Hi all, I am in need of advice. I'm not sure if this is the most appropriate place to ask. Ive had Embrace insurance for my two kitties for a year now. For one cat, it's amazing. For the other, Daisy, it's been kind of a nightmare. I had to increase her coverage midway through which restarted the medical review. That was my first big mistake, because while I knew it would come back with a temporary exclusion of a one time ear infection, I did not expect a permanent exclusion for ALL SKIN MASSES including cancer. Now, yes she has a small polyp on her outer ear that has never been diagnosed officially. It has been told to me by multiple vets that it's not a big deal and to leave it alone since shes had it since she was 2 and it was harmless. So when I saw that exclusion, I went through her medical records and found that I mentioned to the technician that she had a "growth" in her ear that was not impacting the ear infection, and my statement was put on the official medical records despite the veterinarian never putting it on her notes or as a diagnosis. She had one diagnosis: ear infection. A two month long appeal process would ensue where no one asked me anything despite me sending my specific concerns via email to the vet about wanting it known to the insurance it's not a cancerous mass, it's a polyp and it should not exclude all forms of cancer. The insurance would only speak to the vet who obviously had more important things to do than to deal with insurances, so it took forever for this process to come to a conclusion. The vet had no record of the mass, other than my statement to the technician, and ultimately that's what she told the insurance: There is no diagnosis of a mass and she has never noticed one on my cat. The insurance concluded that the mass didn't exist and officially documented the rescinded exclusion. My next mistake: I didn't say anything after because who would?? After a nonstop, 2 month, constant back and forth to get everyone to work together, there was a solution so I shut up and let it go for peace of mind. Now I feel absolutely f*cked because the polyp needs to be removed because she wont leave it alone and its turned into a deep cut that doesnt heal. The technician today wrote that she's had it since she was two and it's officially been diagnosed. Its a benign polyp, it's been biopsied after the appeal. Im so afraid to keep her insurance or submit a claim now in case im now "withholding information" or being fraudulent. I never denied she had a mass, I just denied it was anything more than a polyp and that's what I was trying to fight. What do I do??? She gets it removed tomorrow. Im afraid this being found in her medical records will impact future claims and I won't be able to move forward with removing any other temporary exclusions like the ear infections. I also have another cat on the policy who really needs insurance and im scared if they drop her, they'll drop him too. If you got to the end, thank you for reading this 🩷

Has anyone ever heard of a requirement that a wood fence needs to have 5 feet of metal between the house and the fence for homeowner's insurance? State Farm is mandating that we replace 5 feet of our wood fence that is closest to the house with metal for the policy to go through.

For those of you with Pets Best, how long does it usually take for them to finish reviewing a claim? I feel like they are taking forever lately.

I have a six-year-old lab mix (50 lbs) who is in good health, but a couple months ago, she was limping a little bit and had an x-ray in which the vet I saw said there was some minor flattening of one of her hip joints. I have a family member who is a vet in another state, and she said from the scan she saw, there was nothing worth noting or treating and she seemed to be in perfect health for her age. She’s also stopped limping entirely about a week or so after that appointment. However, I know that the vet we saw does have it in her chart. I tried to file a claim on this, but as with literally every other claim I have ever made (nothing serious or crazy expensive so I let it go), it was denied. I have had Figo since I got her at 1.5 yo (rescue), but the same plan that I still have since I signed up shortly after adopting her started at about $25 a month, and now is creeping up to almost $125. My annual renewal date is mid February, so I have been thinking about making the switch. However, I am wondering if because of this last visit, if she were to develop hip dysplasia later in life, they would use that as an excuse not to cover anything. Barring any accidents or random injuries, it doesn’t seem at this point that anything else is concerning or showing signs of future problems at this point. She’s an inside dog and has always been up-to-date on her shot and flea, tick, and heartworm meds. The vet did bloodwork when I took her in for x-rays, and everything came back crystal clear, as it has any other time she has had blood work done. I’ve just become increasingly frustrated with Figo given the price hikes every year and their refusal to accept anything. I feel like I’m wasting my money, but don’t want to get screwed over later on if a new company sees it a pre-existing condition. But I’m also too anxious to not have any insurance at all. Anyone have experiences similar to this? Any advice? Do I just tough it out and keep shelling out the cash just in case? I know I should have probably switched years ago, but here we are.

