# Why I'm choosing Petplan over Trupanion



## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

What an idiotic policy. I'd avoid it too.


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## FeatherRiverSam (Aug 7, 2009)

It must save them quite a bit of money by maintaining this policy and it doesn't seem to put that many people off as it's still regarded very highly by this community. Should your dog be hit by a vehicle I would imagine the expense would be fairly high but I guess there are enough people out there that feel this isn't very likely to happen which allows them to get away with it.

As careful as I am and I mean careful I'd still want this coverage - it seems to me most vets recommend waiting until your dog, at least males, is 18 months of age before neutering.

I think I'll post a poll of some kind here to how many owners have ever had one their dogs hit by a car.

Pete


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## zeke11 (Jul 21, 2009)

Pete, 

That would be interesting. I did go with Healthy Paws --- seems very competitive with Pet Plan, but doesn't have the automatic 10% increase in premium yearly. 

Kris


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## nixietink (Apr 3, 2008)

zeke11 said:


> Pete,
> 
> That would be interesting. I did go with Healthy Paws --- seems very competitive with Pet Plan, but doesn't have the automatic 10% increase in premium yearly.
> 
> Kris


It says on their FAQ that your premiums will raise slightly each year. What does that depend on?


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## zeke11 (Jul 21, 2009)

Less than 10%, basically because of inflation and the cost of everything going up, is what she told me.

Kris


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## FeatherRiverSam (Aug 7, 2009)

zeke11 said:


> Pete,
> 
> That would be interesting. I did go with Healthy Paws --- seems very competitive with Pet Plan, but doesn't have the automatic 10% increase in premium yearly.
> 
> Kris


Thanks Kris, I'll definitely look into Healthy Paws.

Pete


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## walexk (Nov 13, 2009)

zeke11 said:


> Here's the biggie:
> 
> If you do not have your pet neutered by the age of 1 year, Trupanion will NOT cover medical costs of your dog being hit by a car for the rest of his life. Even if you have him neutered at the age of 13 months. It has to be BY THE AGE of 1 year. I am choosing to neuter Duffy at 18 months. It would be horrible if he ever got hit by a car (God forbid) and I had been paying insurance for him, yet this potentially expensive occurrence would not be covered in any way shape or form by Trupanion.
> 
> ...


I do have Trupanion and am very happy with the coverage. I went back and looked at my policy and it states that a male has to neutered based on the recommendation of the Vet. It did not have the hard and fast rule of one year. Thought I would share that with all. They also just lifted their lifetime limit and it now has no limits. Overall, I am very happy with the policy and the coverage. It does not go up as the dog gets older and it pays based on actual vet costs and not the prevailing average on the area.


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## lgnutah (Feb 26, 2007)

I just bought a Petplan policy--I wasn't asked to purchase a rider to cover hip displaysia. Can someone clear this up? I had a VPI policy for years and switched to Pet Plan because I understood PetPlan covered congenital disorders, including hip displaysia


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## Enzos_Mom (Apr 8, 2010)

There is no additional rider to cover hip dysplasia - it's automatically covered. I looked into Healthy Paws but when I read the terms and conditions, it said that they don't cover any congenial disorders - hip dysplasia included.

ETA: There is sometimes a 6 month or so waiting period on coverage for joint issues - read your terms and conditions to find out. My wait was only 14 days.


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## zeke11 (Jul 21, 2009)

Healthy Paws does cover hip dysplasia and other congenital disorders. Also, cancer.

Kris


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## Enzos_Mom (Apr 8, 2010)

Maybe I'm getting them mixed up with the AKC insurance...??


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## Enzos_Mom (Apr 8, 2010)

Yes, it's the AKC one that doesn't cover hip dysplasia. I decided against Healthy Paws because of the 12 month waiting period in order for them to cover hip dysplasia (I'm concerned about Enzo's hips and don't want to wait that long if an issue comes up) and the fact that they don't offer 100% reimbursement.


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## zeke11 (Jul 21, 2009)

Can someone tell me, roughly, the amount of increases due to dog's age and how often they occur, with Petplan?

kris


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## Enzos_Mom (Apr 8, 2010)

I'm not sure, but if you call them, I'm sure they'd tell you. I've called them for a few different things and they've been really good about answering my questions. They even sent me a $25 American Express gift card.


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## nixietink (Apr 3, 2008)

I can tell you that when my policy renewed a few months ago that it went up a whopping 67 cents a month.


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

zeke11 said:


> Can someone tell me, roughly, the amount of increases due to dog's age and how often they occur, with Petplan?
> 
> kris



When I first signed up Sammy for PetPlan he was only 3 or 4 months old, and his premium was $28/month. I believe it stayed the same until his most recent renewal a couple months ago (he'll be 4 next year) when it went up to $31/month.

