PurinaCare® Offers Pet Insurance as Group Benefit

It doesn't get better than this. PurinaCare® Pet Health Insurance has just created a "Groups Benefits Department" that will offer employers and associations group discounts for providing their employees and members with pet health insurance.

A bold, forward move that needs to be applauded, don't you think? I do. According to the press release I found via Google alerts, "Pet insurance is a coverage program designed to pick up the tab on the high cost of vet bills." Got it? The "high cost of vet bills"...which is another way of saying, a great way to take care of your dog or cat when he or she is ill with an on-going medical problem or in an accident that requires extensive surgery and/or medical care.

The Question Is...

Why wouldn't you buy pet health insurance?

And, what's missing in the websites you check for this option? We try to provide down to earth information on our site and our blog, but we're looking at things from inside, not outside. In marketing, that's where we recognize that reading the label from inside the bottle doesn't tell us anything. You have to be outside the bottle to read the label - and even then, it can have confusing information.

Dr. Larry is especially passionate about providing good, relevant, easy-to-understand information about the topic of pet health insurance, but we expect you still have questions. As we move forward into 2010, we want to be more responsive and attentive to our readers. So, I'm wondering...

Mast Cell Cancer Claim: A PurinaCare® Podcast

In this podcast, Dr. Bill and Dr. Larry discuss how PurinaCare® pet health insurance helped a pet owner with the serious issue of Mast Cell Cancer.

This is for anyone who has had to deal with cancer in their lives. Having insight into how it works in pets, and how pet health insurance coverage can be extremely helpful in defraying costs, is something worth knowing.

Oftentimes pet people wonder what the pet health insurance industry allows, and Dr. Larry talks openly about that on this blog, regularly. Read his posts and visit our podcast page to hear stories about claims and more on the issue of pet health insurance.

Hip Dysplasia - From the Claims Files with Dr. Bill and Dr. Larry

In this discussion, we listen to Dr. Bill describe a claim made by the owner of a dog, named Piper, with hip dysplasia. This is a common concern of pet people who have larger dogs, and Dr. Larry has discussed this issue over at Scratchings & Sniffings, if you would like even more information.

Dr. Bill's claim story is from a family in CO, which is where we'll be moving next week. Isn't life interesting, that way? You'll learn what hip dysplasia is, that it's a chronic condition, but also what the claim on the PurinaCare Pet Health Insurance policy covered for this dog (hint: it's a lot!). Listen up...

The patient barked and then threw up!

Found this great series over at The New York Times called "The Puppy Diaries." The author is writing about the first year of owning a puppy. Good stuff.

This particular article is about pet health insurance. She says, "pet insurance" but we know she means pet health insurance. In the article, Jill, the author, talks extensively about what she considers the pros and cons of having pet insurance for Scout, her puppy, who is almost six months old. Much of what Jill writes has been posted here - for instance, she says, "Frankly, I think the possibility of a big out-of-pocket puppy health expense is pretty high." Smart woman.

Texas Veterinarians Ask Dr. Bill About Pet Health Insurance

The topic was pet health insurance when our own Dr. Bill Craig appeared recently as the featured guest on the TexVetPets podcast series from the Texas Veterinary Medical Association. Host Francisco Garcia asked Dr. Bill several questions about how pet health insurance works from the point of view of both pet owners and veterinarians.

But my favorite part came near the end, when Dr. Bill said that the frequently asked question, "Is pet health insurance a good investment?" is the wrong way to look at it.

He explained that, just like health insurance for ourselves and our children, you don't buy pet health insurance "in hopes of getting a return, you're really buying peace of mind." He added that the great thing about having pet health insurance for veterinarians, pet owners, and of course for our pets, is that

"when they're standing in the exam room, they don't have to talk about finances, they can immediately go to 'what's the right thing to do to get this pet healthy again.' " 

You can listen to excerpted highlights from the interview here:

MP3 File

Or go to the TexVetPets page at iTunes, where you can hear the entire interview (Episode 23), along with lots of others in which host Francisco Garcia interviews veterinary experts on a wide range of pet health topics.

PurinaCare® Podcasts: From the Claims Files Kidney Disease in Cats

In this episode, Dr. Bill and Dr. Larry talk some more about the value of pet health insurance when your pet suffers from a chronic condition that requires life-long monitoring and treatment. The example here is from a claim for a 13 year old cat diagnosed with kidney disease.

Dr. Bill gives another example from his personal experience with his own cat that lived with chronic kidney disease from age 15 to 20 years! 

Health Insurance - it's not just for people, anymore.

I don't usually write about the PurinaCare® pet health insurance, itself, because that's really Dr. Larry's expertise. But, I wanted to kind of talk about health insurance in general, and why I think pet health insurance is so valuable.

Here's my story: a year ago I was in CO (where I'm writing this post now, though I will be back home in Rochester, NY by the time you read it) and I was having a rip-roaring time with my granddaughter when... the unthinkable happened. I slipped, fell, and dislocated my left shoulder.

The pain was excruciating! I can tell you that I never want to go through that again! My quick-thinking daughter, and my hubby, Tom, got my arm into a sling (well-prepared, that daughter of mine) and into the car where we were off to the clinic in no time. All was put back together...although, the x-rays showed a hairline fracture, also...meaning a much longer recovery time, without a cast, just a sling.

PurinaCare® Podcasts: From the Claims Files Diabetic Cats

Today's podcast with Dr. Bill and Dr. Larry discusses another chronic, long-term care condition that requires multiple visits to the vet.

Dr. Bill shares the story of a diabetic cat - and how pet health insurance was a big help to her pet parents. Knowing they had the support of pet health insurance to help manage this disease not only saved them money, it gave them peace of mind.

(It also brought back memories of my days working at the Cat Hospital locally; we had a number of diabetic cats that came in for insulin and fluids, on a regular basis - I remember discussing how helpful pet insurance would be, back then - before we had it)

PurinaCare® Podcasts: From the Claims Files Epileptic Dogs

Another discussion of PurinaCare Pet Health Insurance Claims. Today, Dr. Bill talks about chronic conditions that require repeated medical care and vet visits. Listen to this Springer Spaniel's, story... and how having pet health insurance helps with his care.

Because of his condition, he will need care for his entire life. That's where insurance can be very helpful.