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Health and medical insurance for pets
Pet Insurance Topics Why Pet Insurance? Pet insurance protects your pet's health, your savings and your peace of mind. Coverage Get the specifics so you can choose a plan that suits your needs. FAQ's Find out what our plan offers, from coverage to deductibles, by reading the questions our customers ask. Order Signing up is quick and easy...
Health Insurance for Your Pet The expansion of pet medical services has been staggering. Veterinarians provide services previously thought impossible; services like organ transplants, tumor removal, pacemaker installation, ultrasound, chemotherapy, and radiation are now common. Unfortunately, hand-in-hand with increased services are skyrocketing costs , often reaching into thousands of dollars. You have enough to worry about when a loved pet gets sick. Medical expenses make a stressful time even more painful. In cases of severe illness, you may even be forced to balance your pet's life against your finances: a horrible decision for any pet owner to make. Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI) ensures your pet is taken care of in a wide range of medical situations and lets you focus your attention solely on your pet. Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI), the nation's #1 pet medical insurance plan , continues to add services to provide you and your pet with the best insurance coverage. Please take a look through VPI's coverage and services; you'll quickly see there's no one - besides you - that cares more about your pet than VPI.
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The Cat Cafe Series - PET MEDICAL INSURANCE
Circle of Life
The Cat Cafe Series:
PET MEDICAL INSURANCE
It makes a whole lot of sense.
It is estimated that a large percentage of the pets who become ill are euthanized for the sole reason that their caretakers can not afford to pay for their veterinary care. This, alone, is an important reason to spread the word about pet medical insurance.
Because of the escalating costs of veterinary care, medical insurance for pets is fast becoming an option that more and more pet-owners are beginning to look into. The chart below will give you a basic idea of what these plans offer and what they will cost. Please telephone the company of your choice for more detailed information.
The insurance company that you choose need not be located in your state. Each of the insurers covers the United States and some extend their coverage to Canada. Most cover spay/neuter, and some cover dental and wellness visits. Wellness visits consist of, but are not limited to, immunizations, physical exams, testing for heartworm and other parasites, and dental preventive care. Because of the growing popularity of pet medical insurance, many of the smaller insurance companies are jumping on the bandwagon and are beginning to offer this service. Contact your state insurance department for more leads.
Company
Contact Info
Annual Cost (as per 8/99)
Comments
Pet Assure Dover, NJ
(888) 789-7387 (973) 537-9889
$99 $79 for each additional pet
While not an insurance company, Pet Assure runs a Pet Savings Program offering a 25% discount on veterinary care and services. Network vets/hospitals.
Pet Care Plus Winter Park, FL
(800) 645-2939 (407) 658-1961
$50 - $215
Choice of vet. No deductible. Holistic policy available.
Petshealth Insurance Agency Canton, OH
(800) 799-5852 (330) 492-3948
$83 - $312... Discounts for additional pets
Choice of vet. $100 deductible annually.
Pet Protect, Inc. Naples, FL
(888) 738-7873 (941) 403-4100
$125 - $210... Discounts for additional pets
Choice of vet. $40 deductible per visit
Premier Pet Ins. group Wauwatosa, WI
(414) 453-7443
$83 - $312 Discounts for additional pets
Choice of vet. $100 deductible annually.
Veterinary Pet Ins. Co. Anaheim,CA
(800) 872-7387 (714) 996-2311
$101 - $251 Discounts for additional pets
Choice of vet. $40 deductible per incident. You may submit up to 4 claims for the same incident and pay only one $40 deductible.
Coverage will save you money any way you look at it. However, should your pet sustain an injury or become seriously ill, there is no telling what the veterinary bills will mount to. It is at times like this that a pet insurance policy is worth its weight in gold.
In an article entitled "Most Unusual Perks" in Fortune Magazine's 1999 Annual Best 100 Companies To Work For issue, it is reported that several companies are now offering the option of pet insurance to their employees. You might want to obtain a copy of the article and negotiate this coverage with your employer.
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PHA is totally independent of ANY insurer and will give you truly unbiased
free advice. Do remember that if you contact an insurer direct, or a "tied
agent" of an insurer, they will only be authorised to advise you on the schemes
run by that single organisation. Independent status allows a broker to
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Here are some examples of monthly premiums for recomended plans.
Click Here for more details of the plan benefits.
