Ok so you have decided that you may want to get your puppy insurance, not a bad conclusion to come too. But now you don’t know what company to choose. I have been looking into a lot of different pet insurance companies and I’m hoping that you will find the breakdown below helpful.
Now the important thing to remember is that no insurance company will post prices online because their prices are based mostly on breed, and age, and sometimes where you live. I so happen to have a breed that most insurance companies consider high risk, so the prices I was given for my quote may be higher, or could also be lower depending on your pet breed and age.
I Would Like to Introduce you to Bourbon.
He is a Cane Corso puppy. Currently he is older and much larger then he is in the picture, but he hates getting his picture taken so its very hard to get a good one for you. At the time of this review he weighed 145lbs at 17 months old. He has been fixed already and currently has no previous healthy issues.
Coverage and Plans – Puppy / Adult
Comprehensive Coverage
- Personalized Policy – You can chose your annul maximum, deductibles, and reimbursement percentage.
- Breed specific conditions
- Cancer treatments
- Diagnostic testing and imaging
- Prosthetic limbs and devices including mobility aids
- Surgery, hospitalization, and nursing care
- Alternative therapies and rehabilitation
- ER and specialist care
- Optimal prescription coverage
- Behavioral Therapy
The fine print: Your pet must be under the age of 14 years to enroll. They offer a customizing option to their plans so you can choose to have a 90% reimbursement and a $5oo deductible, or a 80% reimbursement and a $200 deductible. They want to try and make their plans fit your budget. You can also decide what coverage maximum you want per year ($10,000 for example). Their coverage is only in the US.
- Illness: 14 days
- Accidents: 48 hours, or 14 days depending on state
- Orthopedic conditions (dogs only) 6 months, can be reduced to 14 days by falling the exam and waiver process
- your pet must have also been to a vet within the past 12 month, if not you can take them during the waiting period and it wont effect your coverage.
Wellness Reward for Routine Care – Something extra, and a great idea
Wellness rewards is an optional plan that can be purchased in addition to your policy. This plan has no per-item limits. This plan includes:
- Wellness exams
- Vaccinations and titers
- Flea, tick, and heartworm medication
- Spay / neuter surgery
- Fecal exams
- Routine blood tests
- Microchipping
- Umbilical hernia repair
- Gastropexy
- Toe nail trimming
- Routine anal glan expression
- Routine chiropractic care, reiki, message therapy, acupuncture
- Anesthetic teeth cleaning and dental illness
- Prescription diet food purchased at your veterinarian
- OFA and PenHIP exams and X-rays
- Nutritional supplements
- Medicated Shampoos
- Behavioral / obedience/specialty training
- Pet activity monitors
- Grooming
- Cremation / burial
The added yearly reimbursement can be $250, $450, or $650. The lifetime maximum for every policy is $50,000, which they report has never been reached.
Things Not Covered
- Pre- existing conditions
- Breeding, whelping and pregnancy
- Injury caused deliberately
- Injury caused by fighting, racing, cruelty or neglect
- Cosmetic procedures such as tail docking, ear cropping and dew claw removal
- DNA testing or cloning
- Organ transplants
- Stem cell therapy not deemed medically necessary
- Avian flu or nuclear war
Online Quote: the online quote for my dog was pretty easy, all they wanted was his name, age, sex, breed, and if he was fixed.
Once I got my quote I was given the basic options and coverage – You can choose which one works best for you and then you can customize it on the quote page. For purposes of this example I changed my yearly deductible to $200, my annual maximum to $10,000 and added the wellness plan that gave me an extra $650 in coverage.
Basic coverage options for my dog are on the left, and my custom price with the changes I made are on the right.
On the site they offer comparison charts to a list of different companies. Below is an example of a few. Not all the insurance companies I have looked into do this, I find the ones that do do this because they believe they have a superior product and have more coverage offered for their plans.
I have had dogs my whole life. I have been lucky enough never to have any major things happen to them that cost me a lot of money, however the preventative things you do for your pet like blood work, poop exams, specialty foods, supplements and shampoos, vet check ups, do really start to add up if done often. And unfortunately we sometimes don’t do them because they are extra costs we didn’t plan for and try to put off. Having insurance will take that thought away and potentially prevent something from happening.
Overall I like what the company has to offer in terms of coverage, changing deductible and reimbursement percentage is something a lot of companies do offer. One thing that stands out for me here is the additional wellness package available. I have a list of insurance companies I have looked into for comparison on the Pet Insurance Review Page, you can check them out as well to help you with your decision.
You sold me. The only problem is that I am allergic.
Nice website. Best of luck.
Cheers,
Pat