Embrace Pet Insurance Review
Many people opt to sign up with Embrace Pet Health Insurance, a specialist insurance agency with headquarters near Cleveland, Ohio. This company's stated purpose for getting into the business of pet health insurance is to change the industry. It offers coverage for dogs and cats only. Its original owners, Laura Bennett and Alex Krooglik, launched the company after their business plan won a Wharton School of Business competition for pet health insurance plans. This happened in 2003, but writing the business plan and all the other preparations delayed their first sale until 2006 -when Bennett bought a policy for a stray cat. The owners chose the name "Embrace" to signify the bond between pets and their owners. In 2007, they formed a strategic partnership with Progressive Insurance.
This company has an easily navigable website with a lot of appealing information. At first glance, it appears that they offer only two plan types-Full Coverage or Accident-but you can add drug or dental options to the Full Coverage plan. The Full Coverage plan pays for all accidents and illnesses as well as breed-specific conditions as long as they are not pre-existing. Included would be treatment for catastrophic illness such as cancer and diagnostic testing including x-rays, MRI exams, and ultrasound. It also pays for surgery, hospitalization, and nursing care as well as alternative therapies and rehabilitation.
Not all plans cover alternative therapies as part of standard policies, but Embrace does. It specifies coverage for these treatments as long as they are provided by a licensed veterinarian:
The pet health insurance company deems that these treatments often are useful to ameliorate post-operative surgical pain, cancer, skin issues, or epilepsy.
With Embrace, you can customize your plan. Most people choose a plan that limits annual reimbursement to $10,000, specifies a $200 deductible, and pays at 80%. But you can also choose the same $10,000 limit with a $500 deductible. Having the higher deductible would not pay for low-cost visits, but coverage would kick in when you really need it. You can choose a yearly maximum of $2,000, $5,000, or $10,000. You can choose a yearly deductible of $100, $200, or $500. You are offered co-pay options of 10%, 20%, or 35% per visit or incident. No matter which yearly maximum, deductible, and co-pay that you specify, you can also add drug and dental options. This is one plan; you cannot choose drug coverage without dental. It covers medications that your vet prescribes to give your dog at home. The dental plan pays for cavities, oral abscesses, gingivitis, or periodontal disease. If you choose the Accident Plan, your pet will not be covered for illnesses. However, accidental conditions include bloat and foreign body ingestion as well as poisoning and trauma injuries. The Accident Plan is only available with a yearly limit of $5,000, a $100 deductible, and 10% co-pay.
Whether you sign up for the Full Coverage Plan or the Accident Plan, you can add Embrace's Wellness Rewards Plan. For an extra monthly amount, you have access to $200 worth of services for your pet's benefit-office visits, shots, spaying or neutering, routine tests, flea or heartworm medications, or a dental cleaning.
The company is up front about what it does not cover. It identifies pre-existing conditions, artificial limbs, motility aids, treatment for behavioral issues, and pregnancy or breeding issues. It does not cover cremation or burial. It also will not pay for any injury to a pet inflicted by the owner or any person living with the owner, nor for injuries sustained by a pet when it is subjected to fighting or racing contests. The company does not pay for cruelty or neglect damages. It also will not cover tail docking, ear cropping, or dew claw removal unless this is deemed medically necessary. In addition, there is no benefit for DNA or cloning, Acts of God (which includes avian flu as well as war), stem-cell treatments although requests can be considered individually, or organ transplantation.
The company's website educates the consumer on curable versus non-curable pre-existing conditions. If your dog or cat has experienced respiratory, bladder, or urinary tract infections or events of vomiting or diarrhea, they are considered curable pre-existing conditions as long as they do not recur within twelve months. It clearly excludes permanently any orthopedic illness if it recurs on the same side or the opposite side of a previous injury, allergies, cancer, lipomas, cancer, thyroid disease, or chronic conditions. If your dog or cat has developed Addison's or Cushing's disease or diabetes, it might be eligible only for accident coverage. Embrace does cover breed-specific conditions such as hip or elbow dysplasia and cancer, although many companies do not pay for these kinds of treatment. You can also utilize any specialist, including an emergency vet, as long as he or she is licensed. Continuing Care coverage provides for treatment of illnesses or conditions that were diagnosed in a previous year of enrollment. If, for example, your dog is diagnosed with cancer, then in his second year of treatment the benefit paid will be limited to 25% of the total benefit. For example, say that Fido gets cancer in 2008 and there is a policy limit of $10,000. When the owner renews in 2009 Fido will be limited to $2,500 in cancer coverage. This also applies to diabetes, some allergies, and specified orthopedic conditions.
Visit Embrace's website to view customers' testimonials and some blog material, although the blog is out of date at this writing. They also offer many useful links to give the consumer-you!-more information on pet care and pet health insurance. Return from Embrace Pet Insurance to the Pet Health Insurance Home Page
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