Whenever anyone asks me if I would recommend getting pet insurance, the quick answer is usually “yes,” but I also bring up several points for them to consider - age, breed, dog’s level of activity, any pre-existing conditions and cost.

Age was a big one for us when we decided not to buy pet insurance for our cat and our last dog. Sasha was 7 years old when we got her, and as a senior dog who was great at home, we didn’t worry too much about buying pet insurance. With Fresca being 7 months old, we didn’t know how much trouble she would likely get into, so we decided it would be worth the investment.

Thankfully, she wasn’t a troublesome pup. Similar to Sasha, Fresca doesn’t really get into the garbage and other than an occasional act of disobedience, doesn’t usually eat anything weird.

Onto Embrace Pet Insurance, and why we’re happy with it and have stuck by it these past 4+ years. When we were searching for pet insurance plans four years ago, Embrace Pet Insurance was ranked among the best, so that’s how we learned about it. In 2018, they’re in the top 3, so we’re not the only ones out there who like their plan.

Since insurance is all about helping out in case of emergencies, we pay our premium for ease of mind and are happy when we don’t have to file any claims. As a bonus, each year that we do not make an accident/illness claim, Embrace will lower the deductible by $50.

What also stood out to me was their Wellness Rewards program for routine care. This is an additional cost, but is basically a prepaid discount. I’m not sure if other pet insurances offer something like this, but at the time, this sold me on Embrace. For a set $ amount, you have that much and then some to put towards wellness rewards claims. We usually max out, and this year, we paid ~$565 for $650 in wellness rewards because that covers routine vet visits, vaccines, supplements, etc. As the year goes on, we get reimbursed for that amount spent, and it translates to being getting a 13% discount.

In terms of cost, I recently punched in Fresca’s info on some of the other insurer sites to see how much more I’m paying for Embrace, and surprisingly, it isn’t that much more. I think there are probably more discounts out there for those with a corporate account affiliation, but I’ve been a bit lazy to switch. We are fine right now, so we’ll keep them around for now.

So why has pet insurance been on the top of my mind lately?

Unfortunately, something’s been up with Fresca. One of her lymph nodes was swollen, and she hasn’t been able to open her eyes all the way this week. We haven’t really figured out what’s wrong, but the vet has been able to narrow down to what isn’t wrong. Ryan has taken her in a few times, and we have another follow-up appointment next week, so the bills are adding up. She seems to be on the mend, so all is good in this household. But hooray for pet insurance - I may be singing a different tune if these accident/illness claims don’t get approved, but the wellness ones have always been a breeze, so fingers crossed!

Do you have pets, and do you have them insured?

Curious about pet health insurance? Check out Embrace Pet Insurance for a FREE quote and more information.