Help me choose a pet health/wellness insurance!
June 18, 2018 6:12 PM Subscribe
Maybe I shouldn't have been surprised, but healthcare in the pet world is as difficult to navigate as in the human world. Can someone point me to a brand/plan/course of action that would roughly fit my needs? Details and pictures of my cats inside.
I've got two domestic shorthairs (Heidi and Hector) from the same litter, 9 years old. One of them has developed a full limp in her right forelimb (won't rest weight on it when walking or running), but is otherwise behaving the same. Neither me nor my mother noticed that she took any bad falls, but we're not at home all the time so there's pretty much no way for us to be sure. No noticeable swelling or even painful withdrawal when I try to examine and very gently prod and twist her leg.
A visit to the vet was pretty inconclusive, and they recommended a $260 X-ray to find out what was really going on. I took the other option of giving her NSAIDS to see if it'll get better on its own a few days later, but that hasn't happened. The visit also revealed some pretty advanced dental damage (plaque, gingivitis, etc) for which the vet recommended a $700 teeth cleaning and $400 extraction of one of her teeth. These dental issues are likely to be the same-ish in my other cat.
At this point I'd like to take Heidi to get an X-ray, and the two of them to get their dental stuff sorted out. What I'm struggling with is whether to continue paying out of pocket or to get a healthcare plan. Getting a plan would help spread the expense out but I'm concerned about the reimbursement process not working out and having to pay even more money. I also have to choose between getting a pet health insurance plan and a wellness plan, but as far as I can tell the X-ray stuff would only be covered by the health insurance and the dental stuff (as preventive procedure) would only be covered by the wellness plan? And then there's wondering if more issues will arise as they get older, which would make getting on an insurance plan now good so that they don't become pre-existing conditions (right?). And so on, and so forth.
So what I'm looking for kind of breaks down in a few categories:
1) Personal anecdotes about any particular pet insurance/wellness plan, positive or negative
2) Advice as to whether I should get a plan in the first place
3) Advice as to what type of plan, if I should get one
4) Advice as to what company I should go with
My attempt to try to sort through this by myself just left me feeling overwhelmed, so thank you very much in advance!
I've got two domestic shorthairs (Heidi and Hector) from the same litter, 9 years old. One of them has developed a full limp in her right forelimb (won't rest weight on it when walking or running), but is otherwise behaving the same. Neither me nor my mother noticed that she took any bad falls, but we're not at home all the time so there's pretty much no way for us to be sure. No noticeable swelling or even painful withdrawal when I try to examine and very gently prod and twist her leg.
A visit to the vet was pretty inconclusive, and they recommended a $260 X-ray to find out what was really going on. I took the other option of giving her NSAIDS to see if it'll get better on its own a few days later, but that hasn't happened. The visit also revealed some pretty advanced dental damage (plaque, gingivitis, etc) for which the vet recommended a $700 teeth cleaning and $400 extraction of one of her teeth. These dental issues are likely to be the same-ish in my other cat.
At this point I'd like to take Heidi to get an X-ray, and the two of them to get their dental stuff sorted out. What I'm struggling with is whether to continue paying out of pocket or to get a healthcare plan. Getting a plan would help spread the expense out but I'm concerned about the reimbursement process not working out and having to pay even more money. I also have to choose between getting a pet health insurance plan and a wellness plan, but as far as I can tell the X-ray stuff would only be covered by the health insurance and the dental stuff (as preventive procedure) would only be covered by the wellness plan? And then there's wondering if more issues will arise as they get older, which would make getting on an insurance plan now good so that they don't become pre-existing conditions (right?). And so on, and so forth.
So what I'm looking for kind of breaks down in a few categories:
1) Personal anecdotes about any particular pet insurance/wellness plan, positive or negative
2) Advice as to whether I should get a plan in the first place
3) Advice as to what type of plan, if I should get one
4) Advice as to what company I should go with
My attempt to try to sort through this by myself just left me feeling overwhelmed, so thank you very much in advance!
(Wellness kicked in immediately, though, so it would help with dental.)
posted by Weeping_angel at 6:26 PM on June 18, 2018
posted by Weeping_angel at 6:26 PM on June 18, 2018
Oh, one more thing. There are limits to the wellness coverage. For mine, the dental didn't come anywhere close to covering the costs you were given. It was like a hundred or so bucks a year for cleanings. But again, dog.
posted by Weeping_angel at 6:32 PM on June 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Weeping_angel at 6:32 PM on June 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
As far as i know all of the vet plans exclude pre-existing conditions. They ask for a copy of all the vet records to determine what is pre-existing and they are pretty broad.