Dillon was signed up at age 3 and it's always been $42/month for him (its only been one policy renewal, he'll be 5 next year).


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## lgnutah (Feb 26, 2007)

I think PetPlan has an increase at 5 years. Brooks was signed up just before he turned 5 and I think the agent said something about a rate increase if I waited to sign up after he turned 5 years.


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## phaseshift (Jul 19, 2010)

hey everyone, i started looking for pet insurance for buck and PetPlan is on top of my list. I've never done an insurance for a pet before, my main question is 

deductible and reimbursement, which didi you guys choose and why?


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

There's another insurance thread today, and I just posted this on there, but if you read the *fine print* for PetPlan, they only cover 80% of anything done by any specialist or at any university vet hospital REGARDLESS of the co-pay you select.
Since my dog's biggest bills have always been from specialists, it makes sense to me to just go with 20% co-pay on everything since they're forcing me into it for the big ticket items anyway. 
I'll go with the $200 deductible because the lower ones really raise your monthly premium, and for me, insurance is for the major medical issues, not the little doctor visits. JMO of course.




phaseshift said:


> hey everyone, i started looking for pet insurance for buck and PetPlan is on top of my list. I've never done an insurance for a pet before, my main question is
> 
> deductible and reimbursement, which didi you guys choose and why?


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## NuttinButGoldens (Jan 10, 2009)

Deductible drives the cost more than anything else.

I went with a $200 deductible and 100% coverage on the Gold Plan.

Milo and Gilmour together are around $180 per quarter.



phaseshift said:


> hey everyone, i started looking for pet insurance for buck and PetPlan is on top of my list. I've never done an insurance for a pet before, my main question is
> 
> deductible and reimbursement, which didi you guys choose and why?


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## trieverlover (Mar 11, 2011)

i looked into this because it really doesnt make sense. as a matter of fact, this isnt an exclusion for ALL car accidents, only if we decided to be stupid goldie owners and let our unaltered pups roam free and then they were hit by a car. a customer service rep verified this for me.


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## rhondas (Sep 10, 2010)

I have Petplan and have been very happy with it. I originally had ASPCA health insurance and I would never recommend it to anyone. Not only is ASPCA more expensive but they do not cover any hereditary diseases . ASPCA likes to reject every claim saying it is a pre existing condition. When I asked once what the preexisting condition was - they said coccidia. After talking to them about this i told them that I personally don't believe they understand the species they insure.


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## ILoveMyGolden (Oct 19, 2006)

mylissyk said:


> What an idiotic policy. I'd avoid it too.


What an idiotic judgement.

If you contact Trupanion and ask if there is any way around the 12 month neuter policy, a note from the vet simply stating the reasoning to waiting more than 12 months to neuter and exclusion is made.


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## Shalva (Jul 16, 2008)

I just went with embrace for my younger dogs... ..... my puppy people have been happy with embrace... and my understanding is that the trupanion is a per incident deductible whereas embrace is a annual deductible. 

I went with PetPlan for my two older dogs that embrace would not cover....


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## nixietink (Apr 3, 2008)

Shalva said:


> I just went with embrace for my younger dogs... ..... my puppy people have been happy with embrace... and my understanding is that the trupanion is a per incident deductible whereas embrace is a annual deductible.
> 
> I went with PetPlan for my two older dogs that embrace would not cover....


Petplan is also per incident, per year. I've been satisfied with PetPlan. They have messed up before, but are quick to own up to their mistakes.


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

ILoveMyGolden said:


> What an idiotic judgement.
> 
> If you contact Trupanion and ask if there is any way around the 12 month neuter policy, a note from the vet simply stating the reasoning to waiting more than 12 months to neuter and exclusion is made.


So you have to have a medical reason to wait to neuter your dog or they won't cover accidents. 

I stand by my statement. Tying refusal of ACCIDENT coverage to what age you neutered your dog is idiotic and just another fine print way of denying coverage. I would still find a different insurance plan.

And thank you very much for calling me idiotic. My statement was directed at a policy, not at a person.


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## ILoveMyGolden (Oct 19, 2006)

I called your judgement idiotic, not you.

The written letter my vet provided to them stating for his best interest/long term health was sufficient to waive the 12 month rule. It was simple to do and really not a big deal for (in my opinion) for the bigger perks versus other insurers.

The rule is in place for ignorant dog owners who would be more apt to have their dog roam and be unaltered and statistically be more likely to get in an accident, not who/what I would assume is "typical" of responsible dog owners on this forum.


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## Shalva (Jul 16, 2008)

nixietink said:


> Petplan is also per incident, per year. I've been satisfied with PetPlan. They have messed up before, but are quick to own up to their mistakes.


they were not my first choice which is why I went with embrace for the majority of my dogs.... but petplan was the only one that would take my older dogs that was rated well.... 

oh well 
insurance... I just wanna eventually maybe break even 
s


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