Pets Best | Pet Insurance Review

My cat has arthritis yet they refuse to cover the medication that the vet prescribed. Treatment was not covered as it was diagnosed when the policy took effect. They hound you for details and then deny the claim anyway. Will not be renewing.

Notwithstanding the difficulties in obtaining records Pet Insurance conducted themselves very professionally. All the Pet Insurance personnel involved were concerned about our pet’s welfare. And, worked hard to solve our issues, which were really not issues just us not understanding the claims process, which Pet Insurance patiently helped us understand.

I've had this insurance for many years, maybe 7 years now. A vet told me way back then to buy pet insurance and keep paying on it even though I wouldn't have any claims for several years. She said eventually I'd need it and it would make all the difference in keeping my dogs healthy and alive for a long time. This year, I had claims on 2 of my dogs. One has arthritis in her knees and an enlarged heart. The other has arthritis in her spine. I was devastated to hear the results of the Xrays, knowing that there would be more treatments and possibly tests, but I had the insurance in place their whole lives and submitted the claims for the first round of tests, $775. per dog. My claims were paid in about a week and there's a huge weight lifted off of me knowing that I will be able to continue with anything needed for them without going into major debt. I will say that I have paid out a lot to insurance for 4 dogs over the years. My rates have gone up a lot, but the insurance also started covering a lot of additional things that it didn't cover when I first bought it. I shopped around recently when my policy was up for renewal and found that Pets Best was still the cheapest for full coverage. I bought illness and accident insurance, although I was mainly bought it for fear of accidents. If I only had the accident insurance, these diagnosis would not be covered. Therefore, I strongly recommend buying the illness coverage, too. No matter how good we take care of our pets, we really don't know what they went through before we had them or what types of things they are subject to from their heritage.

Under no circumstances should you do business with Pets Best. I'm caretaker to a 9-year-old chocolate lab. I paid in excess of $700 this year for an injury-only policy with a high per-incident deductible ($250). This bought me a policy with a $2,500 "per incident cap," which should be satisfactory for most issues your dog will encounter. Virtually every interaction I've had with Pets Best has been an ordeal. Usually, it's the typical insurance-company stuff about a demand for more records that you've already sent, but this summer they've taken unprofessionalism to new heights. On its Web site, the company says most claims are addressed within 10 business days; that's false. In June, I submitted a claim for my dog's recent ligament surgery. After waiting in excess of three weeks for a response, I called and asked for a supervisor, who told me: "Oh, I think it was being handled by a trainee. We'll make sure it's expedited." OK, I understand, everyone gets busy around the holidays, so ... About 5 minutes after I was off the phone with this rep (Brynn) I received an e-mail from Pets Best saying they'd contacted my vet for more information ... after they'd been sitting on the claim for weeks doing nothing--and after I'd confirmed twice that they already had the 1 year's worth of records they'd previously asked for. Delay, delay, delay. Finally, Pets Best agreed to pay a portion of my most recent claim, but withheld a full $1,000, claiming they had paid out on a "related condition" earlier in the year. Untrue. Their claims adjustor conflated two conditions that the vet clearly stated were separate, and I am now forced into an appeals process. Even more beguiling, when I called back to speak to this rep, she acknowledged that she hadn't read my claims. Stay away from Pets Best. They're liars and cheats. A responsible state government would be investigating them by now.

We had a recent scare with our boxer who ate a half dozen granola bars. Took her to the vet and were relieved to hear that was fine but instead discovered some possible future heart problems. Insurance covered almost all of the claim. Pet's Best has been amazing for our family. We have two boxers who are accident prone and insurance has paid so much back to us. We are thrilled to be insured by Pet's Best.