I found that for our dog, the wellness plan was about breakeven if you made sure to all the covered services. Basically, they figure out what they will pay out if you do everything and charge you that much plus a profit for them. Not worth it.
There are some special credit plans that will in effect loan you the money to pay for the vet bills and then you pay them back over time - rather like a credit card but with a possibly higher limit. You would have to check the interest rates to see if it is a good deal but it might help with timing issue.
By the way, we are currently with Trupanion. Aside from an issue about what is pre-existing, for the things that they do cover, the coverage is great and they are easy to work with. The trick is to get started early enough that you don't have everything falling under the umbrella of pre-existing.
posted by metahawk at 7:18 PM on June 18, 2018 [6 favorites]
I found that for our dog, the wellness plan was about breakeven if you made sure to all the covered services. Basically, they figure out what they will pay out if you do everything and charge you that much plus a profit for them. Not worth it.
There are some special credit plans that will in effect loan you the money to pay for the vet bills and then you pay them back over time - rather like a credit card but with a possibly higher limit. You would have to check the interest rates to see if it is a good deal but it might help with timing issue.
By the way, we are currently with Trupanion. Aside from an issue about what is pre-existing, for the things that they do cover, the coverage is great and they are easy to work with. The trick is to get started early enough that you don't have everything falling under the umbrella of pre-existing.
posted by metahawk at 7:18 PM on June 18, 2018 [6 favorites]
I had PetPlanUSA and was 100% satisfied with my experience. It's been a few years since my last pet died, so I don't know if they've changed, but I found them to be fair, honest, and definitely worth it. Both my dogs (big ones, so everything is $$$) died of strange, difficult-to-diagnose, mysterious illnesses that took several thousands of dollars worth of vet visits, tests, specialists and meds. I paid out of pocket exactly what my agreement with PenPlan was, they paid the rest, without any shenanigans, in both cases. I also used them for more minor injuries over the years (including a dog who needed a root canal) and again, no shenanigans. They paid what they were supposed to, promptly.
Folks above are right, though, the pre-existing condition will not be covered. Most plans also don't really do much for routine check-ups and vaccinations. It's more for the unexpected stuff.
posted by soren_lorensen at 7:55 PM on June 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
Folks above are right, though, the pre-existing condition will not be covered. Most plans also don't really do much for routine check-ups and vaccinations. It's more for the unexpected stuff.
posted by soren_lorensen at 7:55 PM on June 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
What metahawk said--I don't know one of the pet insurance plans that doesn't exclude pre-existing conditions.
I use Trupanion and, provided I got my animals onto it before anything popped up, they have been excellent. They are the only plan that most of the rescue and veterinary professionals I use recommend. I have one friend whose special snowflake immunosuppressant allergic-to-drugs kitty cost them $19,000 to treat (including a few amputations, etc) and their Trupanion policy was pretty much the only reason that they were able to afford to keep Coal going as long as his quality of life would allow. (He's wound up missing two limbs and a jaw, but he seems quite happy to still be around now that they've got it under control.) Trupanion apparently paid up without a word of complaint, as long as it wasn't pre-existing. They do not have payout limits. For that alone, I love them.
I will say that their premiums are much, much more affordable for younger animals, although they don't rise with the age of the animal as long as coverage is uninterrupted. I have Trupanion plans on all four of my pets, and I was very insistent that the youngest kitten get onto it as soon as he was formally adopted.
I will also say that they do not cover dentals with the exception of extractions. I have one cat with resorptive lesions, and as he was diagnosed with that at the time I enrolled him (age 5), they will no longer cover his dental extractions as that is now a pre-existing condition. If one of our other cats or the dog require dental extractions, though, anything beyond our deductible would be covered. They do not cover routine dental cleaning, but then again no plan I am aware of does.
My goodness, also, the dental prices are steep where you're at! At my vet, we had full dentals done for about $1-200 per cat and then I think something like $10 to $20 per extraction recently. Well, I say my vet--we actually visit another clinic for dental work that does a lot of them for a much more reasonable price. Our main vet we trust for everything else, but we can't always afford their dental prices. So that may be something else to consider if money is a bit tight.
