then a year later if he got sick again you would have to pay another deductible.

And lastly, a per condition deductible is one that pertains to a single condition or accident. For example, if you have to see your veterinarian 3 times over the course of a year because your cat keeps throwing up, you would only have to pay the deductible the first time (given that these incidents were related). Or, more importantly, if you dog were to develop diabetes (something he’ll have the rest of his life) then you would only have to pay the per incident deductible once.

Deductibles with pet insurance can range anywhere from $0 to $1,000 and, in fact, the American Animal Hospital Association recommends that pet owners choose deductibles from $500-$1,000. But, what do you think, as a pet owner, is most reasonable? Would you want the option of a high deductible to use the insurance for only the rare, expensive incidents? Or would you want a $0 deductible knowing that you’d be covered for just about everything?