Embrace vs. PetPlan... so confused. Help?
 

Hey all,

Soooo I was researching insurance plans today and I don't have a knack for it in the first place... I'm a bit confused as to which insurance I should go with PetPlan or Embrace (I'm open to others if someone else has a suggestion)?

I NEED to make sure I go with the right one because PetPlan cannot do monthly or quarterly payments in NY, so I'd have to do an annual payment... which means I'm stuck with them for a year.

I'm extremely worried I'm going to select the wrong one for my baby and after reading the plans myself, calling the companies, and reading reviews online. I'm no closer to my goal. :(

Any clarity/help/experiences/etc. would be much appreciated!

P.S. Any recommended deductible/percentage combination suggestions are appreciated. I can crunch the numbers afterward to see if they would work for me personally, but I'm open to initial suggestions. Thanks!

I think both insurance plans are pretty good. I bought the PetPlan Silver policy $12,000 $50.00 deductible . I have not had to use it yet and hopefully I don't but it is a peace of mind thing. Yes I had to pay for the whole year but I thought they offered other ways to pay. Maybe I am thinking of another insurance I was looking at. I picked PetPlan because the reviews were pretty good. Embrace is good too. Hope this helps.

Here's a great article from the YT library

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...rifaj-dvm.html

There is a post dated September 30th titled: "I fired Petplan".....

I have Trupanion, which I got back in July. Havent' had to use it, yet and hope I never have to but they got great reviews. You can choose your deductible..... I pay $32.68 a month. I choose a -0- deductible and they will reimburse 90% for sickness and/or injury.

Yes, they usually offer other payment options, but NY state does NOT allow them to do quarterly or monthly payments currently. They are looking to change it, but that is not how it is now. So I'm in for a year if I opt in... that makes me nervous. :(

I've read that article already (always go to the stickies/admin stuff first:D) and it was a good starting point, but what I'm concerned about now is not the coverage itself (as they are both pretty good, but I can see advantages to both). It is making the coverage valid that I'm concerned about. e.g. EXACTLY what I need on the first vet visit paperwork.

I've read the thread about "Fired PetPlan" already and I'm concerned about rejection for my policy before it even starts. Like special requirements for things like LP notes, etc. I also have trouble understanding legal babble and so yes they'll probably send me a book with the contract, but will I understand it???

I've also heard PetPlan customer service is poor, so I was looking for opinions good and bad. Maybe even people who have tried a bunch of plans and their preferences. Really anything to help me out more than the websites and the phone calls to the companies and my other research has.

I was leaning toward PetPlan and now I'm confused @_@

I haven't looked into Trupanion. Perhaps I will have to consider them. However, I'd like to hear from someone who has had to actually claim from any of these places. Good and bad reviews.

Thank you all for your input by the way! :D

You are welcome!!
Here is the post. There are 5 pages of comments, etc.
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/gen...d-petplan.html

Good Luck! I remember having to do research back in July when I brought my little one home. It is all soooo confusing!!

I have PetPlan and have filed 3 claims which they paid quickly. I haven't had a bad experience with PetPlan so far and my rates did not go up after the claims.

Someone did mention LP coverage and how to ensure that was never excluded. When each of mine had their first vet exam, my vet did check their knees and made note in their records that their knees were fine. I made sure to submit the release to my vet to send all vet records to PetPlan. I know that release is really important so they can send for the vet records.

It is very confusing though I agree! I have heard really good things about Embrace too. Good luck!!

Thank you for your input! It is much appreciated. :D

Do you think if I asked them they would tell me what to have the vet send exactly after the initial exam? Or would I have to comb through the written policy myself (HA! What a joke that would be:p)?

I was with Embrace for over a year and feel they're a good company. However, they don't cover the cost of medications unless it's administered by the doctor at his office.

My oldest recently began taking Rimadyl for arthritis and Anipryl for Canine Cognitive Disorder. The Rimadyl cost me almost $40 for 15 pills and the Anipryl is even worse. Once I realized how expensive veterinary meds can be, I switched to Trupanion since they do pay for medicines and they have no per claim, annual or lifetime payout maximums. If your pet has a condition requiring long term meds (epilepsy, diabetes, arthritis, etc.), you should consider a company that will help you pay for these medicines.

I have PetPlan, and haven't yet had any problems. When I was starting PetPlan, I called and spoke to customer service and asked what I should ask for during Pfeiffer's first exam. They told me the vet had to write in her records that her patellas were not luxating (the rep gave me the exact sentence that the vet should put in the records).

Others here have had some fairly recent problems with PetPlan - ie, some issues were noted as 'pre-existing', even though they were puppies (???)...weird.

