Just sharing an experience that may be helpful to others. I signed upon or Trupanion about 4 years about based upon Wirecutter's review at the time saying that their increases over time were modest and product was good. When I got my puppy four years ago, the rate was $70 month. Fast forward three and a half years and my rates were $103 ( not too modest in my opinion). I just got an email saying that my rates were going from $103 to $135. That's an astronomical increase in my opinion. It got me wondering what Im going to be paying when my dog is 11 years old and he may need the insurance, $300/month? More?I decided it was no longer for me and I wanted to cancel. Customer service was relatively good till this point. But when I wanted to cancel they made it EXTREMELY difficult. I could find nowhere on the website to cancel until finally finding some back alley link that said I had to call them on the phone to cancel. Annoying... shady... but fine. I called them and waited on hold for five mins for someone to take my info. They did, then they said they had to transfer me to the cancelation department. Shock and surprise it was a 20 minute wait. When I got the agent on the phone, they needed to take all the same info again, and then I was forced to sit through a 15 minute scripted summary of why my cancellation was a bad idea and why their rate hike was justified rather than them just taking my info and cancelling the subscription. They told me if I hung up and didn't listen to the whole spiel my insurance would not be cancelled. The whole thing felt like a forced captivity last ditch effort sales pitch to keep me, rather than facilitating what it was I called to do. Really disappointing customer service. To not have an online option to cancel in today's day and age is egregious. Forcing people to to listen to a sales pitch is customer relations malpractice.

TL;DR: my 8yo DSH cat has "slightly abnormal shape to heart," "discussed URI, allergies, etc.", and "susp. feline idiopathic cystitis" written in his vet records, all from different exams and illnesses over the last few years, but with no recurrence in illness or symptoms. Are these comments enough for insurance companies to say he has incurable preexisting conditions and deny coverage of any future health issues? I'm super late to the party (no one told me to get pet insurance when they're young), but I'm looking to get insurance for my two cats, Andy and Ollie. Given that they're basically my children and I'm finally in a position where I have a bit of income, I want to do what I can to make sure they're able to get whatever care they might need (though hopefully they never do). Both are 8 year old DSH, previously indoor/outdoor for 3 years, now indoor only, no major health issues so far (no ER visits, no chronic conditions, etc.). I've been spending a bunch of time reading up on different companies, policies, reviews, kinds of issues people run into, etc., spoke with an ASPCA rep and planned to call Lemonade and Pumpkin to ask some questions and compare rates and plans and such. With all the frustration and confusion expressed different places about claims being denied for preexisting conditions, I decided to read back through the vet records I have and see if there was anything that my cats might get dinged for. There are a few things off the bat: they're both a bit on the chonky side, but weight has been steadily coming down into good ranges. A vet noted mild tartar two years ago, which I know means there's essentially no chance of any kind of dental coverage, but that's not necessarily the end of the world. What's really got me worried is that Ollie has had a few illnesses that I could see insurance companies labeling as preexisting conditions and using to deny future coverage: * May 2024- After a wellness exam where the vet said he was in good health, he became lethargic, struggled to use his litter box, and barely ate. I got him back into the vet ASAP, and the doctor found his bladder was painful and a little swollen, diagnosed "suspected feline idiopathic cystitis (FIC)", and gave him an anti-inflammatory shot and gabapentin. Ollie responded well and recovered in a few days with no issues since. Importantly, the vet noted that the inflammation could have been caused by stress and that his bladder was full but "did not seem to be blocked" -- I know that urinary blockages are considered incurable preexisting conditions, so I'm worried that the lack of definitive language (ie "no urinary blockage") could provide enough wiggle room for them to call it an incurable PEC. * July 2023- This is the one I'm most worried about. I took them in because Ollie had been wheezing a bit after activities like playing with his brother. At some points, it sounded almost like he was trying to get a hairball out, but nothing ever came up. The vet ran some tests to check for heart disease, asthma, or a URI. His radiographs showed "no obvious signs of asthma" and "weren't a slam dunk for asthma", but unfortunately did show "potential heart issues, abnormalities on heart" and specifically that his heart was apparently a "slightly abnormal shape". She recommended a proBNP to see if his symptoms were heart-related and it came back negative, so she said it was most likely a URI and gave him antibiotic and steroid injections with instructions to come back for a trial asthma treatment if he didn't improve. Thankfully, he did improve and hasn't had any wheezing since. -- This is especially concerning because 1) asthma is an incurable PEC and even though none of his vets has ever diagnosed or trialed treatment for it, the fact that asthma was even mentioned could be enough for them to call it a PEC; and 2) the "slightly abnormal shape" of his heart just screams guaranteed denial of coverage. And if this is considered an incurable PEC, what kind of probably serious things could they potentially refuse to cover because it's tangentially related to his heart? * Also, Ollie is a snorer. It's never gotten to a point where he's stopped breathing or anything, but it was happening frequently enough that I brought it up at a wellness exam. We used to live in a house that got fairly dusty, so I asked the vet if allergies might be contributing to his snoring and if an air purifier might help. The vet records read "Disc informed O about URI, allergies, etc.". Really really hoping that me asking about allergies doesn't lead to a future issue not being covered. So yeah, I feel like there's enough in his records for insurance companies to reject so many different kinds of claims, especially claims for cardiac, respiratory, or renal health issues, by saying these illnesses (and snoring) are evidence of incurable preexisting conditions. One of the big reasons I want to get insurance is in case cancer tries to rear its ugly head, especially since both of my childhood pets died young from cancer and all my family could afford was basically just pain management. I don't want to go through that again with my boys, and there are also a ton of other big health issues that could pop up and (hopefully lmao) be covered by insurance. But as much as I want to believe that they'd be reasonable, at the end of the day, these insurance companies aren't non-profits, they exist to make as much money as they can, and there's no Pet ACA to prevent them from denying coverage because of preexisting conditions. Which brings me to my main question (sorry for taking so long to get to the point): is getting insurance for Ollie worthwhile? I'd hate to spend the money on fairly pricey premiums just for anything that might come up to not be covered. Maybe I'm just overly worried and cynical, but the fact that something small can make a massive difference in how much longer I get with my fur babies is honestly scary. Sorry again for rambling, there's just a lot to consider. Any advice or insight is very much appreciated!

