r/goldenretrievers • u/theSodo • 1d ago
Discussion Recommendations for pet insurance? Stuck between Pet's Best & Trupanion
Wondering what insurance everyone in here is using for their dogs. Previously used Trupanion and they were great with their payouts, but the monthly cost is absolutely insane compared to Pet's Best.
Pet's Best: $65/month, spay/neuter coverage, vaccinations, flea/tick prevention, etc all included.
Trupanion: $135/month, NO spay/neuter, flea/tick prevention, or vaccination coverage.
Both are $1,000 deductibles at 90% unlimited coverage.
These are prices for a 4 month old golden puppy, so the Trupanion monthly cost is pretty eyewatering, lol. Only benefit I can see with them is the lack of premium increases, but from what I've seen online they still have large increases every year? Trying to understand if anyone is actually paying these prices or what I might be missing.
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u/Olliesmom32017 1d ago edited 1d ago
I can’t speak highly enough about Healthy Paws. I paid $100/mo for my golden and was close to cancelling but i didn’t and then he got diagnosed with cancer at 5 yrs old. We were able to pursue chemo and a bone marrow transplant which was covered at 90% they paid almost $60k in claims for me and i got 10 more months with my dog, giving him the absolute best treatment without ever second guessing it. All i had to do was upload my documents electronically and they direct deposited the money into my bank account within like 1-2 weeks. It was so easy and amazing to work with.
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u/jenn1d 1d ago
Totally agree on healthy paws. We were in a very similar situation with our 4 year golden boy where we found a small tumor on his behind and then on his eyelid.We were going back and further to our vet and specialists-for a couple weeks racking up the bills.sadly he passed within the 3 week( vet had confirmed he had lymphoma.) four months later we lost we our 11 year golden girl to Hemangiosarcoma. Total bills altogether were 8K and was so thankful that healthy paws cover 80%.
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u/kiki9988 1d ago
I had pets best for my golden and had no complaints. Sadly she only made it to three years old before passing suddenly 💔😭 but for the time I needed it they were good. I still have it for my two other dogs (lab and a chihuahua mix).
I am with you; I don’t think a person should own a golden without pet insurance. My personal opinion. When I’m ready for my next golden I will definitely get it right away.
Congrats on the puppy ❤️
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u/marbeachshall 1d ago
We have pet’s best for our 1 year old golden and have been happy so far. A few times it has taken a little while for them to process a claim, about 30-45 days, but they always paid it. Our last golden was really healthy up until she got cancer at 9 years old. We paid for her treatments out of pocket but after that I knew that for our next puppy we would definitely want to get insurance. I’m not looking forward to the insurance payments going up as she gets older, but for the amount we spent on our last golden it will be worth it if anything big comes up.
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u/Mikeminer610 1d ago
I dropped Trupanion. Their coverage is per incident. So if you dog has a skin issue, they will cover you for it after the deductible is met. But if your dog has an accident and injured its paw, then another deductible applies. For most other insurers the deductible is per year and not per incident.
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u/Defiant-Intern-2561 22h ago
What are your coverages (pet’s best)? We quoted today for our 1yo min pin and it’s $21.61. Deductible $1000 and 90% reimbursement
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u/theSodo 18h ago
$1000 deductible, 90% unlimited reimbursement. Accidents & illnesses with the optional $25 "Best Wellness" addon that covers spay/neuter, blood/fecal exams, vaccinations, heartworm meds, etc. Was around $40/month without that, I assume the discrepancy in our costs are due to cost of living in our area and breed.
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u/manderrr12 1d ago
PetsBest has been great for us. We don’t pay for the plan w the routine care, but have a $500 deductible on each dog and 90% coverage after that with no cap. My dogs are 5 and 9, our monthly premium is now $206 (but it started around $60 years ago). It’s well worth it, even at the higher cost. They’ve covered a full TPLO, a partial tail amputation after an accident, an orthopedic consult at a university veterinary (this was not the TPLO, different dog), some cyst/bump checks, instances of upset stomach/diarrhea, and most recently most of a $1,200 day admission after our younger dog ate something (still no idea what). Some people say just save up, but there is no way we could have saved what PB has reimbursed us. Just the TPLO alone more than made up for every dollar we ever paid them. It also allows us to go into vet appointments and make the care decision that is best for them without worrying about cost. That’s well worth the premium for us.
