I’m paying close to $190 a month for my 7 year old medium sized dog and 8 year old small dog. They go to the vet maybe once a year and I figured it could be worth it as a preventative measure but it’s honestly really expensive. I’ve been reading about prices increasing too so I don’t know what to do… i have fetch

Hi all, I have been losing my mind trying to figure out which coverage would be best for my pup. He is a 1YO chihuahua/poodle mix who was rescued off the side of the road at 3 months with a broken hip. He has had FHO surgery which did seem to help reduce his pain and allow him to put more weight on the limb (left hindleg). He loves running and jumping around and generally acts like a happy puppy, but will likely always walk with a limp. I'm aware he may develop issues as he gets older from compensating. We currently have Pets Best, which we have not had a good experience with. We have sent them the same documents three times and every time they said they did not receive it, even when I'm actively looking at the email to their claims department while on the phone with them. Then it takes a full two months for them to review the documents, only for at the end of two months for them to close my claim because they did not receive my documents.... and thus the cycle continues....... Which insurance would you recommend? Should I just suck it up and accept that I'm likely going to have to pay in full for any orthopedic issues? I'm happy paying on the higher end ($70-$100 a month) for more full coverage that would include exam visits, medications, etc, but I'm having a hard time figuring out which insurance would work best for my pet. Any advice y'all have to give would be greatly appreciated and save me hours of going down this rabbit hole!!!

My puppy recently got a tick bite and showed positive on Lyme disease after testing. Did more testing to see if treatment is required. Pet insurance denied my claim because I didn’t buy him the vaccine for Lyme disease offered by Vet. I have bought both internal and external de-wormer through Vet and PetSmart with records. I am trying to appeal this but want to know if I am supposed to buy that vaccine at the first place? Am I supposed to buy anything Vet offered to make further claims approved?

Hi guys. I have Pets Plus Us for my cats. A little while ago my cats were exhibiting signs of asthma, the vet said that if it’s only infrequently then he doesn’t see the need for medication but that if I really wanted to he could give us a trial amount of prednisone to see how it works. I agreed, and when I submitted the documents the insurance wouldn’t cover it because the doctor wrote in the notes that I insisted on trying the meds not the doctor. Anyways, rewind to now. My cat has a serious case of diarrhea. The vet suggested a PCR. However since he’s an indoor cat I highly doubt any parasite or virus will be the issue. My friend who works at a different vet clinic recommended I get my vet to do an ultrasound. However, I’m very nervous to suggest this myself instead of my vet suggesting it because I’m worried my insurance will deny the claim if the vet writes in the notes that “owner requested an ultrasound be done” instead of the vet being the one to suggest it. Is this a real concern? If I want insurance to cover any treatment or diagnostics, should I avoid making and suggestions or requests to the vet so that any tests that are done are only at the suggestion of the vet? Money is a big concern right now since I lost my job so I don’t want to risk getting my claim denied. Thank you in advance!

So, I’m planning on buying a Dalmatian puppy within the next few months and wanted to figure out which insurance I plan to go with before taking the puppy home. I’ve heard pretty good things about Lemonade, and they had a reasonable starting rate, but that went so high when I imput my information. It ended up being about $100/mo without add-ones such as dental or routine vet. Maybe I just don’t get insurance as I’m buying from a very good breeder who has heath testing/CHIC numbers, temperament tested parents, etc? I guess I’m just confused how a 3/mo old puppy of a breed that’s very healthy compared to a lot of breeds people have, can cost so much more than the base rate. This is my first time perusing insurance for a pet so forgive me if I’m missing something obvious here.

Hey guys I'm with fetch pet insurance Australia due to the fact because they advertised they would pay directly to my vet and I would only have to pay the excess to fetch.. it’s called direct to vet Well I'm learning now no vets are set up with them at all most vets aren't wanting to hand over there vet details so the vet can pay them directly I feel like they are scamming there customers If anyone is with them how do you guys do it?

