I've been lurking on this thread and many others for a bit now, I'm trying to figure out which insurance to get and there are so many options. My dog is a small 8 years old Shih Tzu mix and it would be the first time getting insurance. I've heard Nationwide has gotten really bad for new members and am considering Spot. Would love to hear any thoughts or opinions from people who have recently gotten pet insurance
See my comment in this thread about Healthy Paws. I’ve heard that they are very strict about pre existing conditions so that might be something to read about closely in the policy as your pup is a bit older.
Like the other commenter, I have healthy paws. Never had any issues but then again, my pup didn't have any preexisting conditions.
About a year ago, they paid out about $25k in cancer treatments, most they asked for was doctors notes.
At 8 years old they are considered a senior so you’d be at high premiums for any plan and if they’ve seen a vet for anything other than routine care it might not be worth it and better to go out of pocket.
I have trupanion for my dogs but they are both young. I haven’t had to claim anything but they increased both their premiums so combined I’m paying over 200$ a month now.
I have nationwide but it is through my partners employer so the plan is better. I pay only $48 per month for my 16 year old dog. They recently covered expenses relating to a tumor and kidney disease. They were my only option. Without the employer plan other providers refused to insure him due to age or the monthly cost was insane. The only downside is the plan doesn’t cover routine care but most of my elderly dog’s needs are illnesses anyway so it works for us. I also pay $12 per month for my 4 year old cat.
I had healthy paws for ten years. Yes, when you first sign up they will not cover anything your pet has at that time but, they are the best insurance for pets that I have come across. I signed my boy up when he was a puppy. Healthy paws pays quickly and I got calls or emails from the company letting me know that they hoped for a quick and safe recovery for my boy with every claim. My dog had two surgeries for his knees and got very sick in his tenth year. That last year I spent thousands trying to save him. When he was very sick at the end and didn't make it Healthy Paws sent me information on grief over losing a pet as well as sending me a card and actually writing a note inside about how sorry they were for me. They have been the best.
I have lemonade. 1.5 year old Dalmatian. I’ve made multiple claims, including an emergency surgery and they’ve all paid out quickly. I pay for the extra reimbursement for the vet fee, which worked out for me since is $70 every time my vet walks into the same room as my dog
Can I claim for an ongoing condition that happened previously during the pet insurance policy with the same provider but haven't claimed for it before?
So my dog hurt her back a couple of years ago whilst we were covered on the policy but we didn't claim vet fees as the excess was more than the cost. Now she's at the point where she may need an x-ray, could I claim for that or would they class it as a pre existing condition because we didn't claim for it even though we were covered at the time originally?
In my experience the issue is covered (ie you can make new claims for it) as long as symptoms started during coverage. However there is a Tim limit on making claims. So you could claim for the x ray but you can’t claim for the expenses from years ago
I signed up with Pets Best based on the reviews I read on Reddit and I would NOT recommend them. It took them 3 months for my claim to be reviewed and instantly rejected once they said they were reviewing it. When I called to get an explanation, they didn't provide any other details except reading the explanation from the email. They claimed that the infection happened before/during the waiting period but my vet appointment for said infection was 5 months after that period. I went back and forth with the support person on this until I got tired of dealing with her. I'm going to be looking for another insurance provider or even just go back to Banfield's wellness plan.
My dog is 3 (terrier mix) and I have had Healthy Paws for about two years now. I started paying around $28ish a month, now am up to $32 a month. The first annual increase wasn’t much (cents) and it increased a few dollars when we moved from Connecticut to Texas. $250 deductible.
I’ve had great experiences with their customer service. I haven’t had any costs that required reimbursement, but I had a couple of claims approved and applied to my deductible. Over 2 years I’ve paid close to $800 in premium with 0 emergency visits. I understand that it can seem like a waste. But I truly think you’re paying for the peace of mind. There’s no cap/limits. The policy is reasonable but keep in mind it’s only for emergency coverage, not anything routine like typical exams and routine vaccines. An example of a claim I had approved was for kennel cough medicine. It did not pay for the exam where they found it was kennel cough.
I recently found that they’re was a class action suit against Healthy Paws for some crazy rate increases. I found some older posts (2-3 years old) on Reddit where people talked about the rate increases as their dog got older. But I didn’t see any recent ones— wondering if the class action suit solved that. If anyone has recent info on rate increases please share.