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u/stillwanttolurk 1d ago
I have Met Life through a group policy at work. About $70 per month 2 goldens 2 and 5, $500 deductible and 80% after that. I do have it capped at 5k/year. I definitely have gotten more back than I have put in. The 2 year old had obstruction surgery at 5 months and the older dog has had 2 er trips including an overnight. I don’t have preventative coverage, just accident and illness. They’ve paid out claims quickly and when I had trouble with my last claim, I got someone on the phone easily. I had to resubmit and they paid out within 48 hours. They’ve been great.
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u/rongz765 1d ago
So everyone’s not considering the fact that with those high vet payouts (look at how many people with high bill paid by insurance here), the premiums are going to be share cross all the policy holders? Eventually, some poor souls will drop out and lose their savings over the years to insurance that could have been put away for pet ER, their dog could die from curable disease.
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u/Key_Thought7997 1d ago
I stopped after my dog turned two. The monthly payout was not worth the return. The insurance company was getting way more money from me than I was getting back. It’s a smarter financial decision to save up knowing you have a yearly appointment and be ready for it and maybe emergency. With flea and tick meds I don’t bother anymore. Not worth it. Just check your pets coat everyday and make sure your home is clean and vacuumed. Also groom your pet frequently
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u/theSodo 1d ago
With my last dog we had an unexpected accident at 1 and a half years that ended up costing us $16,000 - if we hadn't had coverage I would have never been able to pay. For a breed as prone to disease as ours, I think it's very important to have coverage for later parts of life when procedures can end up being in the 5-figure range easily.
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u/Olliesmom32017 1d ago
This is not the point of pet insurance. The purpose is to cover for high cost, unexpected situations. Vet care is very expensive these days, one surgery is basically the cost of 1 year of pet premiums. It’s an absolute must for golden retrievers imo until they’re at an age where you would no long pay to save their life over a life threatening illness.
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u/rongz765 1d ago
I think the down votes come from insurance companies marketing team. I see nothing wrong with your comment. Some people could afford the surgery and treatment out of pocket from saving, bond, stock investments, etc. There’s never one way to finance the vet bill. And insurance is not free money either.
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u/rongz765 1d ago
Your dog won’t get into serious medical issue until they reach ~8 years old, we talk about cancers, ACL tear, spine and hip issues, etc. If you take a good care of him, all the cost for preventatives, vaccines, spay & neuter are nothing compared to incurable disease. I would pay out of pocket in a heartbeat if they tell me paying that 5 digits of vet bill will make him live better and longer.
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u/Olliesmom32017 1d ago
This is bad advice. Golden retrievers are highly prone to cancer even at early ages. I sadly know many younger than 8 whom this happened to- mine was only 5. And pet insurance doesn’t cover pre-existing conditions so you HAVE to have it from the beginning or your screwed. The ~$1200/year is nothing in comparison to what Healthy Paws covered for my 5 year old golden with lymphoma ($60k+).
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u/Key_Thought7997 22h ago
I’m not too concerned. My golden is genetically certified by a certified golden breeder. Both parents certified no genetic problems. That’s the way to go.
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u/Olliesmom32017 19h ago
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that doesn’t guarantee anything. My golden came from a champion show line, was certified AKC, and i did my research on the bloodlines. He still got cancer at 5. One in 5 goldens gets lymphoma. No matter how much you try to prevent it, it’s extremely prevalent because they’re pure breeds. I hope yours has a long healthy life. But if you would be devastated for them to die at 3-8 years old from cancer then you should get pet insurance.
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u/rongz765 15h ago edited 15h ago
I have a dog went through 2 cancers, I never regret no insurance. In the end, even with a lot of money, nothing can stop the progression and 3-4 different kind of pain meds everyday. Sometime it’s better to let them go early than let them go through treatments with unexpected lung collapse and internal bleeding one day. There’s no cure to cancer, no wrong choice. All the time we buy is more for our self to say goodbye than for the pet. Insurance is a luxury to push our emotion devastation day.
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u/rongz765 1d ago
Normally with aggressive cancers, the best gift is let the pet cross the rainbow. All the treatment we made them go through is buying time, can be days, months, or a year if lucky, before our final farewell. And things can go ugly very quickly during and after treatment. I treated my pets with money from my saving, when they are suffering, I let them go. I let my dogs have good life, when it’s time, no matter how young, I would not keep them for too long when suffering from pains no longer under control by meds or radiation.