Individual Examples
Click on each range (Comprehensive, Mid-Range, Budget or High Excess Option) for a benefit summary
* Including a £100 excess
** Includes a £2,500 excess
Age =
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
Comprehensive *
£42.17
£44.02
£46.96
£51.15
£56.54
£64.77
£76.64
£80.32
£107.15
£127.92
Mid-Range *
£24.00
£26.50
£29.26
£32.78
£38.93
£46.01
£53.34
£66.05
£84.31
£107.59
Budget
£20.09
£22.68
£25.94
£27.62
£28.34
£31.54
£33.86
£36.72
£44.49
£54.62
High Excess
Option **
£8.95
£10.96
£10.96
£14.98
£14.98
£23.77
£23.77
£35.04
£48.52
£63.62
Family (2 adults + 2 children) Examples
Click on each range (Comprehensive, Mid-Range, Budget or High Excess Option) for a benefit summary
* Including a £100 excess
** Includes a £2,500 excess
Age =
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
Comprehensive *
£105.42
£110.05
£117.41
£127.87
£141.35
£161.94
£191.59
£200.79
N/A
N/A
Mid-Range *
£59.09
£64.09
£69.92
£76.65
£88.96
£103.11
£117.77
£143.18
N/A
N/A
Budget
£60.00
£64.78
£71.30
£74.66
£76.10
£82.50
£87.14
£92.86
N/A
N/A
High Excess
Option **
£17.90
£21.92
£21.92
£29.96
£29.96
£47.54
£47.54
£70.08
£97.04
£127.74
The above policies have been chosen for their 'best value for money'
cover for a Comprehensive, Mid Range, Budget and High Excess policy. If you
find any of the premiums of interest, please specify on the
quotation form which one you require. Should you
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recommended plans shown above), then please use the
application form accessible by clicking here .
A low-budget healthcare protection policy is available here -
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Medical insurance for your pet
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They call it puppy love
By Julie Sturgeon
. Bankrate.com
Diane Sermersheim thought her children might get sick
when the weather turned last December, but instead it was her 4-year-old
Irish setter who ran a fever and suffered diarrhea.
A battery of exams, blood samples, medications and
two vet bills later, Sermersheim ran up $314.17 for what turned
out to be "the crud."
Her experience reflects ironic findings by the American
Veterinary Medical Association, American Animal Hospital Association
and Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges in May,
1999.
The survey revealed 68 percent of pet owners agree
that vet fees are low compared to their pet's value -- yet when
asked if their vets' fees are too high, 43 percent replied yes.
These owners also say they'd shell out $688 on average if the pet's
treatment has a 75 percent chance of success. When survival chances
sink to 10 percent, their budget tolerance falls to $356.
That's where pet insurance steps into the gap.
"We know from experience that pet owners increase
spending by more than 52 percent when they cover their pets' health
care with a standard policy and routine-care coverage add-on,"
says Jack Stephens, DVM, founder of
Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI) headquartered in Brea, Calif.
Story continues below
VPI jumped into this niche in 1982 after Stephens
heard a young girl identify him in a grocery store as "the
man who killed Buffy." In the past five years, the company
has experienced a 58-percent growth. Stephens anticipates 2.3 million
pet owners will join the bandwagon, a fivefold increase over current
buyers, by 2007.
"The problem is that you have highly trained
medical professionals, and quite often the pet owner can't afford
their A-level recommendations. So the vet has to scale down treatment.
Then there are those who can't afford the B- and C-levels either,"
says Mark Warren, president and CEO of Pet Health Inc., the holding
company for Premier
Pet Insurance , which co-brands with players like Reader's
Digest and Petco supply stores to sell policies.
"We provide comprehensive coverage for things
a pet owner cannot budget for."
Dogs run up the highest bills: They're more active,
more likely to be outside and more prone to congenital and hereditary
problems, according to Warren.
Pet insurance companies aren't above exploiting the
tighter emotional bond, either. Dog owners who answered the associations'
survey said they'd pay an average of $1,042 to keep their favorite
pet from dying, vs. the $657 limit cat owners put on the same scenario.
A crossbreed of coverage
Pet insurance policies resemble a cross between indemnity products
and automobile coverage, with many options to weave through.
Whether insuring a dog or cat, expect to pay a deductible,
a co-pay or both. Some companies reimburse on a benefit schedule,
others opt for a flat payback that typically hovers at 80 percent.
"If your pet's condition is minor, insurance
coverage helps a little," Stephens says. "But where we
really shine is when you have a large medical problem and you don't
have that $1,000 or $2,000 in your pocket."
Most plans do impose annual payout limits between
$10,000 and $12,000, which you can raise by buying a deluxe package
policy.
Levels of care range from an accident-only policy
at Premier Pet Insurance to VPI's comprehensive coverage and maintenance
rider that pays for check-ups and teeth cleaning.
Somewhere in the middle, most plans step up to the
plate to pay for gastrointestinal upset, dermatitis, ear infections,
bladder infections, asthma, skin tumors, cancer, diabetes, broken
bones, X-rays, diagnostic tests, surgery, anesthesia, hospitalization,
prescriptions and lab fees.
However, coverage for common procedures like spay
and neutering depend on the company, and some players require extra
cash to cover vaccines. VPI excludes pre-existing conditions (unless
the pet has not needed treatment for the problem in the proceeding
six months), congenital problems and hereditary defects. Premier
Pet Care says yes to these conditions.
VPI bases its rates on the pet's age -- older dogs
reach as high as $500 a year for its premiums. Premier Pet Care
and another major competitor, Petshealth Insurance (underwritten
by American Health Assurance Company), eschew age until a dog reaches
9 years.
