VPI Pet Insurance
If you are new to pet insurance or having pets you might not have heard of VPI Pet Insurance but the case is that you might actually have anyway. VPI is short for Veterinary Pet Insurance and is one of the oldest pet insurance companies in America today. They specialize in pet animals within the USA so if you live outside of the US you’ll need to find pet insurance coverage elsewhere.
As stated on their website you can find coverage from PetPlan.com if you are a Canadian. For people in the UK I recommend reading the article if wrote recently about the Tesco company.
One of the things I really like about VPI compared to many of the other insurance companies that offers pet insurances is that VPI only deals with animals. They aren’t trying to sell you car insurance, home insurance or different mortgage deals. It’s just pet insurance and that is it. As I see it this will give you a lot of different advantages and of course a few disadvantages. But let us have a look at the advantages first.
VPI Pet Insurance - Advantages
Dealing with a company that specializes in pet animals will have you feel comfortable that they know what they are dealing with. Not only do they know insurance but one must assume that they also know a great deal about pet animals and the different aspects that are important when we’re talking coverage from issues like sicknesses, aging symptoms and accidents. Being one of the oldest and most respected pet insurance companies in the US they have a substantial record of issues they have experienced and dealt with. Now this can also be a disadvantage to you as a customer but I’ll deal with that in a little bit.
Taken from their website a study made by ACI Custom Research in September 2006, show that 9 out of 10 veterinarians (who recommends pet insurance) recommends using VPI as the provider of that insurance. I know that even though it is stated that it was an independent survey it can’t be fully trusted but I do believe that it says something about the quality of the insurance company. Does this mean that they’ll cover anything? NO! Does it mean that they will have the cheapest solution? NO! But does it say something about what kind of knowledge and credibility the company has? Yes, I think that it does.
I do suggest that you go talk to your pet’s VET and ask what they recommend. It might be VPI and it might not but what is important is that you remember also to ask “WHY” they recommend what they do. Without that question answered you can’t really use their advice in a constructive way. Now on to one of the other advantages I see from choosing VPI Pet Insurance as you provider…
Because they have nearly 400 people employed part of those are highly qualified professionals that are able to answer any specific questions that you might have related to your animals condition. Whether it is sickness or injuries I’m sure that one of the more than 10 veterinarians or 60 veterinary assistants will be able to either answer your question promptly or at least look through their archive of past issues and come up with an answer for you. Please note that I’m not saying that they are the only company that will be able to do that… far from it, but being focused solely on pets will give them the advantage of only having to concentrate on the one topic.
Last but not least, and I have already mentioned it above, I really like the fact that VPI is not just covering the two favorite animals: Cats and dogs. Sure they are their greatest part of their portfolio but it is nice to know that if you own a horse or have an exotic bird you will be able to get insurance coverage from the same company as when insuring your cat or dog. If you like them as a company it is great that you don’t have to go somewhere else if you decide to get a new pet for yourself.
Now let’s look at some of the disadvantages…
VPI Pet Insurance - Disadvantages
I’ll state upfront that I do feel that there are many more advantages than there are disadvantages by choosing VPI but naturally they will have some advantages (which is negative if you’re the customer) over other not so specialized insurance companies.
First of they ought to be far better at setting the right right coverage price for your specific pet. Where other companies might think that “a dog is a dog”, VPI will know from many years of experience that this is not the case. You’ll therefore risk being charged a higher fee if you have a pet with a greater likelihood of becoming sick or injured. Now all in all that can’t hardly be argued not to be a fair deal but the result will nevertheless be that you’ll have to pay more in insurance fees.
Secondly, the knowledge that VPI has will make the better equipped to avoid paying out the coverage due to small technicalities that they know of. I’m not stating that this is the way they do business. Far from it! But they do have the option and I believe that they will have an easier time doing it than other insurance companies might.
