As a dog owner I try to do what is best for our dogs and having a science background I tend to spend a ton of time researching topics before making a decision. I’ve repeatedly done it for dog food, probably will again. (I have been told it is because I’m a Libra if you’re a psuedo-science person.) When we adopted Martok the topic of pet insurance came to the forefront. Our first Dane, Selar, had insurance but the was easy back then. I only remember one company offering it, I paid a yearly premium and a co-pay each time I took her in to the vet. No deductible and no customization of coverage although they did have a pre-existing condition clause.
We unfortunately didn’t get coverage for Varel, our second Dane. I looked into it but the company we used was gone, the new premiums were beyond our means and the coverage for Giant breeds was minimal. Along came our 3rd Dane and I looked into it again but they were both young and healthy and insurance is confusing. (visualize head slap here)
After losing both girls to cancer and the debt that piled up each time, Martok, our 4th Dane, has pet insurance. (See, I can learn). I spent at least a couple weeks researching to pick from the dozens of companies now offering pet health insurance. I first looked at the one recommended by the specialty hospital which treated both our girl’s cancers. It was really expensive but it covered everything under the sun though.
Next step in any search is “Google it”
I discovered that some of the pet insurance companies offer comparison tools on their websites. Of course you have to take these with a grain of salt since they are trying to sell you theirs, but if you compare them across each other it can help.
What to look in a comparison:
- do they reimburse you or do they pay the vet directly
- cover prescriptions
- cover wellness/preventative visits
- how they define pre-existing conditions
- what conditions they cover (some are only accidents not illness)
- when they consider a dog “senior” (senior coverage may be limited)
- deductibles (I can’t seem to grok deductibles)
- percentage of each visit they pay
- maximum either per occurrence or per year
- cancer coverage
- alternative treatment coverage
There are more but those are the top things I looked at.
So I’m not going to tell you what insurance is best for your pet. Sorry, you have to figure that out for your own situation. For my situation, I eventually narrowed it down to a couple of companies which on paper looked the same. What was important to me was price, coverage, ease of use but there was one thing that set the company I chose apart. I found it on their ‘what’s not covered’ page of the website. They don’t cover Avian flu or nuclear war. They have a sense of humor, that’s what finally sold me. Had they said zombie apocalypse they would have had me even faster.
So what company did I choose? I went with Embrace, they don’t sponsor me in anyway (but if they want to I’m listening, hint, hint). Which means Martok is out of luck if he gets avian flu. I think we are all out of luck if there is a nuclear war or a zombie apocalypse.