At that point, Premier refuses coverage for newcomers
while Petshealth tacks on 25 to 50 percent to the policy. Count
on some companies to consider breed as well -- larger dogs such
as boxers, bulldogs, Great Danes and Irish wolfhounds cost more.
And rest assured these companies don't hesitate to pull vet records
if your first claim rolls in too fast.
"We have many owners that get a diagnosis, take
out insurance without mentioning the condition, and try to bill
us for the treatment. Then they're surprised when we won't cover
it," says Stephens. "Would you wreck your car, buy auto
insurance and try to claim the damage against the new policy? That
is the only area of contention we ever really have."
Still, VPI's renewal rate pushes 82 percent a year,
with more than 200,000 policies currently in force.
According to the American Animal Hospital Association's
latest survey, 1 percent of pet owners carry this insurance, with
the average premium costs hovering at $141 each year. Of course,
price ranges swing from $30 at the low end to $678 annually, depending
on the options you choose. The right answer lies in your risk tolerance
and zip code.
"If I had it to do over again, I wouldn't go
with a fixed fee schedule," offers Michelle Cooper, a Westchester,
N.Y., owner of a black Labrador mix. "The 80 percent payback
works out better because I live in a more expensive area."
Stephanie Stephens, too, sucked in her breath at her
first veterinary bill after she moved from Denver to Los Angeles
with five cats who became ill in August 1999. The group exam revealed
her smallest baby had a tumor in her chest, so Stephanie coughed
up $3,500 for surgery.
Two months later, a $700 MRI revealed the tumor had
returned. Stephanie chose euthanasia, and quickly bought pet insurance
with a special cancer coverage option for her two youngest cats.
Her policy totals $408, payable in monthly chunks.
"I only made $35,000 a year at the time,"
she says. "It would bankrupt me to go through another surgery."
The coverage dilemma
What's good for the vet isn't always sensible for pet owners.
Susan McCullough, author of Housetraining
for Dummies , passed on coverage after she decided the fine
print meant she'd get relatively little bang for her bucks.
For example, here's a sampling of the anomalies Urbanhound.com
found when it compared companies' policies, asking if they would
cover a Labrador retriever's $2,500 hip replacement at the Animal
Medical Center in Manhattan:
VPI charges a $50 deductible per incident, then
pays 80 percent on the first $180 and 100 percent of the remainder,
subject to the company's pre-set limits for that diagnosis. Unfortunately,
a Lab's failing joints fall under hereditary defect category so
the confusing tables are moot.
Preferred
PetHealth Plus doesn't quibble over words like hereditary
and congenital before it pays 80 percent of the bill, but they
cap you at $2,500 per year and allow only $5,000 in a pet's lifetime.
Add 10 percent to the standard premium to bump that ceiling to
$10,000. However, it would reimburse $1,840 for the fictitious
dog's hip replacement.
Pet
Assure extends 10- to 15-percent discounts on vet procedures
-- in this case $625 off the hip surgery; not bad for a $99 annual
membership fee -- but you have to work with one of the docs in
its system, which currently involves 1,000 names across the country.
Petshealth
Insurance slaps a surcharge for coverage in New York City,
and it reserves the right to say no or redo the bill if it thinks
the vet has overcharged. Good luck figuring your check amount
-- it doesn't publicly announce its payout limits. And once again,
"congenital anomaly" raises its ugly head for the hurting
pup.
Filing reimbursement claims also falls on the pet
owner's shoulders. According to Stephens, this method cuts down
on over-utilization and fraud.
"Most of our claims are in the several hundred
dollar range, which consumers can put on their credit card. We try
to reimburse within a week," he notes.
Unfortunately, that wasn't Michelle Cooper's experience.
She knows she more than recouped her $210 annual premium as she
dragged her puppy, Kumara, to the New York vets for the usual suspects:
eye and ear infections, a weird stomach rash.
"But the back-and-forth paperwork and faxes I
found way too frustrating and time-consuming," she says. "It
was a pain filling out the forms, which needed to be signed by the
vet and almost always were bounced back, delaying reimbursement."
The final straw came when she submitted a $145 bill
in May 2001 but didn't receive her check until September. She dropped
the coverage.
Never buy a policy from a company not licensed in
your state. Without this protection, the company could go under
and leave you holding the bag for outstanding treatments and unused
premiums.
Finally, understand that pet insurance revolves around
emotion. The truth is, a policy won't always save your pet's life.
Warren knows it's ultimately a numbers game: Say the
bill amounts to $3,000 with a 20-percent co-pay. You're still on
the hook for $600, and statistically euthanasia becomes an option
for most owners at the $474 mark.
"It's still possible for that pet owner to put
the dog down, even with insurance," he adds.
-- Posted: March 25, 2002
See Also
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The
world's wackiest insurance policies
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Linda
Blair -- committed to animals, nature
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