Why We Chose Trupanion Pet Insurance for Our Dogs

 

Over the past month I’ve been doing a lot of research on pet insurance companies.  I started in a group, asking what people thought of pet insurance and learned that there are lovers and haters out there depending upon their experience.  I asked the Keep the Tail Wagging audience on Facebook and got some great tips – many people have pet insurance and are happy with their providers.

So why did I choose Trupanion?

• Trupanion offers one deductible for each medical instance
• I was able to see the impact of my deductible choice on our monthly bill immediately
• Trupanion makes a payment directly to the veterinarian
• Trupanion doesn’t penalize us if we have an unlucky pet
• Trupanion offers full coverage without limits or caps
• Trupanion won’t kick our dogs off a policy
• Trupanion doesn’t have a fee schedule for different medical issues
• Trupanion doesn’t limit coverage based on dog breed
• Medications are covered too

Initially, I planned to go with VPI.  The price seemed right and they have a handy comparison chart on their site.  But most pet insurance companies do and, you know what, all the charts read differently.  I learned that pet insurance companies are not like Progressive Auto Insurance – they won’t tell you that someone else is better.

I had the pleasure of speaking with the CEO of the company, Darryl Rawlings.  Trupanion is a company that likes to talk to pet lovers.  You will not get what you need just by visiting their site.  I was overwhelmed by the choices in pet insurance and 30 minutes speaking with Darryl made me a customer.

Trupanion doesn’t see pets as a commodity.  Pet insurance isn’t like auto insurance.  If we total our car, the insurance company can give us same make/model/year car.  They can’t give us the exact same pet.  Darryl asked me one question…

Are you asking for insurance to help you or to solve a problem?

With a lot of the pet insurance companies out there, I was seeing that if I had a $2,200 bill (the cost of Riley’s hospital care), they would reimburse me (for example) $1,000.  That’s helping me, but it doesn’t solve the problem that I have of coming up with $2,200 to get our puppy care.

Trupanion helps us solve a problem by submitting a payment directly to the veterinarian.  In my example above, I would have paid my share (including the deductible) only and wouldn’t have to wait to be reimbursed.

Trupanion offers one deductible for each medical instance

Think about it.  Often when a pet has issues, it’s an ongoing issue.  Like Rodrigo’s arthritis.  It would suck to pay a deductible in November and another one when we return in January.  With Trupanion, the deductible covers the one issue for the life of the policy.

I was able to see the impact of my deductible choice on our monthly bill immediately

I played around with the deductible to find the amount that worked best with our family before signing up with Trupanion.  It was easy to understand and the process is fast and thorough.

Trupanion makes a payment directly to the veterinarian

We submit claims to Trupanion and they make their payment directly to our veterinarian.  There isn’t a wait to be reimbursed.

Trupanion doesn’t penalize us if we have an unlucky pet

What if we have an accident prone or sick pet?  Many pet insurance companies will penalize us for submitting too many claims.  This isn’t Trupanion’s policy.

Trupanion offers full coverage without limits or caps

There’s a comfort in knowing that I won’t get a letter from my pet insurance company letting me know that our dog is no longer covered for an illness.

Trupanion won’t kick our dogs off a policy

We have Cattle Dog mix pups at home.  They’re part of the herding breed and may be lumped in the “shepherd” family by some pet insurance companies.  With shepherds there comes the concern of hip dysplasia.  Trupanion won’t limit or deny our policy due to inherited issues.  Because hip dysplasia isn’t a pre-existing condition, we added the Complementary Care Package when we enrolled (it can also be added after) to have care covered should our dogs experience this condition.

Other insurance companies don’t cover genetic issues; which is most likely to occur in our dogs lives.  If you have a Labrador Retriever, don’t you want coverage for issues that are common with Labs?  Trupanion covers inherited conditions as long as they aren’t shown to be present before the start of full policy coverage.

Trupanion doesn’t have a fee schedule for different medical issues

I saw that many pet insurance companies have a fee schedule that tells me that for ____ injury, they’ll pay ___%.  We don’t have to muddle through this at Trupanion.  I like that their policy is up front and clear and if I have any questions, there is a group of people available to help.

When you do your own research for pet insurance, keep Trupanion in mind.  I’m beyond happy with their customer service, the quality of the policy, and I find comfort knowing that our dogs are covered.  Trupanion understands and respects the bond we have with our dogs and their goal is to protect that bond by helping us solve a problem – the cost of veterinarian care.

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