No pet insurance company will cover pre-existing conditions so you want to buy insurance before something happens.
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- They cover veterinary exam fees for treatments. Our current plan does not and it is a consideration sometimes when we're debating if we should wait and see or take him in if it's not an emergency.
- Accessible customer service. You can tweet, text or chat. I like when companies have a chat feature so I can multi-task while chatting and not have to wait on hold.
- The claims process. You can file a claim from your phone, track the process and be paid electronically too. Right now, we have to have the vet's office fax the forms and it's not the most convenient.
- Flexibility in plans. There's only one plan option with our current company.
- Copay and deductible waived for emergency life-saving treatment. Mr. N has never had a true emergency while we've had him (knocks on wood) but in the case that we did, it's nice to know that there would be fewer costs to pay.
- Holistic and alternative therapies are covered. We recently switched to a veterinary practice that does alternative and regular medicine so an insurance that covers both would be a plus. The company we are with does cover them but you have to purchase an additional rider.
- The cloud. Like most Millennials, I prefer doing everything online when possible. With Figo, you can manage documents electronically, share your pet's records with anyone and get shots and medical reminders as well.
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| Practicing kawaii faces. |
I plugged in Mr. N's stats into the online calculator and it is slightly more expensive (an additional six dollars/month) than our current plan. Figo does cover exam fees though so the end cost may be similar. I have some more questions to ask (like 24/7 customer service availability) and I need to sit down and run some figures but Figo is definitely on our short-list for consideration.
Do you have pet insurance? Which factors do you consider when choosing a plan?
Interesting! I would expect more price difference for the exam few coverage. Does that include routine care?
ReplyDeleteWe have Healthy Paws. At the time I signed Lilo up, they were the only company that would cover a second CCLrepair if she did the first (not if it had been preexisting, obviously). I believe other companies now offer that as welol, but I had such a god experience with them when I had to file acclaim that I'm in no hurry to change.
I believe they don't cover exam fees for wellness checks. Did Lilo have to have her CCL repaired or was it a pre-caution you were checking out?
DeleteI love that you have to have insurance upon adoption. More places should require this as well!!! Have a wonderful weekend Mr. N!!!
ReplyDeleteOh goodness, this really is such a daunting idea to sort through, for some folks! So many plans out there! Thank you for breaking it down!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing and explaining. I am blessed as Layla is a PAWS client so they cover a lot of her costs :)
ReplyDeleteIs that the rescue she came from?
DeleteWe have never had pet insurance, although with Zeus I really wish we had! We looked into a few plans when we got Penny last year, but ended up ultimately deciding to forego it. I hope it wasn't a mistake.
ReplyDeleteDid Zeus have a lot of health problems? Health insurance has definitely helped out us out when Mr. N has had issues like his dental with extractions.
DeleteWe have never had pet insurance either. Since we tend to adopt older animals, they almost always have pre-existing conditions so I have just assumed they would not be covered.
ReplyDeleteIt's very cool that they cover emergency treatment. We have had some over the years and sure would be nice to have some coverage.
Some insurance companies have older pet coverage limits. They'll cap it at ten for example. Figo does not. Older pets are more expensive to insure and as you say, pre-existing conditions would not be covered. Senior pets do tend to develop more than one issue though...
DeleteThanks for the info on Figo! It's great that they cover exam fees for treatments. I assume that means not routine exams. Just if the exam leads to a treatment. We have Healthy Paws for our three cats. We didn't have insurance for our dog... then had three back surgeries. So, probably should've had it from the beginning. I will always have insurance for our pets from now on.
ReplyDeleteYes. Eek. Three back surgeries sounds really expensive.
DeleteI've never gotten pet insurance. I'm curious to know if the exams and shots are covered or just the exam. Also do you have to go to a certain vet or will any vet take the insurance?
ReplyDeleteGenerally, I think most pet insurance does not cover routine care. In some cases, you can purchase an additional wellness rider that would cover those things. Except for the Banfield insurance, I think the other companies will cover all vets.
DeleteI've never had pet insurance in the past, but I've had some pets (including a few of my rats) rack up some pretty big vet bills!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this review. Pet insurance has definitely been something on my mine for a while now, and I would like to do more research on the different options available.
Come to think of it, I don't know if there's pet insurance for the small pets.
DeleteThat is fantastic that insurance was part of the adoption agreement. I have known several pet parents that have had to have their companions put to sleep because they were not able to afford the cost of surgery. Heartbreaking. Isn't it at least worth getting a quote? For the record, we have insurance too.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's why we have insurance. So we don't have to make the hard decisions! If Mr. N needs care and it's available, we can get it.
DeleteI don't have pet insurance, but have a wellness plan for Simba and it has worked good for us. I was looking into the diff and need to do some more research. This insurance company sounds like it has great benefits.
ReplyDeleteIn Belgium, it's not common to have pet insurance. Not many companies offer it. And the ones that do don't cover major surgeries :(
ReplyDeleteReally helpful review! I have sent this post to my daughter who is shopping for pet insurance for her kitty! Now that Rugby is 9, I've begun to think maybe pet insurance should be on our radar screen.
ReplyDeleteI need to check into this. Truffle and Brulee are covered with pet insurance, but the vet fees are not covered.
ReplyDeleteWe don't have pet insurance, but I think it is a great idea! I think that having it as a condition for pet adoption is a really good idea.
ReplyDeleteI think it's great that Pet insurance was a condition of your Adoption, wonderful idea. Pet insurance is becoming so important as Vet costs keep rising.
ReplyDeleteLove & biscuits,
Dogs Luv Us and We Luv Them
I think it's great that Pet insurance was a condition of your Adoption, wonderful idea. Pet insurance is becoming so important as Vet costs keep rising.
ReplyDeleteLove & biscuits,
Dogs Luv Us and We Luv Them
We got pet insurance on our first dog and it has been amazing! Our other two had pre-existing conditions so it won't really work for them sadly. Thanks for sharing so people can save money!
ReplyDeleteInteresting post. I do not have insurance on my five Huskies...at the time they came into our homes, the insurance choices that we had just were not enough to justify purchasing it at a pretty costly premium, times five! I have noticed there are many more options today, which is wonderful. My Huskies are now older, and some now with health conditions, so I would not purchase for them now. But it is something I would check into for future dogs since they seem to cover much more now.
ReplyDeleteWe have pet health insurance for nearly 20 years and love it. Such a good post!
ReplyDeletePet insurance is essential. I'm looking for a new insurance company now since they sold to a larger company. Thanks for this information.
ReplyDelete