Recommendations - Pet Insurance

[DogwoodLynx]

Does anyone have recommendations on cost-effective pet insurance? 

My parents have Trupanion which they liked. I had them when I first got my dog in 2020 but the premiums were a lot more than I could afford ($175 per month!) especially since I didn't get any services that were reimbursable, so I canceled the policy. 

I'm kinda looking for a policy that covers major medical AND things like teeth cleaning and blood tests/Xrays. 

*mods please move this if it doesn't belong in this forum*

[MySunrise271]

Check with your Vet, they may offer a Wellness Plan. I have this with my vet for $70.95 per month and fully covers routine visits, dental cleanings, x rays(1 per year, next are 20% discounted), bloodwork, annual vaccinations. If any prescription  is prescribed that gets a 20% discount.  So far it's covered all my needs for my 14 yr shih tzu 🐶 but it's not Pet Insurance. You would still need something for a Major Illiness, but it maybe worth looking into.

[ambivalent]

I have Healthy Paws. They do cover blood tests, X-rays, and prescriptions, but not dental. There are different tiers for coverage levels. We pay $120 a month for $100 annual deductible and  90% reimbursement. Came in handy when our pup needed 8K worth of surgery. 

[cashorcharge]

You can look at Nationwide.  They have a few different plans...one is more limited in what it covers and the other essentialy covers everything other than bathing....it has a $100 deductible each year and they pay 90% of the services rendered leaving to only cover 10%.  

I think a lot of the variance in premiums leads to your pets age, previous health issues and known issues with a particular breed.

[Hex]

I second the Nationwide recommendation. They've always been good about paying my claims. 

[Curious_George2]

I shopped around a bit this summer. Considered Trupanion, but ultimately chose Lemonade. It has the features I want (basically just a hedge against ginormous expenses) for about $30/mo. They use AI to process claims. I haven't had any claims yet, so I can't say whether that's good or bad, but it's different. 

[newnew2015]

We use Nationwide as well. It's great. I mostly use it for my dog's annual dental cleanings and extractions if needed. We get a special rate through my husband's group. Make sure you see if it's in your job's benefits plan if you go with them. 

[longtimelurker]

I don't know how much it varies now, but at the time, one difference between Trupanion and some others was that the deductible was per condition, not per year, which has its pros and cons.  Our pets have long-term conditions and we only pay the deductible once, on the other hand if several things happen in a year, you pay several deductibles....

We first got Trupanion when the shelter we adopted our cat from had a free trial of some sort.  Because of this, there was no waiting period and all conditions are potentially covered.  We added our dog to the policy later one (when she was about 5) and Trupanion is very "good" at finding that things are pre-existing conditions before the start of insurance and so not covered.  But I doubt if that is unique to them.  And they paid a large bill when she needed cruciate work on both hind-legs, more than making up for all the premiums to date.

In general, I now suggest whichever insurance get it as soon as you can to avoid things being considered pre-existing and coming back to haunt.

[Curious_George2]

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@longtimelurker wrote:

I don't know how much it varies now, but at the time, one difference between Trupanion and some others was that the deductible was per condition, not per year, which has its pros and cons.  Our pets have long-term conditions and we only pay the deductible once, on the other hand if several things happen in a year, you pay several deductibles....

We first got Trupanion when the shelter we adopted our cat from had a free trial of some sort.  Because of this, there was no waiting period and all conditions are potentially covered.  We added our dog to the policy later one (when she was about 5) and Trupanion is very "good" at finding that things are pre-existing conditions before the start of insurance and so not covered.  But I doubt if that is unique to them.  And they paid a large bill when she needed cruciate work on both hind-legs, more than making up for all the premiums to date.

In general, I now suggest whichever insurance get it as soon as you can to avoid things being considered pre-existing and coming back to haunt.

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Yep. I've never encountered another health insurer who handles deductibles that way. I like the concept, but wasn't personally willing to pay the higher premiums to get it.