Hi, Curious if anyone else has had this issue. From what I’ve read online, it seems to be a general theme with pet insurance and I don’t think I have any rights or avenues to pursue to do anything about it. I have had Embrace pet insurance to cover my 3 pets since December of 2020. My insurance premiums renewals for my pets, that I still have the records for have been: Dec. 2022: $112.90 Dec. 2023: $133.49 Dec. 2024: $245.76 My pets are obviously getting older from when I initially took the policy. Current ages: Cat (6) Cat (10) Dog (8) Their rationale for increasing my premium is cost of vet bills increasing, my “tenure” (I’ve had embrace 5 years therefore my pets have likely developed ‘pre existing conditions’ that would not be covered if I was a new policy holder which means more money they have to pay to now cover these conditions), and the pets age. I understand things increase year over year, I’m hung up on the fact that my rate has almost doubled in a single year. I was going to file a complaint with the state insurance commissioner, but it doesn’t seem that they are technically violating any laws. I feel like I can’t switch companies because my pets have “pre existing conditions” that won’t be covered at a new place but at $300/ month I might as well save my money and pay the vet bills out of pocket. I found online that Embrace was sold to JAB Holding company for $1.5 billion dollars in 2023. So I don’t think my premiums are going up so Embrace can keep the lights on. If you have any advice, I am all ears. If you don’t have advice, take this as a recommendation to avoid Embrace pet insurance at absolutely all costs.

Hi everyone! I'm looking for some insights on my cat's insurance costs. I've been with Trupanion since my cat was 3 years old, and she is now 7. The premium has been increasing nearly every year, and I'm currently paying $106 per month with 90% coverage and a $0 deductible. She's been relatively healthy overall, just dealing with early-stage osteoporosis, which we're managing with weight loss. Thankfully, no other major health issues. However, the one time I submitted a claim, my vet had to intervene because Trupanion was reluctant to cover costs that were supposedly included under my plan. Given these details, does the price I'm paying seem reasonable? Also, if anyone has suggestions for more affordable insurance options in Canada that still offer reliable coverage, I’d love to hear about them. Thanks for your help!

Hiya, I adopted a kitty from my local shelter a few days ago knowing he has gingivitis and needs a dental cleaning and possible extractions which I will cover out of pocket. The more I dig into the plan the shelter pushed through Fetch, the more I’m realizing Fetch feels like an elaborate scam. I’m looking at switching to Spot as it’s one of the companies that claims they will cover curable pre-existing conditions if there’s been no occurrence/need for treatment for 180 days. Has anyone gone through this with Spot and can you confirm that they did start covering a condition after that 180 day period, or did they find a way out of it? Any other companies you would recommend that are good for this? He’s only a year old, the vet is hopeful we can get it fully treated and cured but of course there’s no way of knowing for sure.

Hi everyone, the title is basically it. I have a marketplace plan starting last year. I signed up for autopay, or so I thought. Turns out not a cent came out after the first payment. There was zero notice. They said they snail mailed me something but I'm in the process of moving and my mail comes to my parents house. Not to mention if I saw something I would have assumed it was a monthly statement and tossed it. They had my email, my phone number, i received multiple emails but not a word about my account. I have a medication I order about once a month that costs around 2-3k without insurance and I'm racking my brain to figure out if it shipped after january. TLDR - bcbs told me that my account is just termed. I cant reactivate and need to contact the marketplace. Does anyone have any advice?

I have 3 vehicles under my name, we were in the middle of moving between cities and I decided to change the location. Due to last minute changes, we decided to stay at our current location. I went to log back into geico to change it back and it says they locked my account and when I called them they said “they are investigating the location of the vehicles”. What are my options now and what should I do?

Just switched from Embrace Pawprotect to Trupanion... Can't seem to find an app for it in the google play store. What kind of insurance company doesn't have a mobile app in the year 2025? 😭

My pet insure Nationwide discontinued our pet policy. My dog a 4 year old Labrador has preexisting allergies. Trying to find the best pet insurance. Any ideas? Our vet does not use Pet Assure. Update: Nationwide reinstated my policy but only at 50%. I will take it since my dog has allergies.

I am a SF policyholder that was rear ended by an AllState customer. I opened a claim with SF because I wasn’t sure of the Allstate customers limits and also wanted to use my PIP coverage from SF versus dealing with Allstate. That was an incredibly bad decision on my part. Allstate has done an OUTSTANDING job of handling my claim even though I am not a customer. They paid for 21 days of rental car within two days of me submitting my receipt. Allstate has been responsive by email and phone. SF on the other hand has been the worst customer service experience I have ever had. No response to emails, calls are routed to first line customer service that has zero knowledge and just submits a request or ticket to the actual claims handlers. My medical bills are going unpaid and now into collections, the hospital claim is sitting unhandled and the subrogation on the body damage is somewhere out in the ether waiting for one of the mystery claims handlers I can’t contact to handle. Jesus, my first claim with SF in over 30 years of being a policyholder and they treat my like a red headed step child and Allstate, who has no customer relationship with me, is johnny on the spot. What a sad state of affairs that is SF. I have no idea how to get SF to move and handle their responsibilities short of a complaint to the Insurance commission. Is this the way it is with SF now?