| VPI Ferret Coverage (Re: pet insurance?) - CLICK HERE for the Pet Manual Forum Home Page |
| Null |
"news.dallas.sbcglobal.net" <kathomas@swbell.net> wrote in message news:cm1bb.1761$Z82.211@newssvr24.news.prodigy.com...
> Does anyone have health insurance for your ferret, if so, with
> who, and what is the coverage like?
I don't have it, but VPI ( http://www.petinsurance.com/ ) offers
ferret health insurance. Their website has general information and
FAQs, but you have to call them for ferret-specific rates and such.
I called a little while ago, and here is some more information, to
the best of my recollection...
VPI offers just one type of coverage for ferrets, a major medical
plan geared towards unexpected illnesses and accidents. Routine
care, such as annual exams and vaccinations, is not covered.
It is available in all states except Louisiana and Oklahoma.
Premiums are $156/year if paid annually, $176/year if you go with
their monthly payment plan (first two months @ $13, then 10 months
at $15).
There is a $50 deductible for each unrelated incident. They pay 90%
of claims, with limits. There is a $2000 max payout on an individual
incident, and a $7000 max payout on multiple incidents during each 12
month term.
Pre-existing conditions are not covered. Endocrine disorders such as
adrenal/insulinoma are not covered, and a history of said makes the
ferret uninsurable.
Blockages are covered, but not if it becomes a recurring problem.
Vaccine reactions are covered, but I suspect would fall under the
pre-existing condition exclusion.
Chipped teeth are covered, assuming they are new problems.
Hmmm... what else... I guess that is enough. I think this pretty
much confirms what has already been said in this thread.
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| ZPL |
Thanks for looking in on that. I am in Oklahoma, and I guess that is why
they didn't offer the ferret deal when I checked in 2001 (with the dog).
I wonder if they would work out a deal where if you traveled into a covered
state for the vet care, if they would cover that. (Like driving into the
Dallas area from south Oklahoma....) I just wonder why they don't cover
those states (not enough exotic vets? or are people just that bad about
animal care in this part of the country?)
$156 dollars is more than I pay for the regular coverage on the dog. I
think also there is a rate per geographical area difference with the
underwriter. (My bullmastiff is covered for about $120 a year, whereas
someone said their husky was $350 a year - same basic coverage, different
area. I had always heard that most huskies were healthy dogs, so that may
not be a breed rate thing.)
The one part of the coverage I do use (and pay an extra $100 for) is Routine
Care Coverage. It partially reimburses for yearly vaccinations, HW
preventative, tick/preventative, and $65 towards a yearly exam (includes
spay/neuter, teeth cleaning, or more invasive diagnostics as the animal
ages - like EKGs, blood work, etc.) I break even with that, and would
actually come out a little ahead if my vet charged more. You can't get the
Routine Coverage without getting at least basic coverage.
I have not yet had to file on the basic coverage thing (knock wood). But,
it is worth the money for me to know that if something did happen, I could
at least get the dog stabilized and evaluated without worrying so much about
cost.
*Note - pre-existing condition gets alot of people. This is a yearly
coverage not a continuous life-time thing, even if the animal has been
covered every year continuously. If something goes bad one year, they may
not cover it the next year. (Old chronic illness - heart or kidneys. Or
chronic problems with old trauma - repair of failed surgical joint.) But
like I said, it gets you through the original event and panic...
Many on the dog and cat boards get pissed when they find out that things
like chemo or dialysis is not covered... Well Hell, what do they expect for
a couple hundred a year? These are also the people that will file for
EVERYTHING - worms, hot spots, etc. Even if the total bill is just a little
over the deductible. That will increase your next year's rates as well.
I wonder if $156 a year for a "homebound" ferret is worth the piece of mind
or not. I think the best idea is a ferret fund....
"Null" <nobody@nowhere.invalid> wrote in message
news:bkng0h$d6g$1@bob.news.rcn.net...
>
> "news.dallas.sbcglobal.net" <kathomas@swbell.net> wrote in message
news:cm1bb.1761$Z82.211@newssvr24.news.prodigy.com...
