Most pet owners who have insurance are happy with it. Those who haven’t needed to use it, of course, are less happy. But, when those catastrophic medical events occur, it can be a lifesaver. As far as our Megaesophagus dogs are concerned, you would first have to have coverage prior to diagnosis as have not heard of one who will cover preexisting condition like this due to possibly incurring costs regularly.
Do some research first (here are some ME dog owners have suggested):
Healthy Paws Pet Insurance
https://www.consumersadvocate.org/pet-insurance/c/healthy-paws-review
Pets Best Pet Insurance
https://www.petsbest.com/?ci=ADG&clickid=3VYSR5R5dSqF2IV0TIwoJUu5UkgSgr2tryjeyo0&ci=ADG&clickid=3VYSR5R5dSqF2IV0TIwoJUu5UkgSgr2tryjeyo0
Best for overall reimbursement
Very straightforward
20 % co-pay after your deductible and depending on how much you spend per month will vary what the max amount of money reimbursed per incident
24PetWatch – Pet Protection Service
https://www.24petwatch.com/
Their website is better than most — answers the questions that we really want answered, including coverage, deductibles, costs, etc
From an Me dog owner: “I got 24PetWatch for Kali as soon as she arrived at my house. She had never seen a vet before that time. Her vet pronounced her a healthy puppy, but for an ear issue. They then issued a restriction that they would not cover “ear” issues for a year. When the RG became overwhelming we did the barium study which the insurance covered it without any restrictions on future ME care. When she broke her leg last April, they paid the vet bills up to the policy limits within about 2 weeks.”
Nationwide Pet Insurance – VPI
https://www.petinsurance.com/
Good if you get it before any conditions pop up, but when they do it is good
Reimburse in approximately 3 weeks
From an ME owner: “VPI is reasonable, but are now “corporate’ and exclude way too much. And the cancer benefits generally are pathetic.”
Pet First Health Insurance
https://www.petfirst.com/?enrollment_code=99-99-00-5090&utm_source=pepperjam&utm_medium=affiliatetraffic&clickId=2614411245
Trupanion Pet Insurance
https://trupanion.com/ec/ppc/best-care-b?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=US%20-%20Brand%20-%202017&utm_term=trupanion%20insurance&utm_content=Brand%20-%20Insurance%20Exact&gclid=CIKFksHizeACFbSPxQIdKJUDLA&gclsrc=ds
From an ME dog owner: “Had coverage over a year prior to his being diagnosed with ME. Trupanion denied all of his vet bills for the diagnosis of AP and ME saying that there was evidence of it being a pre-existing condition. We tried fighting it with them but they have refused all payment of claims and we are dropping them.”
Great resource to help you decide:
Page that helps with decision making for pet insurance. They give the top ranked and have the top 10 for the current year. Very comprehensive with showing you which companies rank the best in certain categories, but then linking you to those statistics. You can also read how the individual company stacks up against some of the other top ranked ones. Very thorough and up-to-date.
https://www.consumersadvocate.org/pet-insurance