I'm not entirely sure if you want to go in for insurance for your kitties--depends, bluntly, on how good health they're in and how likely they are to develop something serious and deeply expensive in the future. If you do decide you want to do a medical plan, get them on yesterday: usually coverage only starts about 30 days after enrollment in your plan of choice. So no matter what you want to do long term, in my experience you will get no coverage for these particular issues; pet insurance is more useful for unexpected things in the long run, at least for the medical plans. For wellness issues, my suspicion is that it is much more cost-effective simply to put a certain amount of money you would otherwise spend on an insurance premium every month into a dedicated bank account.
It sounds like what you are actually thinking of is a CareCredit card, like a special credit card with lowered or delayed interest rates that can only be used on medical or veterinary bills. That would let you spread your payments out exactly as you describe--sometimes they will allow you to go for six months without interest, for example. It's not at all the same thing as an insurance plan, but it's also a good option for some people trying to juggle pet care expenses.
posted by sciatrix at 8:21 PM on June 18, 2018 [5 favorites]
I use Trupanion and, provided I got my animals onto it before anything popped up, they have been excellent. They are the only plan that most of the rescue and veterinary professionals I use recommend. I have one friend whose special snowflake immunosuppressant allergic-to-drugs kitty cost them $19,000 to treat (including a few amputations, etc) and their Trupanion policy was pretty much the only reason that they were able to afford to keep Coal going as long as his quality of life would allow. (He's wound up missing two limbs and a jaw, but he seems quite happy to still be around now that they've got it under control.) Trupanion apparently paid up without a word of complaint, as long as it wasn't pre-existing. They do not have payout limits. For that alone, I love them.
I will say that their premiums are much, much more affordable for younger animals, although they don't rise with the age of the animal as long as coverage is uninterrupted. I have Trupanion plans on all four of my pets, and I was very insistent that the youngest kitten get onto it as soon as he was formally adopted.
I will also say that they do not cover dentals with the exception of extractions. I have one cat with resorptive lesions, and as he was diagnosed with that at the time I enrolled him (age 5), they will no longer cover his dental extractions as that is now a pre-existing condition. If one of our other cats or the dog require dental extractions, though, anything beyond our deductible would be covered. They do not cover routine dental cleaning, but then again no plan I am aware of does.
My goodness, also, the dental prices are steep where you're at! At my vet, we had full dentals done for about $1-200 per cat and then I think something like $10 to $20 per extraction recently. Well, I say my vet--we actually visit another clinic for dental work that does a lot of them for a much more reasonable price. Our main vet we trust for everything else, but we can't always afford their dental prices. So that may be something else to consider if money is a bit tight.
I'm not entirely sure if you want to go in for insurance for your kitties--depends, bluntly, on how good health they're in and how likely they are to develop something serious and deeply expensive in the future. If you do decide you want to do a medical plan, get them on yesterday: usually coverage only starts about 30 days after enrollment in your plan of choice. So no matter what you want to do long term, in my experience you will get no coverage for these particular issues; pet insurance is more useful for unexpected things in the long run, at least for the medical plans. For wellness issues, my suspicion is that it is much more cost-effective simply to put a certain amount of money you would otherwise spend on an insurance premium every month into a dedicated bank account.
It sounds like what you are actually thinking of is a CareCredit card, like a special credit card with lowered or delayed interest rates that can only be used on medical or veterinary bills. That would let you spread your payments out exactly as you describe--sometimes they will allow you to go for six months without interest, for example. It's not at all the same thing as an insurance plan, but it's also a good option for some people trying to juggle pet care expenses.
posted by sciatrix at 8:21 PM on June 18, 2018 [5 favorites]
I agree that insurance might not be beneficial for you in this instance, given that you are dealing with pre-existing and dental conditions. A veterinary credit card like CareCredit might be better. I have heard good things about Scratchpay, a newer and apparently simpler system, but I haven't used it myself.
posted by Rock Steady at 5:25 AM on June 19, 2018
posted by Rock Steady at 5:25 AM on June 19, 2018
Ive had a great experience with Trupanion but that’s for the health issues. They won’t cover the cleaning but will cover things like pulled teeth if you’ve done regular cleanings. But the big issue is your cat’s limp is now a preexisting condition which they don’t cover. I’d bet the other companies will be the same on that point.
