I am thinking of changing insurance companies due to regular large increases in my premium. If you have Healthy Paws insurance, have your rate increases been reasonable? Thanks in advance for any help.
I have 2 of 3 on HP, and the other is on Petsplan and will be moved to HP this month.
HP seems like it does what they say, the rates aren't "teasers" that will be jacked up upon renewal, and the people on the phone are helpful. However, it's really only helpful for huge bills.
The weird thing with them is how they calculate your reimbursement. Be sure you understand that, as it's different from other companies -- and it's not intuitive. For example, I have a 250 deductible & 90% coverage. Let me illustrate with a recent example:
My dog just had 400 in bills for a carpal ligament injury requiring a splint, xrays, sedation, and a follow up visit to remove the splint. With 90% reimbursement, you might think it would be:
400 (total bill) -250 (deductible) = 150 * 90% = 135 reimbursement. NOPE!
First, they deduct the office visit costs (there were two here). Those aren't covered by HP, ever. That knocked over 100 off the top of my bills. THEN they do apply your percentage of coverage, before taking out your deductible -- so it results in significantly reduced reimbursement by doing it in this order. In my case with 400 in bills, the calculation was roughly:
300 (amount left after taking out 2 office visits) *90% = 270-250 (deductible) = 20...so I got a $20 check.
OTOH, the really good thing with them is the deductible is annual not per incident, so if we have anything else come up during the rest of this calendar year, I've already met my deductible for the year. I hate the per incident deductibles at other companies.
I have been interested in Trupanions zero dollar deductible service. Does anyone here have it? Basically you pay your monthly and never have to worry about vet bill right?
That is what we have. And pretty much, you won't have to worry about a big bill. They still don't cover the vet's exam fee, or anything that is considered routine or preventative. But illnesses and accidents (as long as they are not pre-existing) will not cost you an arm and a leg. But seriously, the rate increases are insane. My senior, who we signed up at 3 when we adopted her, started out at $36/month. It now costs us $108/month, just for her. My 21 month old GSD is now $76/month. They both have health problems that make it worth it, but I can't imagine spending this much per month for a healthy dog.
Petsplan has had increases exceeding 25% a year too, and I just got a letter that they changed their underwriter and their plan structures, leading to huge rate increases again. Not a fan.
My 5 year old Lab mix, Jake, has been insured with Trupanion since he was 1 year old. It started out at around $35/month. With the new increase my monthly rate for him will be $61. No claims ever. I find that ridiculous.
Mine are both on HP. They are great. I get the check within 2 weeks. Cam gets monthly physical therapy for HOD and they pay every time without question. I will keep them on HP. It has paid off multiple times and it is great peace of mind.
We have trupanion and the rate depends on what kind of deductible you choose. We chose a higher deductible as we had a few pets gsd, chihuahua and 1 cat. It's for those extremely high emergency vet bills and feel so much better having it. We put one claim and we got a check from them a few days later with no issues what so ever.
Yikes... sounds like the shenanigans of human health insurance companies. I hope HP doesn't go that route but I wonder. I am no fan of insurance companies especially human health. <sigh>
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
German Shepherds Forum
2.6M posts
121.9K members
Since 2002
A forum community dedicated to all German Shepherd owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about bloodlines, training, breeding, service dogs, and more!