Pet Health Insurance As Part Of Puppy Packs

[SkySoaringMagpie]

Think it might have been here on DOL that I read about a breeder including 6 weeks pet health insurance with her puppy packs and an encouragement for the owners to keep up the insurance?

Our mob are not insured, but I think it sounds like a good idea for a new owner.

Is there any reason why you wouldn't do this? And for those that do, which company do you use and what is the arrangement?

[Bilbo Baggins]

I use PetPlan. Very easy to do.

[Andisa]

I use PetPlan. Very easy to do.

Yep - same here.

[Yarrowfell]

Petplan - 6 weeks free for puppies you sell. You have to register as a breeder on their website and get a login from them. Then as soon as you know the new owners details you can register the puppy on the site as well.

Great idea as puppy can get upset bellies etc when they go to new homes and they are covered if needed.

[ellz]

Another one who uses Petplan.

You register with them as a breeder. When you sell a litter, the day the puppy leaves home, you enter the details online and they give you a policy number. They also email the new owner with the number and some information about their coverage. The puppy is then covered for 6 weeks free and the new owner has the option after that of continuing the policy at, I believe, a discounted rate.

[whippets]

That's an excellent addition for puppy buyers. I didn't know you could do this. I shall investigate..

[becks]

I use Petplan too but in the UK they have recently dropped it to 4 weeks cover.

[t-time]

Another for Pet Plan here..... :D

I have it as part of my puppy pack - a little paperwork/computer work but well worth it imho.

As a breeder it costs you nothing. Your own dogs do not have to be registered with Pet Plan nd you cannot get the free 6 weeks cover for puppies you are keeping yourself.

They contact new puppy owner via email or phone when the 6 weeks is nearly up to see if they would like to continue with the pet insurance.

After the cost of 2nd vaccinations and desexing, puppy buyers start to realise how much vets cost

Only one of my puppy buyers has ever had to use to use it -for a pup who picked up gastro after 2 weeks - emergency vets and a 2 day stay in "hospital"....the new owners words were "bless you for providing that insurance policy" !!

Just as a note to this, I always have a written veterinary health check from my vets for each puppy - so they have their own little "I AM HEALTHY" note for the insurance company and their new vet as well. It covers heart, temp, eyes, patellas, testicles, teeth and general health.

[Jed]

I register with pet plan, as above. How good they are, I don't know, none of my puppy buyers have put in a claim. The insurance covers illness, death, accident and theft, so it does look worthwhile, and I have never had a problem with it.

[Fanuilos]

Another Pet Plan person - they don't cover pups going OS though or immediate family and their definition of immediate family is quite large.

[t-time]

My puppy purchasers who did have the occasion to use the insurance *did* still have to pay the vet bill up front. Then with the vet report, they were able to make their claim and were paid out very quickly.

If you are a breeder who uses the Pet Plan, ensure you keep a copy when you get to "that" particular page of the online entry so you have a record. My puppy purchasers couldn't find their papers for the insurance and luckily I had kept the copy - the company won't process the claim without the special ID number given to each puppy.

[Fordogs]

I did register my puppies with Pet Plan until 2 of my puppy owners who continued on with the insurance contacted me with all sorts of possible problems with their puppies. Vets were encouraging treatments such as Penn hip x-rays at age 20 weeks and hip fusion as a preventative surgery and unnecessary blood tests, and putting unnecessary strain on both new owner and me.

All testing on both of these puppies came up negative and the owners both felt that they had put their puppies through unnecessary stress and only lined their vets pockets ------------- Both owners canceled their insurance.

So for me no more Pet Plan, which is a shame because I thought it was a very good idea.

Sorry to be the only negative answer.

[Stolzseinrotts]

Interesting to read about the not so good side of the puppy Insurance, thank yuo for sharing your story Fordogs. I too have been made aware of this behaviour by some Vets who find out that the owner has Pet Insurance, they recommend many procedures that aren't necessary, sad but very true at the expense of the poor puppy and the stress of the owner. Thankfully these type of Vets are not the norm, but none the less it is most concerning that this has and does happen.

Sorry to go a little off topic.....

Edited March 31, 2010 by Stolzseinrotts

[t-time]

Also sorry to hear this story Fordogs but under the circumstances - surely that was more about the vet rather than the insurance company?

I think under those circumstances, I would have recommended a second opinion?

[Fordogs]

For both of these puppies I did recommend that they should see a vet that knows the breed , the owner of the male puppy did just that with in 2 days, and went to see a vet in their area that I recommended who relieved their minds and told them that they did have a very normal healthy puppy with absolutely no health problems.

The other owners said that they were going to take their puppy to see a vet that I recommended them to but as yet they are still to do that.

Edited April 1, 2010 by Fordogs

[t-time]

Yep - good to hear Fordogs. Pretty sure there would be nothing wrong with the second puppy either LOL - hopefully the owners will see that their chosen vet is ripping them off just because they've got the insurance!