Insurance company sent an inspector. Contractor said roof is in amazing condition but there's always a but, since the roof is over wooden shakers it has to be replaced!!!! My agent is a total pain, she just says get it done, sure no problem because I have dam neat $16,000 to do this.🥺

Edit: Total amount that was for the insurance that month was like $400 something. I think around $430. Not sure if that has something to do with it Hey so I had gotten my car back a couple of months ago. To put it short, for some dumbass reason my ass didn't think I would need insurance to take the car off the lot and didn't factor that into it, as the last time I gotten a car I went to a shady shitty dealership which let me drive off with just liability. So I had set myself up with Bristol West. Thing is I did not have the money for the insurance but it went through because I did an option that would collect over a few days. It showed as active for me to collect my car. Anyways immediately like a day or two later, I decide to go with Progressive which was much cheaper and canceled my plan with Bristol by calling them. (I used Bristol to pick up my car but then changed it to Progressive and they took that) After it got canceled I got some mail saying that I owe $110. Now question. I do know that say if you cancel mid-cycle or early they give like a "refund" or don't make you pay the whole amount. My question is, does $110 seem right for literally using them for about a day or so. Keep in mind they couldn't even charge me but it showed my acc as active. Active enough to try and get my car. Does anyone have any experience with this? How do they decide how much to charge you when you cancel, Does it matter when you cancel or they just give you a rate which you have to pay. I just realized that they sent it to debt collections and want it.

I have Aetna DMO, and I am constantly being overcharged for things. It started with the dentist recommending a deep cleaning even when I knew for sure that I didn't need it. I still paid because I thought it was better than letting my teeth worsen. Then the dentist tells me I need 2 inlays. The insurance says they should cost $115, but the dentist's very rude receptionist mentions that they use Emax only, which is a $750 upgrade. It makes no sense to be paying so much for these treatments, and for all I know, I may not even be needing them. What is a good solution for me at this point? Just go to a well-reviewed dentist and pay them cash for this? Or can I maybe get external insurance myself? But I doubt any external insurance will be as good as what my employer is already offering. (Aetna DMO)

I have a 2020 Hyundai Kona with 50K miles that I bought two years ago, with 40K miles, for about $20,000. I recently drove into a parking garage with my bike rack on my car, causing roof damage. They are considering it totaled with an initial estimate of $10,600 in damages on a car valued at $15,600. First, that seems low, given that I've seen other vehicles online with the same miles for $17,000 or more. They are also trying to claim that the car has $3,000 in unrelated damages, even though I've never hit anything, scratched anything, bumped into anything, etc. I suppose there must be minor dings or scratches from driving it in the city (I've asked them to email me photos), but regardless, $3,000 seems high for whatever it is. I'd also argue that I've been paying insurance rates on a car valued at closer to the $20,000 I paid for it, not....$10,000? My question: Does it seem reasonable that a regular seeming car with no issues beyond standard wear and tear would see a $3,000 devaluation like this? Can I get a second opinion on the value of my car, and this prior damage? How do I go about doing that, and what would it cost? On a slightly unrelated note...is insurance just kind of insane right now? I feel like I'm hearing stories that they are totaling everything these days. (I have State Farm, comprehensive coverage).

This is a weird problem to have. My therapist is not in-network (I have United Healthcare/UMR) so I pay her and submit the bill to UMR for reimbursement. For about a year, my insurance has usually said she is in-network, and reimburses me for about 50% of the cost (100% of their "adjusted cost" which is half of what I actually pay her). I mentioned it to her but she said she has never been in-network, which I believe - it would be pretty dangerous for her to try and take payment from both me and the insurance company. So I figured it's fine, if my insurance says she's in-network when it comes to reimbursements then I'll believe them. The reimbursements this year are now 95% of the actual cost (so they're paying me back more now). And I'm really starting to wonder, is it my responsibility to say something to the insurance company about this? Is there a chance that they ask for some of this money back later? Thanks for your advice

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.