Nationwide | Pet Insurance Review

Hi, It is with the deepest heartbreak that I have to tell you that Lily was put to sleep on Friday june 8th. My little one was declawed on may 7th. Something went wrong but she stopped breathing and her heart stopped for 3 minutes. After an hour and a half of using a breathing device she began to breathe. She was rushed to the VMC in East Islip where she was in the Emergency room for 2 weeks. Lily was now blind and brain damaged. The Animal Hospital that did the surgery told me they are picking up the tab, over $11,000. For the next 3 weeks i had her at home at night and at the Animal Hospital during the day. This was not lily anymore, she could not be touched,she went wild, It was almost impossible to feed her and give her her medicine. There were also other issues aside from her blindness. She was rescued from a freezing cold fire escape in the 81st precinct in Brooklyn NY. They called Animal Control and she would have had a few days before being put down. My son who is a police officer stopped them and brought her home to us. We have always had a black cat rescue with us, one lived for 23 years and another for 15 years with Diabetes that she and I both fought. My heart is broken because Lily was the epitome of what a cat should be. Friendly, curious, loved to play. But her little life was cut short at 1 and a half years. I blame myself because I felt that something was not right with the decision to declaw her but i brought her anyway. I will never forgive myself and still ask Lily to forgive me. I'm sorry to take up your time. I will fax the whole hospital information to you. Can I send the last bill for her euthanasia. Please advise on what to do next. Thank you for reaching out.

Hamilton’s specialist evaluation with his neurologist was reassuring and I appreciate the support from Nationwide. Pets are expensive and this support softened the blow. He’s doing well now!

Wow!! I enrolled in Nationwide pet insurance b/c it was an elective as I was enrolling for my 2018 medical plan through work. At the time I didn’t even know it was Nationwide. I just knew it was let insurance and I said, “why not?” It took effect in January 2018. I got the package in December. That was when I knew that it was Nationwide since the packaging of the policy said so. My pup is a super active and super healthy And most playful Boxer!! I was distraught when I saw that she had gotten really really sick. It was late in the night and I was up working late and she was laying next to me. She went off to a corner in the hallway and started throwing up. I didn’t think much of it at first. Of course things happen sometimes when pups eat something they shouldn’t have etc. usually it passes and easily fixed with a strict bland diet. But she wasn’t stopping. This went on multiple times and I started freaking out. The only option at that time in the night was to take her to emergency pet hospital. I went to a local emergency hospital. They took her in and wanted to do different things. It seemed they were more interested in upwelling me than treating her. I wanted her out of there. But of course I had to pay over $500 first. By this time it was already morning and I knew I had more options so I took her to an amazing veterinary where they admitted her in for the whole day. They cared for her really well and put her on IV. They told me she would have to stay over night but since they don’t have overnight service they wanted to transfer her to a different location. I trusted them and went with it. She spent the night at the 3rd pet hospital. When I got her back, although she seemed weak she was doing a whole lot better and little by little got her strength back and I got my Bella back with her playful and full of energy self. I had to pay for 2 more hospital visits everything came up over $2k. I didn’t know exactly what my Nationwide would cover. All I knew was that, it was the least of my worries. A. Because I would do anything for my bella. And B. Because, I knew I had some kind of coverage with a company I’ve heard about for years. Filing a claim was so easy. Went online and simply followed the instructions. Uploaded all the receipts. I don’t remember how long it took but it wasn’t long. About a few days later I got notification stating my claim was approved!! And where I would like the check deposited. OVER $2k I paid out of pocket and they reimbursed me for ALL except my deductible ($250) and 10% of the bill. THEY PAID FOR 90% OF THE BILL!! Just like that!! No headache. No hassle. So simple. My dogs insurance is so much better than mine and everyone else’s that I know!! I’m so happy to have gotten this for her! And I tell all my friends or anyone that I meet that has a fur baby to be sure to get a pet insurance and to get it through Nationwide!!! THANK YOU NATIONWIDE!! THANK YOU!!!

Easy to submit our claim through VitusVet for Finn’s neuter.

Took puppy in approximately two weeks after purchase (when insurance coverage became effective). The breeder tacks the eyes on all her puppies, not because of a problem, but because the breeder has found the tacking provides some stretching across the eye lash line that is helpful as the puppies transition to a new environment. The breeder's instructions were for us to remove the stitching in about a week. We were not comfortable removing the stitches, so we waited until we had our first vet visit (two weeks after purchase) to have the vet remove the stitches as part of the puppy exam. The eyes had become irritated from the stitches. The stitches were removed and the vet prescribed some eye ointment. Nationwide denied the claim for the ointment, stating "her eyelids were tacked prior to the policy effective date this is typical done for entropion [sic]." We provided a letter to Nationwide from the breeder stating her practice as described above. Upon review, Nationwide affirmed its decision of a pre-existing condition. It has now been five months since the first vet visit and the eyes are fine, but we are labeled with the pre-existing condition that was not warranted, in our opinion. We felt the claim review was a token gesture and totally ignored the information provided by the breeder and vet. Other than the experience shared above, our experience with Nationwide has been positive.