What are the best pet insurance options that actually cover expenses? My daughter had a rough experience with GEICO’s pet insurance, and now she thinks all pet insurance is worthless. I’ve heard good things about some others, though. Can anyone share their positive experiences? I’d love to help her out. Thanks
I’ve had a positive experience with Pets Best honoring their policy. Instead of viewing it as health insurance for your pet, consider it as property insurance. They will make payments solely according to the terms of your policy and will look into pre-existing conditions. So far this policy year, I’ve received nearly $20,000 in payouts.
Is that $20,000 just for one pet?
Yes, sadly, it’s due to a cancer diagnosis in March and the subsequent treatments. They’ve approved everything, which has been great.
I’m a fan of both MetLife and Healthy Paws. They both make payments based on their policies. With Healthy Paws, my dog requires many medications and regular vet visits, and I get reimbursed for everything they cover without any hassle.
My Trupanion policy covered my first claim earlier this month for allergy treatment.
Healthy Paws has reimbursed us around $80,000 for two pets.
That’s both a positive and a tough situation, as at best (90%), you’re still looking at $8,000 out of pocket. If it’s only 70% coverage (30% copay), that’s $24,000 out of pocket.
On top of that, there are annual deductibles, premiums, and any costs not covered by insurance.
I’m currently looking for pet insurance for later this year. One thing I discovered that wasn’t clear at all is that some companies stop providing illness coverage when your pet reaches a certain age (12-15 years). They only offer accident coverage, and pre-existing conditions likely wouldn’t be covered by another insurer, except maybe ASPCA after a year. Given that age range…
Insurance covered everything since neither pet had any pre-existing conditions. The cat passed away before turning 2, so I paid around $350 in premiums, and Healthy Paws reimbursed about $40,000. For the dog, over 11 years, we paid approximately $13,000 in premiums and received $46,000 in reimbursements, giving us a net gain of $33,000 with the dog. We had a $100 annual deductible and a 90% reimbursement rate for both pets.
I have Pets Best, and they paid according to their policy, which I appreciated. However, their customer service is somewhat limited. When you call, they’ll just say they’re working on it without providing much information. It took three weeks to process my claim and an additional four or five days for the direct deposit. I hope it will be a long time before I have to file another claim.
I miss Bivvy. They used to cover everything, were reliable, and offered affordable rates, which is probably why they stopped selling pet insurance.