That aside Trupanion covered about $13k of my dogs lung cancer surgery and related. My out of pocket was deductible + 10%. No problems ever getting coverage for that or other minor issues.
posted by jeffamaphone at 7:26 AM on June 19, 2018
That aside Trupanion covered about $13k of my dogs lung cancer surgery and related. My out of pocket was deductible + 10%. No problems ever getting coverage for that or other minor issues.
posted by jeffamaphone at 7:26 AM on June 19, 2018
I have Figo for my two cats and have been happy with it. The premium for my 8-year-old cat is $34.67/month and I have 100% reimbursement after a $500 deductible. The premium for my 13-year-old cat is $49.46 with 90% reimbursement after a $500 deductible.
To answer your questions:
1) Personal anecdotes about any particular pet insurance/wellness plan, positive or negative
Positive: Easy to submit claims through their website/portal "MyPetCloud." They process the claims quickly and reimburse directly to my checking account.
Negative:
They do not cover pre-existing conditions and will review all of their medical records when you sign up. One cat was taking medication daily before I bought the policy and so it is not covered.
Also, and this is a big sticking point, dental cleanings are considered routine care and are not covered. Non-routine dental care like extractions are covered. There is an optional "Veterinary Exam Fee" but it is not clear from their website if this would include dental cleanings.
Prescription food is not covered.
The premiums go up every year, which I get, but of course I'd prefer they didn't.
2) Advice as to whether I should get a plan in the first place
I absolutely recommend it if you can afford it. I bought the 100% reimbursement for the younger cat since he was the one always needing to go to the vet for something or other. And then my older cat wound up being diagnosed with small-cell lymphoma, which she is being treated for. It took a lot of expensive tests to arrive at the diagnosis and the medication is not cheap. I live in an expensive area and it gives me enormous peace of mind knowing that I will be able to take the best possible care of them as needed.
3) Advice as to what type of plan, if I should get one
I would definitely find a plan where you can get a wellness rider or whatever will help with those dental cleanings. As others have pointed out, her limp is a pre-existing condition and will probably not be covered. I would try to get at least some kind of coverage for both of them. Maybe choose a higher deductible/lower reimbursement for Heidi if her premiums are outrageous but get a lower deductible/higher reimbursement plan for Hector. I hate to think about it, but both of them are only going to get older and something else will come up. My older cat's cancer was completely out of left field.
4) Advice as to what company I should go with
I only have experience with Figo and have been happy with them for the most part.
posted by fozzie_bear at 8:59 AM on June 20, 2018 [2 favorites]
To answer your questions:
1) Personal anecdotes about any particular pet insurance/wellness plan, positive or negative
Positive: Easy to submit claims through their website/portal "MyPetCloud." They process the claims quickly and reimburse directly to my checking account.
Negative:
They do not cover pre-existing conditions and will review all of their medical records when you sign up. One cat was taking medication daily before I bought the policy and so it is not covered.
Also, and this is a big sticking point, dental cleanings are considered routine care and are not covered. Non-routine dental care like extractions are covered. There is an optional "Veterinary Exam Fee" but it is not clear from their website if this would include dental cleanings.
Prescription food is not covered.
The premiums go up every year, which I get, but of course I'd prefer they didn't.
2) Advice as to whether I should get a plan in the first place
I absolutely recommend it if you can afford it. I bought the 100% reimbursement for the younger cat since he was the one always needing to go to the vet for something or other. And then my older cat wound up being diagnosed with small-cell lymphoma, which she is being treated for. It took a lot of expensive tests to arrive at the diagnosis and the medication is not cheap. I live in an expensive area and it gives me enormous peace of mind knowing that I will be able to take the best possible care of them as needed.
3) Advice as to what type of plan, if I should get one
I would definitely find a plan where you can get a wellness rider or whatever will help with those dental cleanings. As others have pointed out, her limp is a pre-existing condition and will probably not be covered. I would try to get at least some kind of coverage for both of them. Maybe choose a higher deductible/lower reimbursement for Heidi if her premiums are outrageous but get a lower deductible/higher reimbursement plan for Hector. I hate to think about it, but both of them are only going to get older and something else will come up. My older cat's cancer was completely out of left field.
4) Advice as to what company I should go with
I only have experience with Figo and have been happy with them for the most part.
posted by fozzie_bear at 8:59 AM on June 20, 2018 [2 favorites]
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posted by Weeping_angel at 6:22 PM on June 18, 2018