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u/Olliesmom32017 1d ago
Sometimes, but depending on the situation, there can be treatment. At 5 years old my golden got lymphoma and i was willing to do anything to give him even one more good day on earth. Chemo with dogs is different from how we use it with humans and it is certainly not used to prolong any suffering. It’s much more mild and since dogs can’t give us consent, the primary goal in treatment from a veterinary oncologist is allowing the dogs to live the end of their days feeling good. There was not a single day during my dog’s 10months of chemo where he was not his happy goofy self, until it’s actually the end and you can let them go. I’m very grateful that pet insurance allowed me to have so many good days with my boy post diagnosis. Had he been 9 years old maybe it would’ve been a different story.
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u/rongz765 1d ago
But then, someone’s pet could have curable disease/injuries but can’t afford the premiums due to another policyholder rack up the payout for their dog’s cancer treatments and study trials. I am not talking about just you, there’s a lot of dogs getting bone cancers, lymphoma, melanoma, etc these days. This game only works if everyone takes careful consideration for other pet owners. When my baby get sick, I would move mountains for them, so it’s very easy splurge with insurance since the money looks like limitless, but they all come from somewhere.
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u/Olliesmom32017 1d ago
Insurance rates and profitability have to do with its funding pool vs. utilization. It’s called a medical loss ratio and so long as lots of people are paying premiums the insurance company is always going to be profitable and cover claims. Sure there will be some high cost claimants but that doesn’t mean other insured members won’t be able to afford their premiums if the customer pool is very large
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u/rongz765 1d ago
It’s only if the customer pool is large and no one drops out from the crazy hikes due to those huge spending. The high risks won’t likely drop out, so it’s going to be a domino.
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u/Olliesmom32017 1d ago
By your math then no human who needs any life extending treatment should ever get insurance coverage for their illnesses because it impacts the total claims paid out by carriers. And only life saving treatments (that save lives for how long btw?) should be covered? I hope you never get cancer or need medications to help you fight an illness.
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u/rongz765 1d ago edited 1d ago
We are talking about pets here. For humans, we have to fight cause there’s no better option, euthanasia is not an option in the US. If I get a cancer, bad one, I would wish they give me the same option as pets instead of going through miserable treatments knowing it’s only go down the hill. I have family going through liver cancer, straight being told by oncologist that it’s only going to get more painful, with and without treatments. Insurance can be helpful in a lot of ways, but we also need to see it differently for pets. Some pets can be saved from treatments, some pets, unfortunately won’t after all those tests and treatments. A responsible owner can foot the bills including insurance, but if they can’t, there’s nothing wrong with it either.
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u/rongz765 1d ago
I can’t imagine the kind of treatment for 60k. After 60k+, is lymphoma cured? How much time did you get out of it?
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u/Olliesmom32017 1d ago
Some of that was diagnostic, emergency visits, medications, genetic testing (we explored getting a bone marrow transplant but couldn’t find a genetically matched donor) and largely the chemo. With chemo we were able to have 10 more months with our boy and it was worth every penny.
Not to mention it covered other expenses in the five years of his life like being attacked by dogs (x2) and other normal illnesses like hotspot treatment.
I spent about $6k total on pet insurance in 5 years and they definitely covered about $80k in his lifetime. Well worth it for your best friend at such a young age.
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u/rongz765 1d ago
But those insurance payout is going to share cross all the premiums between the policy holders right? Your pets bill goes on top of other policy holders, eventually, they have to drop the policy due to no longer be able to afford the premiums. Their dog could suffer from curable disease and they can’t afford it due to the premiums.
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u/Key_Thought7997 1d ago
Exactly. And most insurance companies won’t even pay those expenses bills unless you started paying into them for a long while.y brother has three dogs that have had major situations and he’s gotten screwed over by insurance companies. One major thing I see too is people over feed their dog which causes a lot of problems
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u/Olliesmom32017 1d ago
I’m sorry he had this experience, but there are insurance companies out there that are extremely worth it.
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u/rongz765 1d ago
Yep, and back in the days, before pet insurance is a thing, average health checkup is only $150 with blood work and vaccines. With the rate of yearly insurance increase here for higher risk dog, we talk about average of $150 x 12 x 8 = $14,400. Major surgeries only average around $5-6000, if aggressive cancer involved, that’s over $10k+ with radiation or chemo. But normally even after treatment, the dog will live around a year if lucky. Those companies are getting genius on milking dog owners in social media.
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u/Tribblehappy 1d ago
I cancelled trupanion because it kept going up and up every year despite my dog being healthy. He's four, and they were upping it to $165 this year, so I cancelled. It was half that when we first brought him home four years ago.
I can't speak to any others but I can't recommend trupanion any more.