Hey everyone, I’m trying to gather info on what Canadians should think about when picking pet insurance. I know we don’t have many options here, but I’d love to hear your experiences, especially with premium increases over time. Could really help others down the road!
If you’ve got a provider, can you share your location, the provider name, how long you’ve been with them, any premium or deductible increases, and whether they added exclusions when you renewed? Anything else you think is important would be awesome!
I’ve got Furkin for my 1.5-year-old Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, based in Victoria, BC. We’ve got a $20,000 benefit max per year, a $100 annual deductible, and an 80% reimbursement.
We started at $101.87/month, and by the second year, it went up to $112.24 no exclusions added yet. I’m just a bit worried about future premium hikes and my dog possibly becoming uninsurable due to pre-existing conditions.
Yeah, I’ve noticed not many people buy pet insurance, especially in Canada or even the US. I think it’s only about 3% of people. You’re dealing with some of the same issues we have here in the US too, especially with company mergers. I think JAB Holdings owns like 10 pet insurance companies now here, and PetLine has a bunch in Canada too.
I’m worried about premium hikes myself. I’m planning to raise my deductibles to keep my policy going as long as possible. I’ve also started saving in case I end up self-insuring. I lost my last dog in 2023, but luckily, her premiums didn’t get too bad, even when she turned 16. I guess I avoided a major rate hike.
Thanks for sharing that! I’m actually thinking of getting a second policy with Fetch to try and protect myself from the crazy rate hikes. My plan is to keep both for now, so if one company spikes the rates, I can drop it and keep the other.
Just a heads up, at least in the US, a lot of policies have clauses that prevent you from holding two at the same time. It’s a way to avoid double dipping on claims. Not sure if it’s the same in Canada, but it’s worth checking before you commit.
Good looking out! I actually called both providers, and they’re cool with it. The second policy would only kick in after my primary one doesn’t cover something. And if the premiums on my main policy get too high, I’ll cancel it and switch the secondary to primary.