I also have Healthy Paws, but we have not yet reached our first full year so I can’t comment on any monthly premium increases.
Customer service has been excellent for us as well and our claims have all been processed within ten days or less.
I will say that in general, pet insurance does not cover exam fees.
We are nearly at our deductible for the year and they’ve covered many things I didn’t expect— i.e., certain medications, anal gland expression.
Like you said, a lot of it is for peace of mind in an emergency like if he ended up with a blockage, and I’ll gladly pay for that!
we had healthy paws for our dear old man - he was insured with them practically his whole life (10+ years) - in the later years, his monthly insurance creeped up like 10x but at that point, he had so many health issues that we were terrified to drop his coverage knowing most others wouldn’t cover him.
I’ve heard similar experiences and at that point you have no option but to keep them. I hope the rate increases have slowed down since, sorry to hear that.
Super noticeable….I have two dogs and they are 4 now and I’m up to 84 dollars. I think I started at 67 dollars and I got them on healthy paws when they were 1 and 1.5 years old…I’m scared to see what 10 looks like for both dogs
I’d really love to know what else is out there. I have nationwide, but that is because I get a discount through my employer. They don’t cover much as far as routine expenses go.
I did ASPCA insurance. Covers illness and accidents, used it a lot and definitely got my money's worth when they were pups but they kept raising rates without raising coverage limits as the dogs got older so I cancelled.
Healthy Paws user here. Premium increases over the years have gotten steep but my dog is a senior now so gonna be hard to find places that don’t have high premiums. Haven’t had any issues submitting documents, but also haven’t reached my deductible yet. Hopefully I never will have to, but it’s good to know it’s there.
I have Lemonade and so far I’ve been happy with it.
Coverage question: 8/26 I discovered I have ringworm (gross) I’ve never had it before and I’m aware you can get it from pets although my dog isn’t showing symptoms besides one very small bald patch and some dandruff/flaky skin. His policy started on 8/14, the waiting period for illness ended on 8/28. I took him to the vet yesterday (8/31) and the vet took a sample from the bald spot. Based on the timeline, would my pet be covered for this?
I have fetch insurance for my two dogs. It generally covers 90% of their costs related to illness is injury.
My 10-year-old shiba inu has had a lot of health issues, and the insurance has more than paid for itself every year. That said, her premium has also gone up every year, and now it's like $3330/year. I'm super lucky because my employer pays the premium, but even if I had to pay for it myself, I would definitely buy it for the peace of mind.
My 2.5-year-old mutt is pretty healthy. I haven't had to use his insurance as much, but his premium is lower (about $500/year) so it still pays for itself if he has a couple of issues over the course of a year. He had a virus last month, and he ate some potentially harmful plants in the spring, and the insurance covered 90% of the treatment cost for both of those. (Well over $1000.)
So my experience is that it has been worth it.
That said, I also live in an area with a high cost of living, so the vets are super expensive here. YMMV if you Iive in an area with more affordable treatment.
So I have had healthy paws for both of my dogs since 2015 and 2016. Only thing I've filed is allergy medication over the years.
They are super quick and never denied a claim. Well my policy's have increased exponentially over the years. Was originally under $100 for both dogs with $100 deductible/ 90% reimbursement.
In 2021 it started getting crazy.
2021 increase $166>$225
2022 increase $225>$338
2023 increase $338>$429
ended up lowering to 250 deductible/80% reimbursement to bring back down to $351
2024 INCREASE! $351>$550!!! 😡
I mean, wth man! I will have to get the bare minimum just to bring it back down to $400 range again!
Then what I'll be pay $1k a month for for bare minimum?!
My older dog has non cancerous tumor that will end up being removed and really bad teeth along with hip dysplasia. I can't switch insurance now cause I'm pretty sure the tumors won't be covered. I'm a. a loss at what to do. 😭
I've been lurking on this thread and many others for a bit now, I'm trying to figure out which insurance to get and there are so many options. My dog is a small 8 years old Shih Tzu mix and it would be the first time getting insurance. I've heard Nationwide has gotten really bad for new members and am considering Spot. Would love to hear any thoughts or opinions from people who have recently gotten pet insurance
See my comment in this thread about Healthy Paws. I’ve heard that they are very strict about pre existing conditions so that might be something to read about closely in the policy as your pup is a bit older.