Hello kind community. I am trying to make a decision for our 7.5 year old sweetheart. So, we have been on Pet's Best since she was young as my wife was able to get a discount through her employer. At 5yo, our dog suffered a bout of IVDD stage 4 and needed a hemilaminectomy surgery. (came in to something like 14k and we maxed out our 5k coverage.) The surgery went great and she recovered relatively quickly with the help of a lot of alternative therapies. Unfortunately, when we signed on for Pets Best, we did not opt for RAC care (rehab, acupuncture, chiro) We didnt even know this was an option at the time, it would have been a massive help had we had the RAC, so tip - OPT FOR IT no matter what, or make sure your provider covers this. Pets do SO well with "alternative therapy". Since the IVDD, we have been regularly seen by a vet who specializes in holistic offerings. She receives acupuncture and laser therapy and it keeps her in really great shape. She is about 80% to where she was pre-IVDD, but if we go to long without the acupuncture, her mobility dips some. These visits cost about $275 each. She also developed an eye condition (Keratitis & Keratopathy) about a year and a half ago, and has been seen by an eye specialist to reverse and retard the condition with eyedrops with great success. At this point they only want to see her 1x/year. Latest note from this vet reads "She has no active keratitis, controlled (if anything, improved) corneal pigmentation, and is otherwise normal on exam." Pets best has been paying our claims for these visits. The only other claim we've submitted was for getting a foxtail pulled out of her ear canal. \* So, Pets Best sent us a notice of a 2x increase in our premium, leading us to look in to switching to see if we could get something better. Through this wonderful community I came across Physicians Mutual and am feeling like it will be a better option, and that even if we end up paying more we could be in better hands. My fear, however, is that in the switch, anything related to her eyes will be seen as pre-existing. It would be great to get that yearly eye specialist covered but I understand that it may not be if its related to the keratitis. But in the future if she develops cataracts, ulcers, etc in her eye, could it be denied? **My main question**, is related to her mobility upkeep. Would we be able to get acupuncture + laser covered under alternative therapy, as "preventative care" instead of having it tied to the IVDD? Its unclear in Physicians Mutual's documentation how they provide/decide for alternative care. She has not had any incidents related to IVDD in 2.5 years, but there is always a risk that it could show in another area of her spine later. Does anyone here use Physicians Mutual for Acupuncture, or has anyone here successfully added RAC care to their Pet's Best policy post-incident? I feel that even without her history, as she ages we would be opting for regular acupuncture and laser as her primary preventative care. Any insight is greatly appreciated, thanks everyone.

Nationwide tripled policy and cut coverage 40% Last year they tripled my policy to over $3k, and just sent me a letter saying next year they are cutting coverage to 50%. Been with them for probably 5+ years. I am on a grandfathered plan that covered 90% and wellness, so basically everything (including food since prescribed). To pay triple the rate and then also lose 40% of my coverage is absurd, and they said they have no other options or plans to reduce costs. Monthly costs also only drop $30 which is a slap in the face. Any idea where I can go or what I can do to control costs? He’s a 12.5 year old “beagle” mix for reference and has cushings for background.

So I've had Embrace for a year now, and just discovered my monthly rate went up a whopping 40%. So I called them, and they said they raise rates for ALL policy holders on average 25-35% every single year. Ive had no claims. No changes in anything whatsoever. My dog is only 1 year older, now years old. There have been no changes in my state, and they can't attribute it to inflation. So screw that. I don't see how thats even legal to raise that much each year. That means in 4 years, I'd be paying more for mediocre pet insurance on 1 dog, than I pay for all of my insurances combined.

Ok so this is totally my fault for not reading the policy documents, but the Trupanion deductibles are PER CONDITION, not annual. This means every time your puppy visits for a new condition, the $500 restarts. The idea is that once the deductible for a condition is met, your pet is covered for life for that condition without having to meet deductibles again. Our puppy had splinters stuck in his tonsils and had to be sedated to have them removed. The total bill was $750, and between "examination fees" and the new $500 deductible (we have already submitted claims for other things), nothing was covered. Here is the kicker, they not only didn't cover the examination/consultation fee, they also denied the "esophageal examination" which was the procedure to pull splinters out because of the word "examination". Here is ANOTHER kicker, if something gets stuck in his throat again, it would be considered a separate incidence, so the $500 will restart again! If your puppy gets giardia, it clears up, and he gets it again in 3 months, guess what, the $500 restarts! I can see that this would be a good policy for older pets with chronic conditions, so you don't need to meet deductibles every year, but for a healthy puppy who gets into accidents from time to time, every incidence is considered separately, so mostly likely much of your expense will not be covered! I'm switching back to another insurance that my 5 year old girl is on. I wanted to try Trupanion because I kept seeing ads for it, but now I'm going to switch both of my pups to be with the same company while my puppy is still young before "pre-existing conditions" develop.