Okay, so for anyone who is interested in pet insurance, here is my recent experience with my 3.5 yo GSD......

I noticed a chip on one of her upper molars a few weeks ago. She wasn't having any pain or showing any discomfort, but I decided to take her to the canine dentist anyway, just to be safe.

It turned out that she needed a root canal, and due to her age and that she does sports/bite-work, the dentist also recommended a metal crown over it.

The whole procedure costed $4,300

Funny thing was, I kind of forgot that she had pet insurance

Anyway, so by the time I realized it, I looked up her benefits. The insurance didn't cover routine dental or medical care. It claims to cover 80% of any injury related medical care. Well, as skeptical as I was, I filed the claim anyway....

I really was just expecting the claim to be denied, I figured the pet insurance company would somehow find a way to tell me, "sorry, this is not covered because......"

And I just received my check for $3,200 (I had a $100 deductible, and the insurance didn't cover her routine dental cleaning, which I asked the dentist to do since she was already under anesthesia)! I received the check within 10 days of filing the claim

Heeheehee, I am so happy Just thought I would share this with you guys.

Way to go Melissa!!
Having been through that exact injury with my dog, I know the searing pain of that dental bill... I, unfortunately, did not have pet insurance. I'm really glad to hear that you were able to receive reimbursement for this - I wonder how many people never even file the claim, since you say the plan doesn't actually cover "dental"....?

Either way - AWESOME for you!!

~Natalya

Thanks Natalya! I was so surprised that the insurance company made it so easy and fair. I didn't know if the insurance was going to see this as injury-related care or deny the claim because it was "dental work."

I have 4 dogs, but three of them are seniors, so I didn't get pet insurance for them because the premiums are high/more exclusions. We were both kind of skeptical when we got this pet insurance, since we've never had one before. But I figured my female is younger and more active, so she has a higher chance of using it. We just got really lucky =)

Did you have to get a complete physical and have your vet sign off? I'm thinking of getting insurance for mine as they are always eating various objects and the xray bills can really add up. I'm afraid since one of mine was xrayed once for blockage and nothing found, they might still call it a pre exisiting.

Michelle,
No, she didn't have to get a physical but I had to list all medical conditions she had been treated before. I filled out their form online and they emailed me an instant quote.

Would you mind PMing me the company name or perhaps a link. I looked into the one that came with my rescues and it had the whole vet sign off thing on there. If you have time I would greatly appreciate it.

Michelle, check your pm =)

can you PM me the name of the company also?

Hi Melissa,

I'm glad this worked out for you. Would you please PM me the name of the insurance co.? I have a 15 week old that I'd like to explore getting insurance for. I didn't do it for my two 8 year olds and regret not having it throughout the life of my male that I lost in April.

thank you,

D

Tom & Denise, check your PMs =)