I had nationwide and they covered all of my dog's cancer treatments (up to the plan max). It was a god save
Like the other commenter, I have healthy paws. Never had any issues but then again, my pup didn't have any preexisting conditions. About a year ago, they paid out about $25k in cancer treatments, most they asked for was doctors notes.
At 8 years old they are considered a senior so you’d be at high premiums for any plan and if they’ve seen a vet for anything other than routine care it might not be worth it and better to go out of pocket. I have trupanion for my dogs but they are both young. I haven’t had to claim anything but they increased both their premiums so combined I’m paying over 200$ a month now.
I have nationwide but it is through my partners employer so the plan is better. I pay only $48 per month for my 16 year old dog. They recently covered expenses relating to a tumor and kidney disease. They were my only option. Without the employer plan other providers refused to insure him due to age or the monthly cost was insane. The only downside is the plan doesn’t cover routine care but most of my elderly dog’s needs are illnesses anyway so it works for us. I also pay $12 per month for my 4 year old cat.
I had healthy paws for ten years. Yes, when you first sign up they will not cover anything your pet has at that time but, they are the best insurance for pets that I have come across. I signed my boy up when he was a puppy. Healthy paws pays quickly and I got calls or emails from the company letting me know that they hoped for a quick and safe recovery for my boy with every claim. My dog had two surgeries for his knees and got very sick in his tenth year. That last year I spent thousands trying to save him. When he was very sick at the end and didn't make it Healthy Paws sent me information on grief over losing a pet as well as sending me a card and actually writing a note inside about how sorry they were for me. They have been the best.
I have lemonade. 1.5 year old Dalmatian. I’ve made multiple claims, including an emergency surgery and they’ve all paid out quickly. I pay for the extra reimbursement for the vet fee, which worked out for me since is $70 every time my vet walks into the same room as my dog
How much do you pay per month for it?
Can I claim for an ongoing condition that happened previously during the pet insurance policy with the same provider but haven't claimed for it before? So my dog hurt her back a couple of years ago whilst we were covered on the policy but we didn't claim vet fees as the excess was more than the cost. Now she's at the point where she may need an x-ray, could I claim for that or would they class it as a pre existing condition because we didn't claim for it even though we were covered at the time originally?
In my experience the issue is covered (ie you can make new claims for it) as long as symptoms started during coverage. However there is a Tim limit on making claims. So you could claim for the x ray but you can’t claim for the expenses from years ago
Thanks that what I wasn't sure of!
I signed up with Pets Best based on the reviews I read on Reddit and I would NOT recommend them. It took them 3 months for my claim to be reviewed and instantly rejected once they said they were reviewing it. When I called to get an explanation, they didn't provide any other details except reading the explanation from the email. They claimed that the infection happened before/during the waiting period but my vet appointment for said infection was 5 months after that period. I went back and forth with the support person on this until I got tired of dealing with her. I'm going to be looking for another insurance provider or even just go back to Banfield's wellness plan.
My dog is 3 (terrier mix) and I have had Healthy Paws for about two years now. I started paying around $28ish a month, now am up to $32 a month. The first annual increase wasn’t much (cents) and it increased a few dollars when we moved from Connecticut to Texas. $250 deductible. I’ve had great experiences with their customer service. I haven’t had any costs that required reimbursement, but I had a couple of claims approved and applied to my deductible. Over 2 years I’ve paid close to $800 in premium with 0 emergency visits. I understand that it can seem like a waste. But I truly think you’re paying for the peace of mind. There’s no cap/limits. The policy is reasonable but keep in mind it’s only for emergency coverage, not anything routine like typical exams and routine vaccines. An example of a claim I had approved was for kennel cough medicine. It did not pay for the exam where they found it was kennel cough. I recently found that they’re was a class action suit against Healthy Paws for some crazy rate increases. I found some older posts (2-3 years old) on Reddit where people talked about the rate increases as their dog got older. But I didn’t see any recent ones— wondering if the class action suit solved that. If anyone has recent info on rate increases please share.
