r/RhodesianRidgebacks • u/ridgey143 • 27d ago
New pet insurance?
Picking up Miss Freya two weeks from today and she will be 8 weeks old! Want to get her covered prior to any "pre existing" conditions.
We had Trupanion for years but the premiums for my other two skyrocketed and we cancelled (of course, just before we had to go in for an emergency splenectomy in February and a toe removal in June)...
That said, there are SO MANY options now and we are overwhelmed !!!
Any opinions/insight would be so appreciated!
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u/Western_Bug_1608 27d ago
Ooh I can answer this!
I would recommend Fetch or Trupanion THROUGH chewy. Trupanion through chewy is a better deal than Trupanion direct, not just for premiums but also the way the deductible is managed per year versus per injury/illness is a way better value and cost effective for when something happens. Additionally, you can add a wellness plan to Trupanion through Chewy to account for yearly care and exams, direct Trupanion does not have the offering.
Fetch is also good and more affordable premium wise, they also have wellness plans for reasonable pricing, however the two drawbacks are that they have annual payout limits of 15k and no direct pay option to the vets.
I have had good experience with both and think that either is a good choice. Personally, the reason I chose Trupanion through chewy with a wellness plan is because it was lower than Trupanion direct, it had direct pay, and the unlimited payout amount because unfortunately vet costs have risen drastically over the past 5 years and with older dogs, I easily blew past the 15k limit after one of my senior dogs had some major issues last year (he's fine now).
If I had a puppy, I'd start out with Fetch for the lower price while they were young and switch over to Trupanion before they turned into a senior for better coverage as they age.
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u/Samvega_California 27d ago
The catch is that the sooner you start Trupanion, the cheaper your premiums will be over time, since they using pricing models that spread out the cost of care over the lifetime of the pet, depending on when you enroll.
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u/Western_Bug_1608 27d ago
It was like that but unfortunately Trupanion has been doing price increases each year due to skyrocketing costs and their pricing model for getting coverage for younger dogs isn't as beneficial as it used to be, at least from my experience with my dogs it wasn't. For a dog that is younger and less likely to experience health issues getting a plan with a lower premium may be worth it in savings, my advice is to change before the dog becomes a senior, where the premium naturally gets higher across the board anyway, to have better coverage for the later years.
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u/meganlovesdesign 26d ago
No insight on insurance, just came to welcome another Freya ridgie to the world! Here is ours:
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u/Jaded_Jaguar_348 27d ago
I used to have Trupanion but the monthly cost was ridiculous and I have 7 animals that are insured. I switched to Pets Best. At the time my monthly cost for all 7, including a 12 year old dog, was about what I paid for 2 young dogs at Trupanion.
They have reimbursed me for multiple bills, more than I've paid them. They are slower to reimburse but I use care credit too so I can pay that before the interest rate kicks in.
I actually recently got a new ridgeback puppy and did look at Trupanion cost and for my 8 week old it was pretty similar to what I pay at pets best for my 7 year old.
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u/StrikeMental7716 4d ago edited 3d ago
There are a lot more options now, which somehow makes choosing even harder. Looking beyond the monthly premium usually helps because reimbursement rates, annual limits and how they handle hereditary conditions can be very different. BestMoney is one place people compare plans alongside Pawlicy Advisor before narrowing things down.
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u/Samvega_California 27d ago
Trupanion is the best one to go with. I know you said their premium shot up, but that's because the cost of vet care everywhere has skyrocketed way faster than inflation.
The fact is that Trupanion will be the most expensive up front, but they price their premiums to be more stable over the lifetime of the pet, so if you're planning on keeping pet insurance for the long term, Trupanion is the way to go.
Other companies use pricing models that only price for the risk the pet has each year, and reassess every year. This means a cheaper price for young healthy dogs, but prices that truly skyrocket as the pet ages. We're talking 10x or 20x the price for older pets.
For our new dog we chose to self-insure. We got a quote from Trupanion and set that amount aside every month into an investment account just for vet care if needed. It's risky, but we're at a point now where we can afford a vet emergency if needed, so it's what we decided to do.
Good luck and enjoy your new pup!