Bonny (BonBon) has really looked into the various plans, and has great insight to some of the issues. {btw, Bonny, question...for the new meds you're giving...how did you get around the pre-existing condition stuff? Or, did he have Trupanion prior to the addition of the meds? Is Trupanion more flexible about pre-existing? If yes, I may need to look into that for Wy and Marcel}

Ann, Alexander isn't insured. By the time I learned there was such a thing as pet insurance, he was past the age most companies would cover him and already had some health problems.

Trupanion is just as strict about pre-existing conditions as Embrace or Petplan. That's why I had to leave Chelsea's coverage with Embrace when I moved the rest of my gang over to Trupanion. I'm blessed that the others have all been healthy pups so far.

Today I called PetPlan and asked if my 7 month old Kinder was covered for LP. I talked to a Mike and he said I am ok and I do not need to send Kinder's puppy records stating she has no pre existing things like LP. I bought this this past July and he said I am on the old contract and not to worry. Apparently they must of did some changes.

Can any vet do this or do you have to go to a certain one? My puppy is 11 wkd tomorrow and I am thinking seriously getting some type of insurance on her like petplan. Any help would be appreciated in directing me on the how to get started. Thanks!

Petplan, Embrace, Trupanion, and most other pet insurance companies allow you to choose your own vet - they don't have established networks that you have to pick from. With all of them, you have to pay the vet bill in full then submit it to the insurance company for reimbursement. Petplan though, charges a much higher co-pay % than the % you selected on your plan if you need to take your pet to a specialist or an after hours emergency center. The other plans charge the same co-pay no matter when/where you need to take your pup for care.

Hey all,

Thanks for all the input! Sorry I've been MIA, YT was coming up as an attack site for the past few days (not sure what was up with that... anyway it is fixed now).

Trupanion sounds pretty good. I will definitely have to look into them.

Also, on a side note there is an insurance that does not have age restrictions. That is Pets Best I believe. :) You may want to look them up for the pup that has no insurance, but is older. I'm not sure how they measure up coverage wise once they are past a certain age, but you could look into it!

It sucks that they are changing their contracts. Now I'm worried I'll miss coverage because of something that I did wrong! I spoke with a Michael (who is different from Mike in the office apparently since he pointed out that I should not call him Mike because they already have a Mike...) this past weekend. Hopefully I will get another chance to call during business hours before Thursday when my baby comes home because her vet appointment is soon after that and I'd like to get everything squared away before that.

I'm really leaning toward Pet Plan because I like their coverage. I'm just afraid of causing Rylie not to be covered because of something I did... if that makes any sense?

Just a little update....I had to file a claim for Pfeiffer; I filed for $205.25 - and PetPlan is fully reimbursing me. So far, I've rcvd about $900-ish in reimbursements for Pfeiffer and she has had the plan since about June 1st...so about 5 months?

Some people have had some trouble w/ PetPlan; so far, it's been good for us. I will keep people posted on our experiences, if/when helpful. :)

What's the response time on getting your reimbursement?

I filed my first claim with Embrace on 10/18/10, for Chelsea heart concerns that began on 10/16/10. I received an email from Embrace acknowledging receipt of my claim but that's the last I've heard and it into the fourth week now. I'm disappointed in their slow response time.

For the quote previous to this one, I think it took about 2-3wks total...? Once I fax it over, they'll email me within about 1-3 days saying they received the claim. And then, within a week or so - they email me again stating my claim has been processed. And then 2-4 days later, I get the check.

The 1st claim seemed to take more like 3wks total, this current claim seems more like about 2 weeks total. :)

That's pretty good! :)

I'm still waiting to hear whether or not my claim's been approved. I sent in ALL of Chelsea's medical history along with this claim (she's only 2 1/2 so she didn't have much :p). I just don't see what could be taking so long. :confused: Oh well, it's my very first claim and I guess I'm a little impatient. :rolleyes:

Thanks for the input everyone! I really appreciate all your stories.

I think I'll be going with PetPlan, but I will be sure when I make the initial call that I harass the s*** out of my sales rep to make sure that I know EXACTLY what has to be noted in her records so I'm completely covered. I'll tell them my concerns and also ask for a written follow up e-mail from them stating IN WRITING what they told me to get to be completely covered (yeah I'm paranoid...). Hopefully they will agree to all my demands and be helpful, if not I'll take my money somewhere else. :p I'll keep you all posted on how it works out.

In other news, RYLIE COMES HOME TODAY!! :D

Please do let me know.. I am truly wanting to get insurance on Rose! But I want to hear from others too! This is confusing not knowing what insurance is best!

That's the whole point. Insurance is a business, so they try to make it confusing ON PURPOSE so that they make more money. You pay them for the insurance and then you go to make a claim. They don't want to pay YOU because then they lose money and profit. Insurance companies really aren't there to help you or to be a good citizen or any of that stuff, they're in it to make money. Therefore, their aim really isn't to help make it easier for you to get coverage.

I'll definitely keep you posted.