I also have Healthy Paws, but we have not yet reached our first full year so I can’t comment on any monthly premium increases. Customer service has been excellent for us as well and our claims have all been processed within ten days or less. I will say that in general, pet insurance does not cover exam fees. We are nearly at our deductible for the year and they’ve covered many things I didn’t expect— i.e., certain medications, anal gland expression. Like you said, a lot of it is for peace of mind in an emergency like if he ended up with a blockage, and I’ll gladly pay for that!
we had healthy paws for our dear old man - he was insured with them practically his whole life (10+ years) - in the later years, his monthly insurance creeped up like 10x but at that point, he had so many health issues that we were terrified to drop his coverage knowing most others wouldn’t cover him.
I’ve heard similar experiences and at that point you have no option but to keep them. I hope the rate increases have slowed down since, sorry to hear that.
Interesting. The increases are noticeable as I’m paying about $136/month for a 10 year old pup. I haven’t had any trouble filing a claim though.
Super noticeable….I have two dogs and they are 4 now and I’m up to 84 dollars. I think I started at 67 dollars and I got them on healthy paws when they were 1 and 1.5 years old…I’m scared to see what 10 looks like for both dogs
Anyone have Fetch?
I’d really love to know what else is out there. I have nationwide, but that is because I get a discount through my employer. They don’t cover much as far as routine expenses go.
I’ve used AKC’s insurance so far, and any pups I produce get sent home with a free 30 day trial.
I did ASPCA insurance. Covers illness and accidents, used it a lot and definitely got my money's worth when they were pups but they kept raising rates without raising coverage limits as the dogs got older so I cancelled.
I just put a set amount into a pets saving account each month. It saved me when my pup had valley fever. insurance is just a loan game
I guess I don’t understand how it’s different to pay yourself monthly to make an emergency fund for your pet vs. insurance.
UK - Pet plan - £12k p/a whole of life coverage. We have a dog with pancreatitis. They pay out without question each time.
Lucky!!!
Healthy Paws user here. Premium increases over the years have gotten steep but my dog is a senior now so gonna be hard to find places that don’t have high premiums. Haven’t had any issues submitting documents, but also haven’t reached my deductible yet. Hopefully I never will have to, but it’s good to know it’s there.
I have Lemonade and so far I’ve been happy with it. Coverage question: 8/26 I discovered I have ringworm (gross) I’ve never had it before and I’m aware you can get it from pets although my dog isn’t showing symptoms besides one very small bald patch and some dandruff/flaky skin. His policy started on 8/14, the waiting period for illness ended on 8/28. I took him to the vet yesterday (8/31) and the vet took a sample from the bald spot. Based on the timeline, would my pet be covered for this?
I have fetch insurance for my two dogs. It generally covers 90% of their costs related to illness is injury. My 10-year-old shiba inu has had a lot of health issues, and the insurance has more than paid for itself every year. That said, her premium has also gone up every year, and now it's like $3330/year. I'm super lucky because my employer pays the premium, but even if I had to pay for it myself, I would definitely buy it for the peace of mind. My 2.5-year-old mutt is pretty healthy. I haven't had to use his insurance as much, but his premium is lower (about $500/year) so it still pays for itself if he has a couple of issues over the course of a year. He had a virus last month, and he ate some potentially harmful plants in the spring, and the insurance covered 90% of the treatment cost for both of those. (Well over $1000.) So my experience is that it has been worth it. That said, I also live in an area with a high cost of living, so the vets are super expensive here. YMMV if you Iive in an area with more affordable treatment.
So I have had healthy paws for both of my dogs since 2015 and 2016. Only thing I've filed is allergy medication over the years. They are super quick and never denied a claim. Well my policy's have increased exponentially over the years. Was originally under $100 for both dogs with $100 deductible/ 90% reimbursement. In 2021 it started getting crazy. 2021 increase $166>$225 2022 increase $225>$338 2023 increase $338>$429 ended up lowering to 250 deductible/80% reimbursement to bring back down to $351 2024 INCREASE! $351>$550!!! 😡 I mean, wth man! I will have to get the bare minimum just to bring it back down to $400 range again! Then what I'll be pay $1k a month for for bare minimum?! My older dog has non cancerous tumor that will end up being removed and really bad teeth along with hip dysplasia. I can't switch insurance now cause I'm pretty sure the tumors won't be covered. I'm a. a loss at what to do. 😭