About 10 years ago, I remember someone was trying to sell me on pet insurance.  I didn’t bite.  I didn’t think it was worth it.  But when Angelo crept into senior dog territory, I had a change of heart.  Luckily I signed up for it because a year later he was diagnosed with heart disease.  Pet insurance has really helped us with his expenses and treatment.  Yes, I complain that our premiums are always going up but at least our insurance company always pays out (knocks on wood).  However, a recent article suggests that not everyone is so lucky:

“That’s where Pasadena resident Samantha Bonar found herself. Her pit bull, Kaya, survived cancer several years ago. Now she has cancer again.

Kaya’s veterinarian said the two cancers were unrelated. But the dog’s insurer, Healthy Paws of Bellevue, Wash., refused to cover Kaya’s treatment, ruling the latest diagnosis a repeat of the first.”

Basically Healthy Paws rejected the claim based on the cancer being a preexisting condition.  Now this would make sense if this was the same type of cancer, but from what the veterinarian said, the cancers are totally different.  This is part of the reason why consumers think pet insurance companies are bogus.  How can you expect pet parents to spend hundreds (thousands for some of us) of dollars a year in premiums, only to be denied their insurance claims?  With something like cancer, time is of the essence.

After months of back and forth communication with second and third opinions from oncologists, Healthy Paws finally said the claims would be paid in full.