In Conclusion
From reading the above you might think that I’m paid to say as I do or that I have a reason for naming more advantages than disadvantages but I have to tell you that I don’t. Honestly I don’t care what pet insurance company you’ll choose in the end but what I do care about is that you have done your due diligence properly. Without putting a bit of work into finding the pet insurance company that us right for you, you” probably end up with the wrong one. And in that case why not end up with the specialists at VPI Pet Insurance? I think you’ll be better off than with a company trying to sell you car insurance as well.
April 9th, 2008 at 8:19 am
Hi again, It’s me Chris. I responded to your last bit about pet insurance. I thoroughly did my research before choosing pet insurance coverage for my puppy. I ended up going with Trupanion. I would strongly suggest you download a copy of VPI’s policy and read it!! You’d be VERY suprised at the limited coverage that they offer. I could not believe it when I read through their list of EXCLUDED conditions. So, yes, do your research and read the policy. “Oldest” does not mean best value.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:31 am
Hi Chris, great to have you back. As you very well point out I haven’t read their policy but now that you have mentioned it I better go find it.
I couldn’t agree more that “oldest” doesn’t have to mean “best” and actually far from it. Comparing policies can however be really really hard for most people and therefore I still suggest that it is better to go for the company that your vet recommends than just taking a wild guess.
As I’ve said earlier I’ll definitely have a look at Trupanion.
April 9th, 2008 at 10:58 am
Hey Mikael-
I was just curious if you’ve seen their benefit schedule and what you thought of that?
You sure do make a good point - EVERYONE should do their homework before choosing a company!!!!
April 9th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Hey Must Love Dogs.
Yes I have seen their benefit schedule and for those that haven’t they can be found here: http://www.petinsurance.com/coverage/benefitschedule.cfm
They actually have 6 different plans depending on the state you’re in and the type of plan you’ve chosen (standard, superior and avian&exotic).
What I like about their plan is that it is very specific. Yes it can be hard to read the 4 pages but you will easily be able to compare the benefit plan to other plans from their competitors.
Secondly I think that they are pretty open about what is not covered. The have a specific page covering what isn’t covered and it can be found here: http://www.petinsurance.com/coverage/whatsnotcovered.cfm
They even go into breed specifics.
Does this mean that the benefits are great? No, but it doesn’t mean the opposite either. It just means that it will be fairly easy (if you take the time) to compare to other plans.
May 6th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
I have this insurance and it SUCKS! DO not get it! First of all you pay upfront, then you have to submit a claim then Over a month you MIGHT get a check for a little bit back, but nothing compared to what you pay a month. ALSO the 4 pages you download to see what is covered, is all in VET tearms and if you do not know. So in a simple think like getting a “wart” removed from a paw. WOW how do you look that up?? I even had the Vet make a detailed Quote and I still can’t figure out what is covered and what is not. They make it that way so they can rip you off..STAY AWAY from this company
May 14th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
Sara, I understand where you’re coming from. I’m not trying to defend the insurance company in any way but I think you need to be fair to them.
First of all, there is nothing unusual in paying insurance upfront. I’ve never heard of any other option (the company would be stupid to have it any other way).
When accidents or illness occur then it is only natural that you will have to file a claim. This is also standard procedure so you can’t hold that against them either.
Whether a processing time of one month is fair or not is hard to say. If you have provided them with every little bit of information that they needed then it might seem a little to long. If not, then I find it only fair.
If you bought an insurance with the idea that it would be a “money making machine” on your part then you can’t hold that against the company either. That is NOT the idea behind insurance coverage.
Finally you can argue that terms ought to be understandable to common people but even if they aren’t then it is YOUR obligation and not theirs to call them up and ask questions until you DO understand.
I’m sure that you do not understand everything when it comes to the laws of your country (even laywers don’t) but that doesn’t mean that you can run around breaking them because you “just didn’t know”. It’s you job to either spend the time and ask the questions to learn OR accept the way that things are. Either way the choice is yours!