VPI/ Nationwide

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SayuriAndCo

Post   » Tue May 08, 2018 3:15 pm


Hi there,

In light of recent events (see my medical thread), we have seriously been considering getting health insurance for our 3 girls. Stella and Sprinkle are both 4+ years old and, until we recently adopted them, it is doubtful they had any sort of veterinary care.

Nationwide (previously known as VPI) quoted me less than $20/month to cover all three pigs. That is far less per year than I ended up paying for Stella's last incident alone. They say they will pay 90% of your bill after a $50 deductible. From what I could see online, this was not entirely true as they limit your spending on certain procedures (such as they will pay up to $90 for an X-ray, which most of us know to be under what we typically get charged).

We do regularly put some money aside as an emergency fund, but it only takes one good emergency to cause us to have to deplete it entirely.

My husband and I are not of the mindset that our $10 pig is not worth the expensive treatment it takes to heal her. She is a part of our little family and we want to take care of her, we would just also like for it to be slightly less of a financial blow.

I am nervous because I only want to shell out the money for the insurance, if there is a good chance they will cover about 50% of the bill the next time something occurs.

The representative who gave me the quote is going to call me back tomorrow (I asked for time to weigh my options).

I am making a list of questions/concerns to raise with him when he calls. I am just wondering if there is anyone on here with any experience dealing with them.

I read through some old threads but they are all over a year old and I thought it might be worth bringing the subject up again.
Thank you!

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Tue May 08, 2018 10:00 pm


I suggest contacting your regular vet to see what they think about a particular plan and if they have worked with it.

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CavyDad
Supporter in 2018

Post   » Wed May 09, 2018 12:21 am


I have had all 4 of mine insured through Nationwide (formerly VPI) for about a year now and I'm paying what works out to about $24 a month for all of them. When I got my quote, they gave me a monthly payment option, but you'll pay more overall than if you pay the full premium at once.

After one boar had two bladder stone surgeries, we signed everyone up. They would have covered both of his surgeries up to their limit, which wouldn't have covered everything by a long shot, but it certainly would have put some money back into my pocket. I don't think it covers checkups though. I've filed two claims, and they paid out what they said they would, and I can't complain because even when I subtract the cost of the premium, I'm still coming out ahead so far. You're right--they do place limits on it, and it's a little hard to understand their coverage. Also, keep in mind, you pay your vet upfront, and submit a claim form for the insurance to reimburse you.

Also, they can limit coverage for pre-existing conditions. Some of those limits are permanent, and some you might be able to have removed. My bladder stone pig will never be covered for a bladder stone under this policy. Another boy had a URI, bloat, and conjunctivitis all in the few months before I applied for coverage. He has notations about those being a pre-existing condition, but I was told if he doesn't have any of those issues for 6 months, my vet can tell them that, and they might remove that condition. They ask you a bunch of questions, and depending on your answers, they may pull vet records. My baby pig was an almost immediate approval because he'd never been to the vet for anything and didn't have any current symptoms.

Like I said, I've only had it for a little over a year, so we will see how it goes in the future.

SayuriAndCo

Post   » Wed May 09, 2018 1:43 pm


Thank you! That's very helpful!

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