> > Does anyone have health insurance for your ferret, if so, with
> > who, and what is the coverage like?
>
> I don't have it, but VPI ( http://www.petinsurance.com/ ) offers
> ferret health insurance. Their website has general information and
> FAQs, but you have to call them for ferret-specific rates and such.
> I called a little while ago, and here is some more information, to
> the best of my recollection...
>
> VPI offers just one type of coverage for ferrets, a major medical
> plan geared towards unexpected illnesses and accidents. Routine
> care, such as annual exams and vaccinations, is not covered.
>
> It is available in all states except Louisiana and Oklahoma.
>
> Premiums are $156/year if paid annually, $176/year if you go with
> their monthly payment plan (first two months @ $13, then 10 months
> at $15).
>
> There is a $50 deductible for each unrelated incident. They pay 90%
> of claims, with limits. There is a $2000 max payout on an individual
> incident, and a $7000 max payout on multiple incidents during each 12
> month term.
>
> Pre-existing conditions are not covered. Endocrine disorders such as
> adrenal/insulinoma are not covered, and a history of said makes the
> ferret uninsurable.
>
> Blockages are covered, but not if it becomes a recurring problem.
>
> Vaccine reactions are covered, but I suspect would fall under the
> pre-existing condition exclusion.
>
> Chipped teeth are covered, assuming they are new problems.
>
> Hmmm... what else... I guess that is enough. I think this pretty
> much confirms what has already been said in this thread.
>
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| Melissa |
In article <bkng0h$d6g$1@bob.news.rcn.net>,
"Null" <nobody@nowhere.invalid> wrote:
> "news.dallas.sbcglobal.net" <kathomas@swbell.net> wrote in message
> news:cm1bb.1761$Z82.211@newssvr24.news.prodigy.com...
> > Does anyone have health insurance for your ferret, if so, with
> > who, and what is the coverage like?
>
> I don't have it, but VPI ( http://www.petinsurance.com/ ) offers
> ferret health insurance. Their website has general information and
> FAQs, but you have to call them for ferret-specific rates and such.
> I called a little while ago, and here is some more information, to
> the best of my recollection...
>
> VPI offers just one type of coverage for ferrets, a major medical
> plan geared towards unexpected illnesses and accidents. Routine
> care, such as annual exams and vaccinations, is not covered.
>
> It is available in all states except Louisiana and Oklahoma.
>
> Premiums are $156/year if paid annually, $176/year if you go with
> their monthly payment plan (first two months @ $13, then 10 months
> at $15).
>
> There is a $50 deductible for each unrelated incident. They pay 90%
> of claims, with limits. There is a $2000 max payout on an individual
> incident, and a $7000 max payout on multiple incidents during each 12
> month term.
>
> Pre-existing conditions are not covered. Endocrine disorders such as
> adrenal/insulinoma are not covered, and a history of said makes the
> ferret uninsurable.
>
> Blockages are covered, but not if it becomes a recurring problem.
>
> Vaccine reactions are covered, but I suspect would fall under the
> pre-existing condition exclusion.
>
> Chipped teeth are covered, assuming they are new problems.
>
> Hmmm... what else... I guess that is enough. I think this pretty
> much confirms what has already been said in this thread.
You know what? *I* would take this on a new ferret if I had one again. I
expected to have to pay for adrenal and insulinoma at some point in
their lives, but all of mine had other stuff as well that sent bills
through the roof. One with intestinal cancer, another with some other
odd cancer that affected the bile ducts (don't have the records in front
of me), kidney problems, liver problems, gall bladder -these were in
older ferrets. Still, if the only exclusions (assuming I'd taken out the
policy on still healthy ferrets) were adrenal and insulinoma and the
rest had been covered, in the end I might still have saved about half of
what I'd spent. At about $150 per year, that would have been a little
more than $1000-ish per ferret over its lifetime and I *easily* spent
well over $4000 on most of them. If *half* of that was spent on
adrenal/insulinoma, that would still have put me about $1000 ahead. Heck
adrenal was always the easy thing.
-Melissa
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