By art | Published:
June 19, 2009
Here is some bad news and warning to anyone thinking about purchasing pet health insurance from Ensurapet.
The pet insurance company, formerly known as VSurance inc. and based out of Santa Ana, CA, was issued a cease-and-desist order along with it’s CEO and other residents in Arkansas who had been selling promissory notes and shares of Ensurapet.
Both florida and arkansas residents were sold over 1 million dollars in securities for Ensurapet.
Neither the company or the residents selling the shares were registered to do so in the state of Arkansas.
One would hope they run a clean business and this was just a really bad mistake. There are many other well established pet insurance providers with a history of good practices.
The Arkansas Securities Commission called them out, and thats enough for me to turn elsewhere.
via Arkansas Business.
By art | Published:
June 5, 2009
In a growing trend to cover market share. I’ve been seeing a number of auto insurance companies offer and highlight their pet injury insuran programs lately.
Progressive insurance has a pretty good program. They offer up to 1000.o0 towards vet bills associated with an auto accident. With no added cost because its built into your collission coverage, its a pretty good deal.
I briefly want to highlight however the differences between pet injury coverage through auto insurance and pet insurance.
The main distinctions are… with pet insurance, you are usually refunded the cost of vet bills associated with a pets sickness or injury’ inlcuding meds, therapy, and in some cases preventative treatment.
Injury pet coverage through auto insurance only applies to a pets direct injury with an auto accident; with any associated costs (vet visits, meds) up to a $1000.00.
Here is Progressives general pet coverage statement.
By art | Published:
May 29, 2009
Just read this in the LA Times.
Nutro is recalling it’s dry cat food because of unusually high Zinc levels. All packaging that falls between “best if used by” date of May 12, 2010 and Aug. 22, 2010 is being recalled. The pet food items should be returned for a refund or exchange.
I hadn’t really heard of a recall on pet food because of high Zinc levels, but it’s happened before, notibly with ChemNutra in 2007.
Zinc toxicity isnt something I often hear about in pet health world. But zinc poisoning disrupts the digestive process, and in some cases it’s been reported that dogs have encountered organ failure.
Zinc falls under my “too much of one thing can’t be good” category.
By art | Published:
May 21, 2009
Thought it important to name a few resources for your pet health tool box.
PetMD - they describe themselves to be in the business of pet wellmess management.
We like quite a few things about this site, but that which is most ehlpful is their symptom center. Rodent, ferret, reptile… which ever pet you have, this resource can help you identify what your pets symptoms mean for its health.
Dog First Aid - iPhone app. Cheap: $1.99 and powerful. Fairly detailed first aid reference for injuries and illnesses to your pet. Comes in really handy.
By art | Published:
May 13, 2009
…not necessarily because of the insurance, but the lack there of.
Via WEBC WIlmington, Pet Parents in Wilmington, NC share their story of Echo, their two year old border collie, and his leap off a three story porch.
This is how it goes;
dog gets restless -> jumps off three story porch -> breaks leg -> pet parents pay over $2,600.00 for the surgery, out of pocket, right away.
This happens often, it’s happen in my family and like the family focused in the WEBC story I’m sure we share the similar post incident feeling of having had the opportunity to have avoided the situation all together. This isn’t so much a pro pet insurance statement as it is a pro being informed one. Alot of pet parents keep themselves from purchasing pet insurance purely out of lack of information on it.
But really, $2,600.00 for a broken leg. I’d rather be insured.
By art | Published:
May 11, 2009
Looks like Chase Health Advance, of Chase Card Services (JP Morgan), are teaming up for Pets Best Insurance for the purpose of making pet insurance more affordable.
The partnership was created to help non insured pet owners and those with medical expenses not covered by their pet insurance, such as pre-existing conditions. They will be offering offer “12-, 18- and 24-month, no-interest payment plans and instant credit decision making.”
In the past pet medical care was a simple question of economics; owners could afford pet health care or they couldn’t. With no interest payment plans, this really sounds like a good deal for those owners who can plan ahead and save money throughout those 12-24 month plans they plan to partake in.
I am interested to see what the interest rates will be after that however.
But I like it, good move by both parties.
Read the rest of the article here.
some content borrowed from tradingmarkets.com
By art | Published:
May 7, 2009
Free pet micro-chipping for residents in the denver area. Pet identification is a great idea for all pet owners, not only for retrieval purposes but also to identify, in some really sad cases, for pets that are lost in fires and other disasters… like those in the Santa Barbara fire right now.
Microchip technology has become increasingly popular (mostly with dogs, cat owners have been slow to jump on board) and even offered in some health plans as a reimbursement. Check with your pet health plan provider to see if thats the case with your policy, may help with some possible heartache in the future.
for interested cat owners www.ChipYourCat.com
By art | Published:
May 7, 2009
Purina Pet Care announced this week it has expanded it’s brand pet insurance offering to California. Making it available now in 41 states. California is the home of pet insurance giant VPI which is a great thing. MOre competition will make for better informed pet owners regarding pet care.
Their two plans:
The first plan option, PurinaCare(R) plus Preventive Care, covers eligible accidents and illnesses for pets as well as routine expenses like annual exams, eligible vaccinations, flea and heartworm control, and dental scaling/polishing.
The PurinaCare without Preventive Care plan insures dogs or cats against the unexpected. It covers treatment of eligible accidents and illness, including those arising from hereditary conditions.
By art | Published:
May 7, 2009
All the news from back home in Santa Barbara with the current fire is really unsettling.
A number of friends have reported some sad news concerning pet displacement and losses during the fire. Are fires really something you can prepare for?
I know one thing people at the least should keep in mind when wildfires strike up in their area is to have identification ready for the their pets in case they are loose. Also, it doesn’t hurt to have the dog loose throughout the day if you have to leave home so it isn’t overtaken by fire as the house burns down. As I write this it pains to know so many pets die this way. The American Red Cross in particular suggests that interior doors be left open during the day and have a doggie door installed as well. Although they don’t provide the benefits associated with pet insurance for long term care they do provide for immediate disaster relief.
By art | Published:
May 5, 2009
Nice article from Lisa Hartman on what is really happening when you take your pets on walks and spend time with them.
She poses some great questions concerning what we are actually teaching our pets when we spend time with them and how it effects their health. You know, like when we tie them to the park bench while we sip our coffee in the morning or are talking on the cell phone as we walk them.
Lisa at one point explains that it’s about undivided attention. But I suppose this is where pet training divides us a little bit. Undivided to me doesn’t mean being a pets every beg and call… does it to most? Should it?
Being a conscious pet parent may vary from pet owner, but this article asks some good questions that can help us become a little better.
Article can be found here.