This thread has been very helpful, thanks everyone! I have another question though. I was also looking at insurance for my 4.5 month old and my nearly 2 year old and wasn't sure if I should just get the major/accidental coverage or if it is cost effective to get the whole works which covers their heart guard, yearly vet visits, portion of teeth cleaning, any meds, and for my little one a % of her spaying. What's the consensus on this? I was looking at VIP insurance and it will be around $40-50/month each. I just want to make sure I am getting what I need to protect my babies but still not over-insuring them. Thanks!

Here was my analysis on things such as the Wellness plan stuff (e.g. the coverage for yearly visits/vaccines/dental/other routine things). Now this is just my opinion so don't take it as the end all and be all of answers :).

You pay extra per month for the Wellness coverage type stuff, no matter what insurance you are on. Usually the Wellness has an annual limit. For arguments sake, lets say they will cover $100 of Wellness annually.

Now, that is not $100 of Wellness per area, that is OVERALL. As in, you go for a vaccine ($50) and dental cleaning ($50). You have just used your entire Wellness for the year. It isn't like you get $150 for dental and $150 for each area.

My numbers analysis has lead me to believe that paying the extra for the routine coverage (e.g. dental and such) is not necessary. In fact, you will lost money on the deal and you are better off paying for routine stuff on your own.

This is an excerpt from a very good article that you should read fully (found here: Make 2010 The Year Of Affordable Pet Health Care! ):

"Routine checkups – Some pet insurance policies will cover an allocated amount for routine pet care. Those companies that do offer coverage for routine health care costs (vaccinations, parasite control, spay/neuter, dental cleanings, annual check-ups) seemingly do not pay out well for unexpected medical costs. It’s best to avoid the temptation to buy routine coverage. Instead, budget for the known costs of basic pet care and buy polices that will afford you comprehensive coverage for the unexpected illness or life threatening emergency. "

That being said, I think it is important to go with a plan that will cover non-preexisting chronic, genetic, and hereditary conditions. That is why I like PetPlan.

PetPlan has 100% continued coverage for chronic conditions, covers congenital/hereditary conditions, has no per incident limit, etc.

I just found this lovely tidbit about PetPlan from another site
(Compare PetPlan Pet Insurance):

Pertaining to cruciate injuries and patella issues: "They will waive this exclusion if your veterinarian issues a certificate of health stating that your pet has been examined and does not have any pre-existing conditions related to the cruciates or patellas. This must be done within the first 30 days of coverage. "

One of the biggest downfalls of PetPlan I find is that you have to pay a higher co-pay for emergency/specialist/after-hours visits (Compare PetPlan Pet Insurance):

"Co-pay is 20% or 30% (depending on the state you live in) in the following situations:
Your veterinarian refers you to a specialized referral veterinary facility
You see a veterinary specialist either by referral or on your own without a referral
You take your pet to an emergency care facility (Does not apply to life-saving emergency conditions)
You take your pet to an after hours veterinary facility (Does not apply to life-saving emergency conditions)
You take your pet to an accredited school of veterinary medicine"

Also note the restrictions on dental (Compare PetPlan Pet Insurance):

"[LIMITED] Dental coverage for illness and accidents is included if your pet has had its teeth checked by a veterinarian in the twelve months before the effective date of your policy, and any treatment that was recommended as a result of a veterinary check was carried out. If this is not done, dental treatments are not covered."


Do your research. Go to insurance websites, review websites, and read articles and then decide what is best for you! :)

Review Website: Petplan - Pet Insurance reviews and information

Thank you Furbaby Friend! That was an excellent post. I definitely recommend anyone looking for insurance to read the article from the link you posted:

Make 2010 The Year Of Affordable Pet Health Care!

(i'm not sure how to pull your exact quote into my reply, sorry everyone. The link is in the post right above this one)

This answered soooo many questions and put everything in plain English.

That was a good post. Thank you for all the info! :)

The part above is another reason (in addition to lack of medication coverage) that I decided to switch from Embrace - they cover only 25% of chronic conditions after the first year when diagnosed. Trupanion has NO limits whatsoever. No per claim limits, no per condition limits, no annual limits, and no lifetime limits. I wanted an insurance company that would pay whatever is necessary to keep my guys healthy, and I think Trupanion offers the best option for that.

The area in RED is exactly what I've been mentioning a few times. This too is what I was told -- so when I took Pfeiffer in for her 1st exam, the vet examined her knees and wrote in the chart exactly what the PetPlan customer service agent told me should be written about a yorkie's knees.

No problem! I just figured I'd put it all in one place since I was looking at it anyway!

Trupanion looks really nice... I'm wondering what the hitch is :p (Compare Trupanion Pet Insurance)

I do have a question though:

What is hip dysplasia and are Yorkies/Maltese/small breeds prone to it?

I know bigger dogs are.