Pet Insurance FAQs

Pet insurance is coverage designed to provide pet owners with financial protection to be used toward professional veterinary care and some related medical costs. By helping you deal with unexpected costs of care, pet insurance means that you will be in a better position to make decisions about your pet’s medical care without putting cost first.

Pets Plus Us has pet insurance for all dog breeds as well as pet insurance for cats.

The annual amount that you are responsible for paying before we make a reimbursement under your policy. All Pets Plus Us coverage options include an annual deductible that only applies if you need to make a claim. 

Co-insurance is a percentage of what you pay vs what we pay, before your deductible. We call it “your share”. With Pets Plus Us Accident coverage, your share is 20% of costs before the annual deductible. With Accident & Illness, you can choose your share -  10%, 20%, or 30% -  as well as your deductible, allowing you to set the terms of your plan to meet your needs and budget.

Here’s an example:

Dave had an inquisitive chocolate lab named Winston. Once, Dave had to travel out of town, and his wife forgot to lock the cupboard where five bags of dry dog food treats were stored. Winston devoured all the food and had to be rushed to the vet for emergency treatment.

Dave chose 20% as his “Share” option. He had also selected Option B—a $200 annual deductible because Winston was four at the last policy anniversary. When Winston got sick, there was $2,000 in veterinary expenses and Dave made his first claim of the year. Pets Plus Us reimbursed Dave $1,400 which represented 80% of the vet bill, less the deductible.

Example: Dave’s reimbursement request

A few months later, Winston had a minor accident that required overnight hospitalization. This time Dave’s bills totaled $1,500. Because Dave had already paid an annual deductible, this time there was no deductible. So his share was $300 and Pets Plus Us paid him $1,200.

Example: Dave’s reimbursement request

Accident Coverage provides you with financial support in the event that your pet has an unexpected traumatic event. Common accidents include falling from a balcony, cutting a paw, or being hit by a car. 

Accident and illness pet insurance covers treatment required due to illness, injuries and accidents. Expenses incurred due to hospitalization, surgery and more are covered under this plan. With Pets Plus Us Accident & Illness coverage, you can choose the level of coverage, the deductible and how much of the bill you want us to cover. With Pets Plus Us, all coverage is underwritten at time of application. That means that you know exactly what your pet is covered for, and what exclusions apply. There should be no surprises when you make a claim. 

You can take your pet to any licensed veterinarian — even specialists and emergency care providers. Pets Plus Us also reimburses in Canadian dollars the cost of care from a licensed veterinarian in the U.S. should something happen while you are traveling, however currencies are not converted from US to CAD dollars.

The premium for pet insurance depends on the type and amount of coverage you choose, the type of pet you have, and the cost of veterinary care in your area.
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On the surface, this type of savings plan might seem to have more value over insurance, but there can be some challenges along the way. Because the standards of veterinary medicine are so high, so are the costs that accompany the delivery of this care. If a new pet owner puts aside the monthly premium into a puppy/kitten savings account and the new family member gets ill a few months (or even a few years) later, it is highly probable that there won’t be nearly enough in the savings account to cover the required care.

The other challenge is that if your roof starts to leak or some other crisis arises, your pet’s saving account will most likely be one of the first accounts you dip into to cover the costs. Premiums for Pets Plus Us pet health insurance are very affordable and provide you with protection against significant veterinary costs quickly and easily.

No, they are available to you as often as you need them.

One of the many advantages of living in Canada is our access to free universal health care. There are drawbacks, of course, in that it consumes over 33% of our tax dollars, can be slow and not very efficient. The one major drawback to being free is that we have no idea what the medical costs really are. Even if you wanted to know, you would be hard pressed to find out, but you would right in thinking the costs are extremely high. You would also be right in thinking that the medical system, as it presently exists, runs at massive losses.

However, inherent in the word “universal” is that any illness qualifies for coverage, although not necessarily any treatment. So, the word “pre-existing” does not exist for government funded health insurance.

Pet health insurance is NOT universal medical coverage, nor is it government funded. It is designed to provide financial coverage for the unknown and unexpected. In order to be successful, it has to be efficient. Because there are numerous companies providing coverage, the premiums have to be competitive relative to the coverage offered. Because there is no bottomless pit to fund potential losses (a.k.a tax dollars), these private companies have to assess each patient in terms of risk. If a pet has had a particular medical problem before applying for insurance that will be chronic, like arthritis, then it is neither unknown or unexpected – it already exists. Because it is known, an exclusion would be placed on the policy indicating that the arthritis was “pre-existing.” In this example, because arthritis won’t miraculously disappear, the exclusion would be permanent. If it were a minor problem, the exclusion would likely be temporary.

At Pets Plus Us, we have a very liberal interpretation of what medical conditions will be considered for pre-existing exclusions. If the problem appears to be a one-time only event, we may ignore it all together or it will only be a temporary exclusion. The other distinguishing feature of Pets Plus Us is that we examine the pet’s medical records on Day 1, not at the time a claim is made. We are the only pet health insurance company in the world to do this! The huge benefit to the owner is that they know exactly what is and is not covered under their pet’s policy.

As long as your pet has Pets Plus Us coverage, we will never cancel their policy due to age or claims. We understand that pets can develop a chronic illness and need lots of care (just like humans), so all Pets Plus Us accident and illness coverage comes with our 4Life Guarantee. That means that once your pet is enrolled for coverage, his or her benefits are automatically guaranteed to renew each year.

Insurance is designed to offer peace of mind against the unknown or unexpected. Like most things in life, what happened yesterday is no guarantee of what will happen tomorrow. If you have driven accident free for 2 years, your clean record wouldn’t give you any confidence to cancel your car insurance, because tomorrow is a new day.

Every pet owner wants their pet to be healthy and regular check-ups are the best way to make that happen. However, accidents can happen – in an instant. Whether it’s slipping while running in the park, innocently eating something toxic, or dashing across a road; accidents will happen to pets of even the most diligent of owners.

Pets are tough critters, having evolved to mask illness as a basic survival technique. Yet, illness unfortunately does occur with regular frequency and with few warning signs. Cancer, for example, affects over 25% of dogs and 40% of cats. Although a few lucky pets will live to a ripe old age having suffered no accidents or illnesses, the vast majority won’t be so fortunate. Luckily, the standards and quality of veterinary medicine are very high, which is a blessing for the pets themselves. That being said, this high quality of care comes with significant costs. Pet health insurance is designed to cover most of these costs ensuring that your pet returns to being healthy and happy as soon as possible.

You cannot carry over or get a refund on unclaimed funds for the year. However, Pets Plus Us will email you 90 days prior to the expiry date, to remind you of the unused balance available to you.